Design and portability factors

The user interface for mobile phones is quite constrained relative to a PC and therefore careful design is required to provide a usable interface. In our experience in developing Java applications for mobile devices it is possible to implement a useful and reliable user interface for an application.

It is important to consider the bandwidth of GPRS communication, as well as the processing power of the device. Invariably this constrains the development of an application. The application should be developed to operate with intermittent network connection and behave in an appropriate manner. Examples of such applications are timesheet or expenses applications that contact the server periodically to synchronise the information.

Smart clients can be completely remote and may be never connected to the network, although support and diagnostics issues must be planned prior to rollout of applications to remote devices. Upgrade paths and deployment must also be considered in advance. MIDP 2.0 addresses some of these issues and allows an application to download a replacement application. Support strategies can include switched mode applications, providing important information to support teams to assist in the investigation of a problem.

A key area of mobile development is the extension of enterprise-based information out to mobile phone or PDA. This extension can provide real customer benefit, for example, the ability to view current bank/card balance information prior to a purchase, or checking that a transaction has been processed.

The advent of smart phones and PDA’s requires the IT department to consider the management and security policy of such devices. As these devices have the capability of connecting directly to the outside world, thus bypassing a number of security measures that would be in place within the corporate network. There is the potential to connect directly to the corporate network and bypass the corporate firewall. Anti-virus solutions are already available for these types of devices.

Some devices have built in support for remote configuration management, for example, the Blackberry. This enables the IT department to maintain a close control on all devices within the organisation.