MOBILE COMPUTING Abstract: I n t h e l a s t f e w y e a r s , t h e u s e o f p o r t a b l e computers and wireless networks has beenwidespread.

The combination of both opens the doorto a new technology: mobile computing. Mobilecomputing has become the most powerful tool bothfor personal and business use.Mobile computingt e c h n o l o g y h a s f o r c e d t h e C e l l u l a r t e c h n o l o g y t o bring out their best services.This paper starts withgiving very basic idea of mobile computing and thenmoves on to mobile networks.Here we will stop for aw h i l e c h e c k i n g o u t t h e c e l l u l a r n e t w o r k i n d e t a i l since mobile computing is closely related to cellulartechnology.This paper also focuses on differentw i r e l e s s t e c h n o l o g i e s t h a t s u p p o r t m o b i l e computing.Though the facilities provided by thistechnology are tremendous ,this is still striving for itsfulfledged performance.The reasons that limit thismobile computing technology and what can be thesolutions to them are also discussed in thispaper.Even after mobile computing technologypenetrating into many fields ,many are not stillaware of its major applications.This paper focuses ondifferent application areas of mobile computing andconcludes by predicting its future. I. I NTRODUCTION " Mobile Computing constitutes a new paradigm of computing which is expected to revolutionise the waycomputers are used." George H.Forman Mobile computing can be traced back to its first use in the 1990s. Laptops have become the mainstream device which people use back then to keep connected to each other. Since then, countless n u m b e r o f d e v i c e s h a s f o r a y e d i n t o t h e m a r k e t bringing a newer sense of wireless communication. To this date, this type of communication has become the most powerful tool both for business and personal use. A . MOBILE COMPUTING Mobile computing refers to the technology which enables transmission of data (computing) through portable devices i.e. laptops, cellular phones etc. It refers to being able to use a computing device even when being mobile and therefore changing location These portable devices are known as Mobile devices. Portability is one aspect of mobile computing. Simply defined, mobile computing is t h e u s e o f a w i r e l e s s n e t w o r k i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t o p r o v i d e a n y t i m e , a n y w h e r e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d access to information. Mobile computing has three aspects:

Mobile communication: aspect addresses c o m m u n i c a t i o n i s s u e s i n a d - h o c a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e n e t w o r k s a s w e l l a s communication properties, protocols, data formats and concrete technologies Mobile hardware: i.e. mobile devices or device components. Mobile software: deals with the characteristics and requirements of mobile applications. B. MOBILE DEVICES M o b i l e d e v i c e s a l l o w t h e u s e r t o a c c e s s t h e w i r e l e s s world from any point. Many types of mobile devices have been introduced since the 1990.Some of them is: Full-featured mobile phones with personal computer-like functionality, or smart phones Laptops and notebooks Tablet computers Portable digital assistants (PDAs) Portable Universal Serial Bus (USB)d e v i c e s f o r s t o r a g e ( s u c h a s t h u m b drives and MP3 devices) and for connectivity (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS modem cards) Digital cameras Radio frequency identification (RFID)and mobile RFID (M-RFID) devices fordata storage, identification and assetmanagement Infrared-enabled (IrDA) devices suchas printers and smart cards Wearable computer Carputer Ultra-Mobile PC II.MOBILE SYSTEM NETWORKS M o b i l e n e t w o r k s a r e n e t w o r k s o f m o b i l e d e v i c e s , servers and distributed computing systems.Networksthat support mobile computing can be classified asfollows. A. Wireless LAN and Wireless Access Points WLAN c a n b e d e f i n e d a s a n e t w o r k i n which a mobile user connects to a LAN through a wireless or radio connection. The advantages of usinga WLAN are numerous, including the flexibilityo f f e r e d t o o v e r c o m e l i m i t a t i o n s o f w i r e d n e t w o r k s because of space constraints, easy, hassle-free andsimple computing. WLAN allows access to keyinformation and resources without having to plug-in, regardless of where the users are in the facility.Access points are stations within a WirelessLocal Area Network (WLAN) that transmit andreceive data. They connect users to the network andcan also serve as the point of interconnection betweent h e W L A N a n d a f i x e d w i r e n e t w o r k . T h e r e g i o n covered by each of the access points is termed a HotSpot. B.Satellite Networks I n s a t e l l i t e n e t w o r k s , a s a t e l l i t e a c t s a s t h e c e n t r a l point for the outgoing and incoming data. Thesubscriber needs a satellite dish antenna and atransceiver operating in microwave range.

Satelliten e t w o r k s a r e u s u a l l y a g o o d o p t i o n f o r r u r a l a r e a s , where DSL and cable networks are not available. C. Cellular Networks In cellular networks, the entire area is divided intocellular regions, each serving a d i f f e r e n t b a n d o f frequencies. The cellular regions are served by a basestation comprising of a transmitter, a receiver and ac o n t r o l u n i t . T h e b a s e s t a t i o n s a r e c o n n e c t e d t o a Mobile Telecommunications Switching Office, whichin turn is connected to the public telephone network. D.Ad-hoc and Sensor Networks An ad-hoc network is a network in which certaind e v i c e s a r e p a r t o f t h e n e t w o r k f o r a t e m p o r a r y d u r a t i o n . i . e . e i t h e r f o r a s p e c i f i c c o m m u n i c a t i o n session or while in close proximity to the network.The ad hoc networks are deployed for routing, targetd e t e c t i o n , s e r v i c e d i s c o v e r y , a n d o t h e r n e e d s i n a mobile environment.Sensor networks are formed by small nodes or motes tiny, self-contained, battery-poweredcomputers with radio links that enable the motes toself-organize into a network, communicate with eachother and exchange data. Sensor networks are mostlyr e g a r d e d a s a s p e c i a l i z e d a r e a o f a d - h o c n e t w o r k s . They are most popularly used in military applications,where the topology of the network can keep changingvery often and currency of information is of primemost importance. I I I . C E L L U L A R N E T W O R K I N DETAIL Cellular telephone is a handy portable device, similar to two-way mobile radio. A cellular network consistsof mobile units linked together to switchingequipment, which interconnect the different parts of t h e n e t w o r k a n d a l l o w a c c e s s t o t h e f i x e d P u b l i c Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Thetechnology is hidden from view; it's incorporated ina number of tranceivers called Base Stations (BS).Every BS is located at a strategically selected placea n d c o v e r s a g i v e n a r e a o r cell - h e n c e t h e n a m e c e l l u l a r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . A n u m b e r o f a d j a c e n t cells grouped together form an area and thecorresponding BSs communicate through a socalled Mobile Switching Centre (MSC). The MSCis the heart of a cellular radio system. It isresponsible for routing , or switching , c a l l s f r o m the originator to the destinator. It can be thought of m a n a g i n g t h e c e l l , b e i n g responsible for set-up,r o u t i n g c o n t r o l a n d t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e c a l l , f o r management of inter-MSC hand over andsupplementary services, and for collecting charginga n d a c c o u n t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e M S C m a y b e connected to other MSCs on the same network or tothe PSTN.