Are cellphones the PC of the future?

Now that cellphones can download and run applications, the mobile phone could in future take on much of the PC`s functionality, says Exact Mobile director, Gavin Penkin.

Using an adapted form of Java, Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), designed for smaller computing devices, cellphones are able to download, via a Wireless Application Protocol gateway, Java applications (commonly called midlets) that can run on the cellphone.

Penkin says this is a key development in the progression of cellphones because it gives users more control. "In the past, the user could not add to the number of applications that the cellphone`s operating system could run. One was limited to what was placed on the phone by the manufacturer. However, the cellphone has taken a leap towards being like the desktop with the user now being able to add to the number of applications that can run on the phone`s operating system.

"Just like one`s desktop would run an operating system - Windows, Linux and so on - to which applications (like word processors and e-mail) are added by the user to perform a function, so applications can now be added to a cellphone`s operating system by the user to perform a function," Penkin says.

Microsoft SA communications industry manager Cyril Belikoff says this development is indicative of the convergence of communications and computing devices.

"From mobile phones to PDAs to PCs, we are seeing convergence of technology. SIM cards are being added to laptops, allowing them to access networks over GPRS; PDAs are running Windows and cellphones are able to download applications.

"The result is a device like the smartphone which incorporates elements of the PC, the PDA and the mobile phone," Belikoff says.

Workgroup director Dave Lello says cellphones can already be equipped with the processing power and storage space needed to run PC applications. "Its not about size. PCs are being made today that have a box barely bigger than that of a cellphone.

"Most cellphones just don`t have an operating system with the functionality of Windows or Linux to be able to run the applications that a desktop does. On top of that, they don`t have a user interface that works practically on the smaller screen."

He says Nokia has created an important device in the future of cellphones, the 9210, which has two interfaces: a cellphone interface with a keypad and a PC-type interface which can be accessed when the phone is open.

Mobi Wireless MD Gary Cousins says that while operating systems like Symbian provide greater functionality, allowing the cellphone to run desktop-type applications, it comes at a high price.

"It`s going to take time for operating systems like Symbian, which run on the more expensive cellphones, to filter down to the lower level phones. There also needs to be more open standards for the various cellphones. Each phone model has varied its implementation of the J2ME specification and users generally need to download midlets for specific phone models. This is particularly true of the Java games market."

He says the type and number of applications written for cellphones will be restricted until there are more open standard operating systems.

Cousins says most users haven`t made the mental jump to the fact that cellphones can now download an application.

Penkin says it`s a problem Exact Mobile encounters on a daily basis. "So many of the people who phone our call centre asking for help with their cellphones have no idea how to set up their phone or use it to its full potential. The networks and handset manufacturers need to do more to educate the market about what their phones are capable of."

Cousins says that as users` know-how increases, more applications will be developed that can aid the consumer.

Lello says the cellphone`s small screen is hampering its ability to take on the PDA and desktop.

"I think Bluetooth could be the key to the future. Your cellphone will be an all-inclusive device that will communicate with a terminal consisting of a screen and keyboard. Then whether at work, home, the airport or wherever, one will be able to sit down at a terminal with your multipurpose device and work."

There is also the issue of the cost of owning and using such a device, he says.

"Is the traditional market, those with PCs and laptops, going to convert to using such a device and are the people who don`t use desktops going to be drawn into using a multi-purpose device? On top of that, is the cost of working permanently on a mobile device through a cellular network going to be cost-effective?"

"The Internet, software and an operating system combined for an incredible revolution in the desktop market. Add those same factors to people`s desire for mobility and one realises we are on the crest of a similar revolution for the mobile and wireless market," says Cousins.