by Dale Taylor & Shannon R. Kelley

Increasing usability and performance while reducing power consumption on an Ultra Mobile Device helps accelerate your applications acceptance.

There is a trend in the portable device market from single function devices to multi-function devices. This trend along with emerging technologies is expanding our computing boundaries. Being truly mobile in the sense that end users are always on and always connected is raising their expectations and increasing their thirst for connected mobility. The challenge is creating targeted mobile platforms with optimized applications, technology and services to drive mainstream adoption.

Ultra Mobile devices with full functionality ease of use and all day battery life will fill un-met consumer’s needs and be the device of choice to empower technology in education, healthcare and field force both in government and private sectors alike. This ultra mobile trend is driving the software community to create compelling new applications that compliment a truly mobile lifestyle.

As the mobile market grows and matures so will power and performance of the devices. Infrastructures and higher connection speeds spanning greater distance with WiMAX will enable these devices to be always connected. The solution will be to develop applications that foster the ability of known devices to move in and out of secured areas communicating and synchronizing with other mobile and stationery devices around them. Seamless collaboration and optimized end user experiences will drive adoption. A simple and friendly devise that interacts with the digital home and mobile lifestyle will be the devise of choice.

Intel© driven solutions will drive key value vectors of a truly mobile device, PC adaptability, Any time connectivity, ultra mobility, and location adaptability. Ultra mobile devices that come to market will come in various sizes, weights and will have varying screen sizes and aspect ratios that target specific consumer and vertical mobile end users. They will be seeking to address the needs of different markets.

Understanding key usage models will help Ultra Mobile Device developers see the needs their applications should meet and will help you develop better solutions. UMDs are targeted at several specific target markets. Adapting your solution to those markets will help with acceptance and build on the demand those markets will help create.

Internet Enabled Handhelds
In this market, units will be used to access the Internet.

Infotainment
In this market units will be used to process educational materials and view entertainment. The ability of UMD to support various media formats is the advantage.

In-car
In the car the UMD will provide a full routing solution. An integrated GPS will allow for real-time driving directions. Internet connectivity will allow saved routes and information to be cached for access when in the car.

For all markets, focus on the key components of success which are longer battery life, faster connectivity, the larger screen, a better viewing experience and easier to use to input text.

Factors that give the UMD an advantage in these markets include:

PC Versatility – The full featured OS enables features many small devices are unable to provide such as Plug-ins not supported, unable to download attachments (such as active-X controls), code not ported to smaller devices etc.

Any Time Connectivity – Always connected, All ways connected (WWAN, WLAN, WiFi) and best connected (Broadband + seamless) abilities

Ultra Mobility – Small light, convenient and personalized

Location Adaptability – Location aware, context aware and interfaces with other devices

As you build your application there are certain key areas to focus your efforts on.

Form Factor – Be aware of the screen size and aspect ratio you are running on. Adapt your menus and screens to take advantage of the extra area. Build into your application ways to best utilize the screen and benefit your users. The default screen resolutions of 800x480 and 1024x600 will auto scale to 800x600 and 1024x768 with video scaling technology, but supporting the native resolution will provide better results.

UI – design your application to work using the inputs the UMD includes, cache login information, support scroll down lists and other methods of caching information so the user doesn’t have to bring up an extended UI to enter text. Be aware that the user may use a stylus or a finger to touch the screen, size your input options appropriately.

Connectivity – Provide intelligent transition between on/offline and data management. Deliver an “always connected” experience by using store and forward architecture, working for seamless transitions.

Power/Performance – Smart battery usage to enable a longer batter life. Using the CPU appropriately to increase performance and response to assure your users receive the optimal usage experience.

Intel has a mobile platform SDK which can be used to decrease enabling time to market and increase productivity for multiple platform and runtime environments. The SDK provides a uniform API and programming model. Its plug-in architecture expands the platform context providing additional support for many types of events, including bandwidth management and control. Features enabled by the API help you maintain state awareness through notification events thus enabling your application to adapt to the current operating environment.

Details concerning the Intel Mobile Platform SDK may be found here:

Intel Mobile Platform SDK

Case Study: Yahoo GoTV http://sites.mobile.yahoo.com/go/tv/index*
Yahoo! GoTv is an application you can install on a UMD that provides a very easy to use UI and allows you to browse the media on your UMD. Yahoo has adapted their install to sense the UMD size and aspect information and thus provide their users with a full and complete visual experience.

Case Study: SeeYou Mobile http://naviter.si/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10&Itemid=61*
SeeYou Mobile is an application that initially ran on a PocketPC. It has been ported to XP for use on a UMD. The company provides in-flight analysis software for glider pilots to assist in accomplishing certain tasks in flight and to help with a safe flight by keeping the pilot informed of reachable landing options.

Supporting the UMD required the porting of their software from WIN CE to Windows XP. Due to the varying sizes and differing aspect ratios of UMDs, and the desire to provide pilots with a configurable interface; they built a UI that allows the specification of a screen size, font size and custom layout for the in-flight controls. To keep the setup simple, pre-defined UI options allow the heavy lifting to be done by Naviter and shipped with the software.

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