Useful applications behind demand for 3G

Useful applications behind demand for 3G

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

Let's face it, for most of us, SMS and mobile voice communication
is enough but some companies face the demands of adopting new
technology, especially the expense, in their quest to be the
forerunners of new expertise.

The Third Generation (3G) technology for mobile
communications, represents different things to different people.
Technology can not be maximized if the usefulness of its
applications is not fully comprehended.

Japan has been the breeding ground of 3G technologies. The
Japanese are among the heaviest users of mobile communication
devices worldwide and have a very good communications
infrastructure. Many Japanese spend hours in the train every day
but their favorite en route pastime has begun to cause concern
among observers. The passengers have stopped reading books and
started texting -- a new term for sending and receiving SMS
messages -- and playing games on their cell phones.

While in Tokyo two weeks ago, I had the chance to visit the
headquarters of two companies with services that rely on 3G
technologies. One was a safety and security company, and the
other was a company that offered location-based services (LBSs)

Mom, I'm here

What do you do when a family member wanders distressed around
the Tokyo streets and you don't know how to find her? What do you
do if it is getting dark and your child is not home from school
yet? How do you locate the whereabouts of your missing pet?

Since 2001, a Japanese company called SECOM Co. Ltd. has
offered a range of services within Japan involving a small
tracking device, no larger than a cell phone. If a child has the
terminal attached to their belt and happens to catch the wrong
train after school, their parents can call the company or go to
the company's Web site and submit a "query." Within moments the
company can notify them of the exact location of their child.
Incidentally, in Japanese "Coco" means "I'm here", and the
company has called the service "CoCo SECOM".

The service utilizes Qualcomm's MSM3000 integrated circuit and
software system, incorporating the company's gpsOne position
location solution with sophisticated SnapTrack technology. MSM in
stands for Mobile Station Modem.

The terminal can also be planted inside a car and if it gets
stolen can be easily located. Even when the car is being driven,
the company can decipher the speed and general direction of the
vehicle and where it is heading. The company may also be able to
contact the police so that the car can be recovered before it is
stripped down.

SECOM officials tell the story of how a bag containing
valuables was stolen on the train. Luckily the owner had attached
a terminal to the bag. The bag was recovered along with its
contents.

Of course, these models of justice rely on the assumption that
the child does not leave the terminal in his locker, or the thief
isn't smart enough to find it hidden in the car. Clearly, the
device is not 100 percent guaranteed protection but it is much
better than nothing.

One of the major strength of the gpsOne, as this column
mentioned last year, is that the system relies on information
gathered from base stations in addition to data from GPS (Global
Positioning System) satellites. This enables SECOM, for example,
to find the target of its search within very narrow margins.

* Do you know where you're going to?

Another sought after application is the navigation service
offered by a company called Navitime Japan Co., Ltd. Users of the
service can receive directions (how to get from Point A to Point
B) from their cell phones. Doesn't sound so special?

Consider that, in order to enable a quick download of maps,
the maps must be vector-based rather than bitmap-based. This can
be compared to the difference between creating a drawing using
Photoshop and using Illustrator, or between using CorelPHOTOPaint
and CorelDRAW applications.

A bitmap image is much larger in size and cannot be displayed
quickly. A 64 KB file in the JPG format would transfer the same
amount of information as a file of less than 2 KB in the vector-
based format (V-format) and the vector-based image can be
modified much faster.

In Jakarta, where drivers toot their horns faster than a
Shinkansen bullet train, there is no time to wait for map images
to download.

Navitime uses vector-based images whereas other services use
bitmap images. Another benefit of a vector-based image is that
the image can be zoomed in on without losing clarity, it can also
be rotated. Navitime uses BREW, the programming platform that
Qualcomm has developed for mobile applications.

There are more user-friendly applications on the horizon:
Imagine a cell phone that tells you how to get to the nearest
train station -- turn left to find the ticket vending machine,
turn right to enter the gate, go down three levels, step into the
train on the left -- When you are about to arrive at the right
stop, the phone tells you to -- get ready, step out of the train,
go upstairs, take the right exit, turn left and continue until
you get to the Italian restaurant (where you have agreed to meet
your friends). You will certainly say, "Haik, arigato gozaimas"
(thank you).

The 3G technologies, especially the CDMA2000 1X EV-DO, have a
high-speed data capability. However, Wireless LAN (WLAN) also
offers high speed internet access and the technology is cheaper.

The market is ready for innovative, highly useful services
based on 3G technology. CoCo SECOM and Navitime are just the
start, new services will quickly be available that we, the
creative and innovative people of Indonesia, should not miss.