Microsoft

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Microsofts SmartphoneandFuture Trends in
Handheld Computing

• Sandeep Sibal
• Technologist
• ltsandeep_at_sibal.comgt

May 21, 2003Planet PDASheraton Ferncroft
ResortDanvers, Massachusetts
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Agenda

• Microsofts Smartphone
• Why build a Smartphone?
• Smartphone as PPC successor
• Smartphone Platform
• Smartphone UI
• Applications
• Using Web Services
• Smartphone Deployments
• Obstacles to Dominance

• Future Handheld Trends
• The Magic Wand?
• Limitations
• User Interfaces
• Personalization
• New Technologies
• Emerging Architectures
• New Products and Services
• Concluding Thoughts

Disclaimer This presentation does not reflect
Microsoft or any other companys views.
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MicrosoftsSmartphone
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Why build a Smartphone?

• Maturity in Microsofts core desktop market
  (Windows, Office, ..)
• Continue Microsofts growth onto new mainstream
  devices
• Set-top boxes (Ultimate TV)
• Internet Access (MSN)
• PDAs (Win CE)
• Video game consoles (Xbox)
• Tablets (Windows for Tablet PC)
• Mobile phones (over a billion phones with
  improving data capabilities)
• Establish platform leadership (as on the
  desktop w/ Wintel)
• Commoditize the mobile handset refocus on
  software
• Drive revenues across other businesses (.NET Web
  Services and other server-side software)

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Smartphone as PocketPC (phone ed.) successor

1. Consumer focus - not just for mobile
   professionals
2. Phone first, PDA second
3. Much smaller form factor
4. One-handed navigation with keypad and joystick
5. No touch screen or stylus
6. Lacks Pocket Word/Excel etc.
7. Emphasis on voice and data communication

Available later this yearSmartphone 2003
(powered by WinCE 4.2) has .NET Compact Framework
shipping in ROM Bluetooth and support for a
built-in camera.
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Smartphone Platform
Many familiar Win32 APIs reused Winsock, TAPI
etc.Desktop and PocketPC apps can run on the
Smartphone with modificationsApps written for
GSM networks may be re-run on CDMA networks
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Smartphone UI

• System Font
• 11pt bold Nina
• Title Bar
• Top 20 pixels
• Menu Bar
• Bottom 20 pixels
• Dynamically changes based on state
• Soft Key Menu
• Press to display menu
• Press to close menu
• Message Box
• Information or Confirmation
• Dialog Box
• various controls..

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Applications

• Unified Inbox (email, voicemail, SMS, ..)
• Contacts (address and phone book)
• Calendar
• Tasks
• Pocket Internet Explorer (HTML, WML, ..)
• MSN Messenger (Instant Messaging)
• Windows Media Player
• ActiveSync
• USB cable
• Over The Air
• Games
• Solitaire, ..
• Smartdial (Telephony)
• Numerous 3rd party applications available

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Using Web Services

• Very similar to building apps on Win32 or WinCE
  except that .NET (Compact) Framework
  functionality is missing. Since a SOAP Toolkit is
  unavailable, the following classes need to be
  built
• SOAP writer for sending SOAP packets
• SOAP connector using the WinInet API (HTTP)
• SOAP reader for reading SOAP packets
• Example architecture of a Map Mobile Web services

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Smartphone Deployments

• Operators and countries
• Orange (UK, France, ..and other European
  countries)
• Smart (Philippines)
• ATT (USA) 2003?
• T-Mobile (Germany) 2003? shelved for now??
• Eurotel (Czech Republic) 2003?
• CECT (Taiwan) 2003?
• O2 (Hong Kong) 2003?
• China Unicom (China) 2004?

Europe Handheld 1Q 2003 Mkt PDA (WinCE) 320
K Smartphone (Win CE) 60 K Smartphones
(all) 860 K Palm 285 K
Europe Handheld 2003 Mkt Est. PDAs
2.8million Symbian/Smartphone 3.3 million
the list of operators is possibly
incomplete this category includes Symbian
handhelds
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Some obstacles to the dominance ofMicrosofts
Smartphone

• Short to mid term
• Software bugs
• Application signing requirement
• Expensive logo certification
• Lack of a Bluetooth API
• Lack of a Camera API
• .NET CF not available on Smartphone 2002
• .Net CF apps needsVisual Studio .NET ()
• Battery life

• Mid to long term
• PC design (personalization,..)
• From a horizontal to a vertical mkt?
• Concerted resistance by the growing Symbian camp
• Operators walled garden approach despite
  branding.

Widely varying analyst predictions over the next
few yearsfrom leadership to annihilation!
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Future TrendsinHandheld Computing
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The Magic Wand
Cross-functional value of integrating
functionality is significant.Market for PDAs is
stagnant, but for telephony-enabled smartphones
is rising!
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Some Fundamental Limitations

• User mobility
• Importance of non-visual data input and output
  while moving e.g., speech interface
• Occasional loss of wireless connectivity
• Form factor Maximum size
• Hand-held
• Ease of Portability
• Form factor Minimum size
• Eyesight (screen)Projection screens only if
  immobile
• Tactile data inputCanesta-type data input only
  if immobile
• These fundamental limitations bound what will be
  possible in the future on handhelds

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User Interfaces

• Ergonomic physical design is critical not a
  shrunk computer!
• Optimized for use (e.g., n-gage)
• Multiple modes of interaction flexible data
  input and output depending on user situation,
  task, or connectivity
• GUI
• Speech
• Gesture
• Handwriting
• Gaze?

See the W3C Multimodal Interaction Working Group
for efforts to standardize such interfaces. Also
see Kirusas website for demonstrations of
multimodal interfaces on various handhelds.
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Personalization

• Unlike a computer, you wear your handheld all
  the time. It is a personal statement of who you
  are. Its look and feel are therefore very
  critical.
• Some aspects are
• Faceplates
• Fashion phones (e.g., Matrix phone)
• Polyphonic Ring-tones
• Skins
• Background images
• Screen savers
• Multiple profiles (indoor, outdoor, meeting, ..)
• Flashing lights
• Customized Vibrations?

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New Technologies

• Moores law and the maturation of existing and
  future scientific discoveries inventions will
  substantially improve the handhelds capabilities
  with respect to
• CPU Memory
• Screen displays (OLED, E-ink microcapsules, ..)
• Cameras (2Megapixel cameras lt 200)
• Microphones (minimize background noise)
• Speech recognition and synthesis
• Gesture and handwriting recognition
• Location based technologies
• Sensors (pressure, temperature, chemical,
  biological,..)
• Personal (health and fitness)
• Battery life (also liquid fuel, and nuclear!)
• Bandwidth (EDGE, EVDO, lower cost Wi-Fi!)
• Audio/Video and other real-time streaming
  capabilities (VoIP, HDTV, ..)
• 2D and 3D rendering (especially for games)
• Security (biometrics, crypto..)
• Increased cross-connectivity across various
  functionalities

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Emerging Architectures

• Coupling of hardware-centric functional modules
• Fused into the handheld (e.g., Camera-phones)
• Expansion slots (e.g., CF slots)
• Personal Area Network (e.g., Bluetooth). See
  IXIs PMG.
• Promiscuous binding with surrounding capabilities
  (Project Oxygen)
• How will these architectures evolve?

• Location of Computation
• Embedded (computed locally in the handheld). Can
  operate in disconnected mode. Limited by CPU,
  memory, battery power.
• Network (computed in network). More compute
  resources but limited by connectivity, bandwidth
  latency.
• Distributed. Part-embedded, part-network based.
  (e.g., Distributed Speech recognition)
• How will these architectures evolve?

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New Products and Services

• Numerous new products (Nokia, Sony-Ericsson,
  Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Fujitsu-Siemens, HTC,
  Compal, Panasonic, Hitachi, NEC, Toshiba,
  Audiovox, Sendo, Danger, RIM, HP-Compaq, Palm,
  Handspring, ..) - with a multitude of designs and
  features.
• Innumerable companies working on novel
  applications and services.
• Difficult to predict new innovations and their
  success in the marketplace.
• Sources of innovation
• Researchers tinkering with new technologies
  (e.g., Transistor)
• User Need (e.g., Tim Berners Lee and the World
  Wide Web)
• Repurposing existing technologies (e.g., GPS for
  LBS)
• Services arising from new market segments (e.g,
  oddball digital merchandise Pokemon characters)
• Innovations arising from unusual situations
  (e.g., Rollerboards due to the California
  drought)
• Some major near-term emerging services
• Location based services (Sprints E-911 A-GPS,
  ATT Find Friends, Motorolas ViaMOTO, ..)
• Rich-media messaging and conferencing (Multimedia
  messaging, Video clips,..). Bandwidth currently
  limiting adoption.
• Enterprise applications such as CRM, SFA and FFA
  may well drive some of the newer (and often more
  expensive) services before they are readied for
  the mass market.

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Concluding Thoughts

• Handhelds are becoming a multi-purpose magic
  wand.
• Handheld functionality will continue to improve
  substantially within the limitations of form
  factor and mobility
• User interfaces and personalization are critical
  for success in the marketplace
• Handheld computing will benefit substantially
  from new technologies and Moores law.
• Multiple architectures will compete and co-exist
  in the coming years.
• New products and services will arise from
  unexpected places

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Thank You

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