Mobile communications havepermeated the globe in both business and
social cultures. In only af ew short years, Japan aloneh ash ad more
than ten million subscribers enter the mobilem arket. Such explosive
popularity is an indication ofa strong commercial demand for
communications in both the tethered and tetherless environments.
Accompanying the vibrant growth in mobile communications is the growth
in multimedia communications, includingthe Internet. Mobile and multime
dia communications technologies are merging, making mobile computing ak
ey phrasei n the coming advanced information communication era.
Thegrowth i n these dynamic industries shows that achange in our chosen
method of commu nications is already well advanced. Reading e mail and
connecting to various information feeds have already become a part
ofdaily business activities. We are trying to grasp theo verall picture
of mobile computing. Its shape and form are just starting to appear as
personal digital assistants (PDA), handheld personal computers (HPC),
wireless data communication services, and com mercial software designed
for mobile environments. We are at the cusp of vast popularization of
"computers on the go. " "Any time Anywhere Computing" provides the
reader with an understand able explanationo ft he current developments
and commercialization of mobile computing. Thec oret ec hnologies and
applications needed to un derstand the industry are comprehensively
addressed. Thebook emphasizes three infrastruc tures: (1) wireless
communication network infrastructure, (2) terminal devices (or
"computers on the go"), and (3) software middleware and architectures
that support wireless and mobile computing.