Mobile Computing - Classification

Mobile Computing - Classification

Not only is mobile computing limited to mobile phones, but there are different gadgets available on the market that are based on a mobile computing support platform. They are commonly categorized into the following categories.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

The main aim of this device is to serve as a compact, easy-to-use electronic planner or day planner capable of sharing information with your computer systems.

The PDA is an extension of the PC, not a replacement. These systems, via a process or service known as synchronization, are capable of exchanging information with a computer system. In order to check for changes or updates on individual devices, both devices can access each other. Using infrared and Bluetooth interfaces allows synchronization of these devices at all times.

A user can search the internet with PDA devices, listen to audio clips, watch video clips, edit and change office documents, and many more services. For input and output purposes, the device has a stylus and a touch-sensitive screen.

Smartphones

This kind of phone blends the features of a mobile phone or camera phone with those of a PDA. It has a superior edge over mobile phones of other kinds.

Smartphones have the capacity to simultaneously run several programs. These phones have high-resolution touch screens, web browsers that can access standard web pages and view them properly instead of only mobile-optimized sites, and high-speed Wi-Fi and high-speed cellular broadband access to data.

Google's Android, Apple's iOS, Nokia's Symbian, RIM's BlackBerry OS, Samsung's Bada, Microsoft's Windows Phone, and embedded Linux distributions such as Maemo and MeeGo are the most popular Mobile Operating Systems (OS) used by modern smartphones. These operating systems can be installed on various models of phones, and during its lifetime, each device can usually receive several OS software updates.

Tablet PC and iPads

This mobile device is larger and integrates into a touch screen than a mobile phone or a PDA and is controlled by touch-sensitive motions on the screen. Sometimes they are operated by a pen or the touch of a finger. Typically, they are in slate form and are light in weight. Examples include ipads, Blackberry Playbooks, Galaxy Tabs, etc.

As portable computers, they provide the same functionality. In a much superior way, they support mobile computing and have immense processing horsepower. Among its many other features, users can edit and change document files, access high-speed Internet, stream video and audio data, receive and send e-mails, attend/give lectures and presentations. They have excellent resolution and visibility on the screen.