Mobile Computing Books

I had been developing software for about 10 years... and am just finishing up a grad degree in CS after going back to school... If found this book to be a LOT better than all the hand outs that my prof put together... It's a great book to give you an overview of all the problems in mobile computing... and a lot of the answers... (not all :-)). As the other reviewer says, it's priced a bit high at $85.00, but I found it to be well worth the price I paid... hopefully the prof takes my recommendation and uses it as the text book for future classes...

Please excuse English. This is a very good book for learning mobile applications in US and Europe. Also, a lot of good new things on UML and XML. But, I would have liked to see more on the Japanese Mobile development. I think this is good as a text book in class room or reference. I would like to have more introductions to UML than 1 chapter. The UML is more advanced in this book. Also lot of good location and voice informations.

This book provides an excellent discussion about MIPv6. It explains the MIPv6 protocol in detail. It also elaborates on the aspects of security and Handover. The book has a very helpful introduction about IPv6. The book does not include much about CDMA2000 based data networks, so for people looking for information about specific 3GPP2 extensions to MIPv6 this book might not be the best resource. My recommendation is that this book should be in the library of any engineer who works/intends to work with MIPv6.

The Internet currently uses IPv4, which has 32 bits of addressing. But over the next few years, this is expected to be exhausted, as China and other developing countries increasingly come online. Plus as your digital camera, car, cellphone and PDA are increasingly likely to have their own Internet addresses. Beyond IPv4 is IPv6, using 128 bits.

So the question is not if IPv6 will be implemented, but when. Concomitant with this are questions about its viability, and, as a huge practical matter, how can it be incrementally deployed, side by side with existing IPv4 networks? Plus, how can mobile devices (think cellphones as the prime example) efficiently use IPv6? This is the subject of Soliman's book.

The bulk of the book revolves around a problem which can best be described by a simple analogy. Suppose you have a cellphone with a phone number, which includes an area code. Nowadays, you can take that phone to any region in your country that supports cellphones, and expect your phone to work. Even if you are outside your area code. The phone companies have implemented algorithms that allow this.

Mobility in IPv6 deals with the corresponding problem on the Internet. Imagine now that your cellphone or other device has a fixed IPv6 address. This is desirable so that others can contact you. Many issues now arise, along with possible solutions, as explained by Soliman. Like authentication and authorisation. That is, if you go to another IPv6 network and try to connect, it must somehow ascertain that you have a valid IPv6 address elsewhere.

Or consider the very act of moving between two IPv6 networks, when you are communicating with someone else. How can that person's messages be forwarded to your new (temporary) IPv6 location, and how can it be done efficiently?

The book describes these problems (and others) and their proposed solutions in detail. I say proposed solutions deliberately. As Soliman makes clear, some of these solutions will need further research as to their efficacies, and may well be modified as a result of this. You can get a clear sense of the subject and what the key issues are from this book.

This book is useful only if you've lost your original BB manual. As there's hardly anything extra contained it that is not in the manual or the online assistance. I was particularly interested in how to use my BB as a modem for my laptop but totally disappointed. Its contents caters mainly to a 7290 model.

"Everything" is an overstatement, albeit a great notion. I wanted to learn to do everything!

But if you want to move your desktop icons you will need to go to Blackberry's website to find out how, and if you are unable (despite following instructions) to remove the pesky default ad-tag line "Sent wirelessly ..." that appears after your signature in emails you will have to phone your service provider.

This nice-looking book does not tell you "everything" by any means. It is actually little more than a restatement of the documentation that comes with a Blackberry.

I've had my BlackBerry for a while now, and like others here, I learned a number of tricks I did not know! Very concise, well written book which I've recommended to 2 others who I keep in contact with via BB.

This book was very helpful in understanding the basic operations of my backberry. It had good tips that was very helpful and made the learning curve a lot easier. However, I had one problem with this book. It is an old issue and does not cover the latest devices. It would have been perfect if it had been updated.

As someone who teaches Blackberry usage, I found this book useful for some really, really, basic info, but it just doesn't go far enough. For instance, the author tells you how useful the PIN feature is, but not how to use it. And there are simple features (such as 'encryption' and 'antialiasing') that a user will find by exploring her blackberry that are not mentioned in this book.

Also, the author says you can not view any attachments on your BB. So not true. A "viewer" is always available on the 7200 & later models.

This book is a comprehensive introductory book. It takes your hand from the early beginning of pervasive technology while introducing the reader to various building blocks involved in the technology. At the end, the reader will end up knowing what's pervasive computing, what's its origin, and what are the various other technologies that serve as building blocks involved in it. The book is generic, you can start with it, then after that focus on specific use of pervasive systems. I would recommend this book for developers interested in working with type of technology and MOST IMPORTANTLY i urge new RESEARCHERS that wish to work on pervasive computing to read this book COVER TO COVER.

This is a great book about pervasive computing. It is the future of the Internet and it is almost here!

If you are interested in technologies, it is a good buy, although it is already a bit outdated. Unfortunately, it does not provide any business cases. So the question "WHY" is not answered in the book.

Dear Author,

I like the general concept of your book, but it seems to technical to me.

Thanks you,

Kirk

This book explains new technologies in a very simple and informative way. It would have been nice to find some more links to business, but this seems not to be the target market. Ideal for engineers that need to get an update on technologies.

Examples in this book are just great. I have built my own application based on a couple of them. It really have helped me and guided me through step by step. Now I know how to do it on my own.

Thanks guys.

I thoroughly examined this book and found that there is not a single piece of information in this book that cannot be found on internet in matter of seconds. My advice is: save your money

The best thing about this book is the sample mobile database the authors have-just that is worth the price. Thanks guys.

I was always intrigued about the ways to make those small pocket size device to do what I want and I have believed that in order to make the programs for the Pocket PC's you have to be software "guru". This book was eye opener for me. I now know "how to" develop portable databases in efficient and professional way with ease. I would recommend this book to everyone who plan to develop PALM or Pocket PC based applications that will utilize major database engines.

There are many reasons that drove my consultant orthopaedic surgeon to buy a handheld. Shutting me up was perhaps the most important. It was a different set of reasons that made him addicted to his machine. Keeping his golf scores on his database was certainly the most important.

And so it is for most clinicians - handwriting recognition, voice recording and digital photography make PDA devices cool. But storing data makes them useful.

Furthermore PDA adoption is entering the next phase. Rather than individual purchases by enthusiastic individual, healthcare organizations are buying devices for entire departments. These devices are picked for their ability to integrate into existing IT infrastructure, and coincide with the rollout of wireless networks.

So Building PDA Databses is an important and timely book.
The book begins with a good introduction to handheld technology, database theory, and data warehousing methodology. Naturally this cannot be exhaustive, but it makes for a usable and approachable text.

The authors then cover the products of several major database providers, including AppForge's MobileVB, Sybase's iAnywhere and IBM's DB2. This list should tip you off to the scale of projects suggested - big. This is not surprising given the focus of their previous book, WAP Integration: Professional Developer's Guide. Laberge and Vujosevic are experienced and expert in large corporate environments.

This explains one of the weaknesses of the PDA coverage in book - it is rather biased towards the Microsoft, praising the iPaq for features that have been standard in Palm-compatibles for a long time and with better implementation. They also do not mention Satellite Forms, or HanDBase, perhaps the leading environments for medium-scale and small-scale projects respectively.

On the other hand if the reader is interested in large-scale projects, the book becomes essential. The description of each database product's feature set is useful for purchasing decisions. And the source code in the tutorials is enough to get the experienced developer going pretty quickly. It is thus best for informaticians, IT managers and software developers rather than clinicians. As the UK's healthcare Trusts become more ambitious with their IT spending, the book should help with mobile access to everything from patient details to golf scores...

Don't spend your money on this book, there is a lot of repetive stuff in it. Also, if you already work in the field of ASIC design, you will not learn much in this book, trust me.

I really liked this book and found its rules and guidelines very useful. Many of the guidelines are common sense, but it is still very appropriate to have them codified in a single textbook. Practitioners of full-custom approaches to IC design will complain that this is an "ASIC" book. It does have some rules that folks from that background will find hard to swallow (eg, no latches, no gated clocks). But 70% of the book is still applicable to full custom design and will result in faster re-use of full custom cores. The book gets off to a fairly wooly start but becomes substantial with the RTL Coding Guidelines chapter. From then on, its really solid stuff. This is a good book for the times. With much discussion of design re-use and transferable intelectual property in the chip industry, it has all the hallmarks of becoming a 'bible' book for IC designers of all stripes.

This book pointed out many design problems that I just met before. Designer could avoid many of them by following the guidelines in this book. I think it would help me a lot in my design work. Thanks to the authors.

The guidelines are not difficult to understand, and you may have the pieces here and there. But this book has a broad coverage. I got this book by luck draw at SNUG. Didn't pay attention at first until I read it. Very well organized, very accurate description of the real feelings of doing a real chip. The methodology it talks about is not limited to "reuse". I suggest the auther change the title for next edition.

If mobile commerce is to take off, many issues of micropayments and antifraud need to be addressed. Hu edited this collection of papers which addresses these and other issues. These give a timely discussion about what might be the most pertinent topics facing hardware and software vendors wanting to deploy an application.

Overwhelmingly, the mobile commerce platform appears to be the cellphone, given the sheer prevalence, as compared to PDAs or mobile laptops.

The chapters on possible types of fraud attacks and what countermeasures could be implemented might be the most important sections of the book. As with other types of electronic interactions, like email and web browsing, fraud is likely to surface as a peril if mobile commerce becomes pervasive.

It used to be that buying a laptop meant you gave up a lot in terms of power and features. Now you don't give up much (if anything), and gain a lot in the process. If you're new to the laptop game, getting a copy of Anywhere Computing with Laptops - Making Mobile Easier by Harold Davis might help you exploit your new toy a bit more...

Contents:
Part 1 - Mobile Computing Quick Start: Understanding Intel Centrino Mobile Technology; Buying a Mobile Computer; Configuring Your Mobile Computer
Part 2 - Getting the Most From Your Mobile Computer: Software That Makes the Most of Mobile Computing; Taking Digital Pictures from Your Laptop; Using Your Mobile Computer As a Telephone; Let Your Laptop Entertain You - Streaming Media, Gaming, and More
Part 3 - Mobile Computing On The Road: Entering a World Without Wires; Finding Hotspots; Working with National Wi-Fi Networks
Part 4 - Your Own Wireless Network: Networking Without Wires; Buying a Wi-Fi Access Point or Router; Setting Up Your Access Point; Configuring Your Wi-Fi Network; Advanced Access Point Configuration; Adding Wi-Fi Antennas to Your Network
Part 5 - Securing Your Computer and Network: Protecting Your Mobile Wi-Fi Computer; Securing Your Wi-Fi Network
Part 6 - Appendixes: Wireless Standards; Where the Hotspots Are; Intel Centrino Mobile Technology Platform; Glossary; Index

Given the right audience, this book is pretty good. It caters to the person who is a first-time laptop buyer (or owner) and doesn't quite understand the things necessary to start connecting to the internet sans cat-5 cable or modem. Davis does a good job showing how a laptop with Intel Centrino technology and Windows XP can connect to hotspots and allow you to access the 'net anywhere. Some of the material (like gaming, streaming media, internet telephony) isn't solely the domain of laptops, but it's worth covering to let the newbie know that everything they do on their desktop machine can also be done on their laptop.

The only thing I found a little annoying after awhile was the constant reference to "Intel Centrino". He's making the assumption that you have Centrino technology, so information on wireless cards and such is pretty light. Since wi-fi is built-in with Centrino, there's not much need to cover wi-fi cards. From the perspective of focus, it's an OK decision to do so. But Centrino is pushed really hard, and I almost felt like the book should have been sent to me from Intel, not Que. The newbie might think that if it's not a Centrino processor, it's no good. In reality, it's all a matter of trade-offs. I just bought a new laptop, and I don't spend hours on the road or in planes. Therefore, battery life (a Centrino plus) isn't that important. CPU processor power is, so I got a Pentium 4 3.33 GHz. Reading this book, it'd almost appear that I made a mistake, when it's really just a matter of what's important to the user.

So... if you're a new laptop user or owner who is using Windows XP and a Centrino processor, this book was written for you. If you've been around laptops for awhile, you'll probably already know most of the material...

As cellphones become ever more popular, and computational costs continue to fall, the prospect of ASR over wireless networks is attractive. So too is the use of ASR over the Internet (VoIP). The book describes the current state of understanding of both these ideas.

A common configuration is for the speech to be captured and digitised on a client machine [eg. cellphone], and the signal then sent over a network to a server on which runs the ASR. Several speech recognition standards have arisen over the years, to quantify the digitising and the ASR effectiveness.

For the ASR, Hidden Markov Models appear to be commonly used. The efficacy is described.

Maybe the most advanced topic is speech to speech translation, via handheld devices. Seriously difficult. Not only are there the problems of ASR accuracy for the input speech, but then the well known problems of Machine Translation of that to text in another language.

good and an overall approach to the distributed computing