re: Wireless data services and applications.
Chaz,
<< I'm also sans wireless thus far >>
Egad! <g>
<< so I have a hard time picturing what might be an attractive data application. Will someone offer a list of such applications that would be sufficiently attractive to a business user, or a consumer user. >>
While I don't have a list of specific applications handy, initial services that the GSM carriers are focusing on are:
1. Multimedia Messaging Service
2. Unified Messaging
3. Customized Information & Entertainment Service
4. Location Services
--> Location Tracking
--> Person Tracking
--> Point of Interest
--> Road Traffic assistance
5. Mobile Office Service
Applications will develop from these service containers, and will become more sophisticated over time as GPRS evolves to EDGE and WCDMA
Presumably 1xRTT carriers will evolve similar services and applications although I have not yet seen a prioritized roadmap like the one above from CDG or 3GPP2 yet.
Perhaps you can visualize the applications that will evolve from these service descriptors:
1. Multimedia Services & Messaging
Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) will allow users to send and receive messages exploiting the whole array of media types available today e.g. text,
images, audio, video while also making it possible to support new content types as they become available. Multimedia consists of one or more media elements
(such as text, voice, image and video), and it is the combination of these media elements in ordered synchronized manner that creates a multimedia
presentation.
MMS enables a unified application which integrates the composition, storage, access, and delivery of different kinds of media, e.g. text, voice, image or
video in combination with additional mobile requirements.
Service that enables the user or application to:
- create a Multimedia Message (MM)
- send a MM
- receive a MM
- forward a MM
2. Unified Messaging
Unified Messaging is a personal communications management service that enables a client to access integrated forms of call and media messages (i.e. SMS,
e-mail, voice mail, fax) and several functions, such as storing and forwarding messages, organizing personal agenda and address book (e.g. timing of
receiving messages, ways of notification). Unified messaging service can be accessed through different service channels like SMS, voice call, WAP, Internet and SIM toolkit applications. Unified Messaging service has also the function of converting text to speech messages and vice versa. (e.g. timing of receiving messages, ways of notification). Unified messaging service is controlled by an individual user and can be used both for business and/or for social purposes.
Unified message is a personalized service that enables a client to:
- send & receive SMS , e-mail, voice-mail & fax
- store & forward SMS , e-mail, voice-mail & fax
- filter e-mail
- get e-mail notification
- have a phone directory of unified messaging subscribers
- receive reminders
3. Customized Infotainment
Service that enables a client to:
- choose and select personalized news and information
- establish delivery according to her/his preferences, on a regular basis or on demand, in a specific place or time.
Information Services are consumer and business services that provide access to content anywhere, anytime via structured-access mechanisms based on
mobile access that can be often organized by end-users, regardless of device or protocol used. Users can search, select and view information and pay for content on a per-use basis or under a subscription fee. Information, regardless of the content (news, jokes, horoscopes, weather forecasts, sports scores, etc.) can be delivered to a mobile handset on a regular basis or on demand, in a specific place or time.
4. Location Services
Location Based Services are, business and consumer services, that give users a set of utilities starting from the geographic location of the client. These services offer the possibility to users or machines to find/locate other persons, machines, vehicles, resources and also location-sensitive services, as
well as the possibility for users to track their own location. The request for location can be requested both from the client himself and from another entity such as an application provider or the network. Location based services go across many mobile class of services since they add to these, the feature of placement; for example an information service such as news becomes a location based one (localized news) when they are related to the city where the client is situated. Location based services can be automatically triggered when the client is at a specific location (e.g. geographical areas subjected to different billing systems) or can originate from the client himself in order to satisfy location based requests such as information needs (finding point of interest, persons or checking the traffic conditions, finding other people, vehicles, resources, services or machines) and emergency requests. Examples of point of interests are: pharmacy, hospital, petrol station, postal office, automated banking, police station, hotel, travel agency, museum, monument, park, cinema, theatre, and Mike Buckley's backyard.
--> Location Tracking
- To track persons
- To track vehicles
- To monitor corporate fleets in different ways
--> Person Tracking
- This feature allows the tracking of location and status of specific service group users such as employees, or parents who need to know where their children are.
--> Point Of Interest (POI)
Service that enables the user:
- To find the nearest POI
- To download and view maps for requested POI
- To find and obtain directions for requested POI
- To get an automatic alert when in the proximity of the requested POI
- To obtain itinerary guidance
--> Road Traffic Assistance
- To receive traffic conditions for a selected area
- To obtain a traffic map related to a specified area
- To get news on traffic conditions/big accidents route for a given destination (on foot, by car, by public transport)
- To get best route in terms of time/traffic conditions/vehicle
- To have alternative road directions
- To receive alerts in the proximity of critical emergency
- To receive automatic alerts about dangerous situations/areas
5. Mobile Office
The Mobile Office services are designated for business customers, but may also attract consumer market segment. They provide secure wireless access to
Internet, Corporate LANs and Private IP Networks for:
- applications synchronization, like e-mail, directories, diary, calendar, FTP
- e-procurement
- Internet
- customers (and internal) information database access
- mobile VPN
6. Others
- Downloadable games, ring tones, screen savers, etc.
- Eric - |
