A whole new thinking is needed for mobile computing. We call this the Mobile Computing Environment. This encompasses a deep understanding of requirements for the mobile user and the specific mechanisms required to effectively supply services (a combination of applications and resources pertaining to those applications) to a broad variety of mobile devices. This chapter provides an overview of this emerging field, together with an outline of Appear's solution for this new environment.

Introduction

As high-performance computing in small form factor devices arrives, a shift from traditional browser-based interfaces to a combination with full self-contained services has become increasingly evident. These same mobile devices are standardized and inexpensive, creating whole new opportunities to cost-effectively computerize groups of mobile workers.

These services offer superior interactivity, work both online and offline and utilize the onboard processing power to execute locally, saving both bandwidth and precious battery life. To support these services, new powerful distribution mechanisms are needed to allow for automatic installation, filtering and execution over wireless networks - a service profiling and provisioning scheme that makes discovery, download and installation as natural as sending an email. These distribution mechanisms need to take into account several dimensions of the user's context (i.e., the information that describes the situation of a person or entity such as its location, time, profile, available bandwidth, language, and device type), when determining which services, data or content a user requires.