COMPUTER SCIENCE CASE STUDY: SMARTPHONES PAST PAPERS... · • multi-touch . Touch screen ... The communications industry has found it convenient to refer to major advances in mobile

14 pages

M&N12&13/5/COMSC/BP2/ENG/TZ0/XX/CS

For use in May 2012, November 2012, May 2013 and November 2013

COMPUTER SCIENCECASE STUDY: SMARTPHONES

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Case study booklet required for higher level paper 2 and standard level paper 2 computer science examinations.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

–2– M&N12&13/5/COMSC/BP2/ENG/TZ0/XX/CS

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Convergence of Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Other Communication Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Touch screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Generations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

SmartphoneApplications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Effects on Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Welcome to theFuture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

appendix i – abbreviations used in the case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

appendix ii – additional terminology to the guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

appendix iii – Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

The IB respects the principles of intellectual property and makes strenuous efforts to identify and obtain permission before publication from rights holders of all copyright material it uses. It is grateful for permissions received for material used in this publication and will be pleased to correct any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.

–3–

Turn over


IntroductionThiscasestudyisintendedtoactasastarting point for investigatinganumberoftopicsrelatedtotheuseofmobiledevices .Theseinclude:

• thetechnologyunderpinningmobiledevices• theapplicationandevolutionofmobiledevicesinsociety• socialandethicalissues,suchassecurityandprivacy,relatingtotheuseofmobiledevices• independentresearchlinkedtotheadditionalterminologyinthiscasestudy .

Mobiledeviceshavebecomeessentialrequirementsforpeoplelivinginthemodernworld .Whetheritbeforbusinessmenandwomenkeepingtrackofappointmentsorforworkingonthemove,teenagerskeepingin(almostpermanent)touchwithfriendsorrelaxingtomusic,orsimplyasamust-havefashionaccessory,themobiledeviceinitsvariousformshasbecomeaprominentsymboloftoday’sworld .Itisadvancesin technologycoupledwithour insatiabledesire forcommunication thathasdriven theevolution fromtheearlydaysofthepalmtopcomputertotoday’ssmartphoneand,nodoubt,tomorecomplexformsinthefuture .

Convergence of Technologies

Mobile PhoneMp3/4 PlayerDigital Camera

Web Browser

E-mail Client

PIM

What next?Palm-TopComputer

Direct linkswith socialnetworks

WirelessCredit Card

Smartphone


Fundamentals

Memory

Mobile devices have the followingtypesofmemorybuiltin:

• ROM(firmware)• CacheMemory• RAM• FlashMemory .

Additional memory is also providedfor some devices through the use ofmemorycards .

Operating Systems

Incomparison to thedominance thatMicrosoftexperienceswithcomputeroperating systems (OS), there is nosuchdominancewithmobiledevices,as illustrated by the accompanyinggraph,whichshowstheshareofsalesinAugust2010 .ThemostpopularOSisSymbian,which isanopen-sourcedevelopment .

Processor

The vastmajority ofmobile deviceshave processors based on the ARMfamily of 32-bit RISC architecture .One of the principle features ofthis architecture is very low powerconsumption . It was estimated that90%ofallmobilephonesoperatingin2010wouldincorporatethisdesign .1

[Source:www .allaboutsymbian .com/features/item/Keeping_It_Clean .php]

41.2 %

5.0 %14.2 %

18.2 %1.8 %2.4 %

17.2 %

RIM

Apple

Symbian

Windows Mobile

Android

Linux

Other

[Source:adaptedfromwww .gartner .com/it/page .jsp?id=1421013]

1 www .reuters .com/article/idUKTRE6111TA20100202

–5–

Turn over


CommunicationMobiledevicesrelyontheirabilitytocommunicatebothwitheachotherandwithfixeddevicessuchaspersonalcomputers .Attimesthiscommunicationisdirect,butatothertimesamobilephone(cellphone)network is used . There are variousmethods of communication, eachwith its own protocol, and eachprovidingcertainadvantagesanddisadvantageswhencomparedwithoneanother .

Bluetooth2

A common means of communication is Bluetooth, which uses radio waves in the frequency band2 .402GHz–2 .480GHz to allowBluetooth enabled devices to automatically connect with each other .Onceaconnectionismade,datacanbetransferredineitherdirection,althoughthiswilldependuponthesecuritymodeselectedforeachdevice .Oneimportantuseforthisisthesynchronizationofdatabetweentwodevices .

Thepower consumed in communicating is very low and consequently the range is limited . However,signalscanpassthroughthewallsofabuildingasline-of-sightisnotrequired .

Whenaconnection ismadebetween twoormoredevicesapiconet (personalareanetwork) is formed .Severalpiconetscanexistwithinthesameareawithoutinterferingwitheachother .Thisisachievedbothbyfrequency hoppingandbytheuseofdeviceaddresses .

Anexampleofmultiplepiconetsisshownbelow .

m

s s

s

s s

s

s

s

s/m

m

Piconet A

Piconet C

Piconet B

• temporarynetwork

• upto8activedevices(asof2010)

• master (m) controls the piconetandtheslaves(s)

• eachBluetoothdevicecanactasbothaslaveinonepiconetandamasterinanother

[Source:http://developers .sun .com/mobility/midp/articles/bluetooth1]

The number of devices that incorporate Bluetooth has increased dramatically since its conception,asaretheusestowhichtheyareput .TheseincludetheuseofBluetoothheadsetsandBluetoothenabledGPSdevices .

2 http://electronics .howstuffworks .com/bluetooth2 .htm


Other Communication TechnologiesInadditiontoBluetooththereareothermeansofcommunicationbetweenmobiledevices,eachhavingtheirownadvantagesanddisadvantages .Theseincludethefollowing:

• Wi-Fi• MobilePhone(CellPhone)Networks• Infra-Red• USB• Ethernet• WiMAX• Firewire .

–7–

Turn over


InterfacesPeoplewillnotpayforcomplextechnologyiftheyareunabletouseit .Themeansofinteractingwiththeirmobiledevicehasbecomeasimportantafactorinbuyingitasthefunctionsthatitactuallycarriesout .Consequently,companieshavedevotedconsiderabletimeandmoneyintoresearchingwaysofprovidingeasyaccesstomultiplefunctionsonadevicesmallenoughtofitintoyourpocket .Thekeyboardandthetouchscreenhavebecomethetwomostcommoninterfaces .

KeyboardAvariety of different keyboards have been incorporated intomostmobile devices (although some aretouchscreenonly) .Manufacturershavetriedtoovercomethelimitationsofspacewithvariousdesignsortechniques,someofwhicharelistedbelow:

• detachablekeyboards• scrollwheel• thumbwheel• multi-touch .

Touch screenThetouchscreenhasplayedanimportantrolesincethedaysoftheoriginalPDAsandhasappearedinvariousincarnationseversince .

Theoriginaltouchscreensprovidedalimitednumberofoptionsbutmodernversionsprovidemulti-levelmenusandtheabilityto“scroll”throughvariousscreens .

Styluseshavebeenusedwithtouchscreenscombinedwithaformofhandwritingrecognition(Graffiti) .

TheiPhone4includesapanellaminatedon the glass which uses electricalfields to sense the user’s touch . It hasa multi-touch feature that can registersimultaneous touches . The user canbringupdifferentinformationormenusbyactionssuchasswiping,tappingandpinching . Information is displayed onthepanelusinga“Retinadisplay” .

Thisdisplaycontainsahighpixeldensity(326pixelsperinch)thatprovidesclear,sharpimages .3

3 www .apple .com/iphone/design


GenerationsThe communications industry has found it convenient to refer to major advances in mobile phonetechnologyintermsofgenerations,agenerationappearingapproximatelyevery10years .TheInternationalTelecommunicationUnion4hasattemptedtostandardizetheindustrybydetailingthefeaturesexpectedineachgeneration,someofwhicharelistedinthetablebelow .

1G 1979 • Firstgenerationdealswiththeanalogtransmissionofdata .

2G 1991 • Digitaltransmissionofdata .• SpeedintermsofKilobitspersecond .

3G 2001 • Muchfasterspeeds(intermsofMegabitspersecond) .• Goodformultimedia/videostreaming .• Datasentinpackets .• Simultaneoususeofspeechanddataservices .• New frequency bands, higher data rates and non-backwards-compatible

transmissiontechnology .• 3Gnetworksoffergreatersecuritythantheir2Gpredecessors .Byallowingthe

equipmenttoauthenticatethenetworkitisattachedto,theusercanbesurethenetworkistheintendedoneandnotanimpersonator .

4G 2011 • SpeedintermsofGigabitspersecond .• AllnetworkswillbeIPpacket-switched .

[Source:adaptedfromwww .brighthub .com/mobile/emerging-platforms/articles/30965 .aspxandhttp://asia .cnet .com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,39242481-2,00 .htm]

Newtechnologiescaneitherbeknownas:

• arevolution(notbackwards-compatiblesoanewfrequencyspectrumisneeded)• anevolution(whichcanusethesamefrequency-bands) .

4 www .itu .int

–9–

Turn over


SecuritySmartphonesareas susceptibleasnormalcomputers toattacks fromoutside sources includingviruses,phishingandsocialengineeringefforts .However,asnooneoperatingsystemdominatesthesmartphonemarket,dataismorelikelytobecompromisedbyleavingthedeviceinthebackofataxithanthroughvirusattacks .5

Symbian Skull Virus

This virus produces a flashing skull animation in thebackgroundregardlessofwhatapplicationisbeingused .6

Followingtheadvicegivenbelowwillreducethechancesofdataloss:

• encryptalldatathatasmartphonereceives• clearallcachesaftereachVPN(VirtualPrivateNetwork)session• chooseonewitha“kill”switch• passwordbeforeopeningapplicationssuchase-mail,webbrowser• keepdatapermanentlyinyourdatacentre,notonthesmartphone• somecompaniescanwipethedataoffyourstolensmartphoneremotely• onlyrunappsapprovedbythephonecompany• donotuseunsecuredWi-Finetworks(toavoid“man-in-the-middle”attacks)• donot“jail-break”yoursmartphone .7

5 http://news .cnet .com/8301-27080_3-10424759-245 .html6 http://computer .howstuffworks .com/worst-computer-viruses5 .htm7 http://news .cnet .com/8301-27080_3-10424759-245 .html


Smartphone ApplicationsThe smartphone manufacturers main target has been the general public (particularly the young)whowanttobeintouchwheneverandwherever,andbusinesspeople,manyofwhomnowseetheirphoneasindispensableinorganizingtheirworkinglives .

Howeverthesmartphoneisincreasinglyfindingitswayintospecializedmarkets,eitherbythemanufacturersthemselvescustomizingtheirunitstoaparticularprofessionorfuelledbytheapplication(apps)marketwhichallowuserstodownloadspecificsoftwaremodulesdevelopedbyindependentcompanies .

Onesuchtargetedmarket is themedicalprofession,whichisfastswappingitspagersforsmartphones .Links to referencematerial have become standard aids formany doctors, but increasingly specializedapplicationsarebecomingavailable .Onesuchapplicationnotonlyalertsthemtoemergencies(aswouldapager)butautomaticallyaccessesanddisplaysinformationfromtherelevantpatient’sfilesorlabresults .

Othersareabletolinkinwithmonitoringequipmentthatcansenddatafrom,forexample,anambulancethatisbringinginapatientorimagesfromequipmentmonitoringapregnantwomaninthehospital .

However,thereareconcernsregardingprivacyofdataanddatasecuritywithsuchapplications .

Thediagrambelowshowsasmallselectionofthedifferentusesofasmartphone .

Police

Scientists

Doctors

Educators Motorists

Personal Use General Business Use

USERS

Specialized Use

–11–

Turn over


Effects on SocietyMankind’sdevelopmenthasbeendriveninpartbysocialinstincts,thedesireforimprovingqualityoflifeandtheneedforbetterandbettercommunication .Rapidtechnologicaladvances,particularlyoverthelasttwodecades,haveledtotheabilitytobeconnected24/7 .However,opinionisdividedontheeffectthatthishashadonthequalityoflifeofusers .Considerthefollowingarticles .

Article 1

Always On: One Third of Employees Feel the Need to Stay Connected 24/7

Foralotofus,theInternethasmadeitpossibletoworkfromanywhereandconnecttoworkatanytime .Withoutadoubt,this24/7connectivityisbothablessingandacurse .Accordingtoanewsurveybyweb conferencingfirm InterCall, 30%ofworkers in theU .S .whouse technology todo their jobsfeeltheneedtostayconnectedtowork24/7,evenduringweekends,breaksandholidays .Oneintwoworkersalsosaythattakingtimeoffisbecomingincreasinglychallenging .

Clearly,thecurrenteconomicclimateisn’thelpingemployeestorelax .Almost40%ofallrespondentsnotedthattheyaredoingthejoboftwopeoplebecauseoftheimpactoftheeconomicrecessionontheir company . Today, 25% ofworkers think that their supervisors expect them to be online andconnectedtoworkafterhoursandthattheirjobsecuritydependsonthis .Almost15%ofrespondentssaythattheyplantoattendatleastonework-relatedcallorwebmeetingduringtheirnextvacationand17%saythatitisfrowneduponiftheydon’tconnecttoworkduringtheirvacations .

[Source:fromanarticlebyFredericLardinoisonthewebsitewww .readwriteweb .com,20April2010]

Article 2

My Mobile Phone

“It’srightbymybedwhenIgotosleepandrightbymybedwhenIwake-upandit’slikethefirstthingIgoto,”15-year-oldSarahMatzkintoldCNN .

“Ifsomeonerespondsrightaway,you’relikeyaytheyrespondedandifsomeonerespondstwotothreehourslateryou’relike,what’sgoingon?”8

8 http://connecttheworld .blogs .cnn .com/2010/04/20/are-you-addicted-to-your-mobile-phone


Welcome to the FutureIt would seem that today’s smartphone has everything: a combination of mobile phone, computer,web browser, camera, social networking device, amongst others, and at a size to fit in your pocket .Whatmorecouldyouwant?Yet,in10yearstime,today’s“must-have”deviceswillbeconsignedtothetrashcan,tobereplacedbenewproductsofman’singenuity,fuelledbytheknowledgethatpeoplewillcontinuallybeseducedbythe“nextbigthing” .

Nobodycanbecompletelysureofjusthowmobiledevicessuchasthesmartphonewillevolve,buteachcompany’sresearchteamswillalreadyhavetheirownideasabouthowthefuturemightunfold .

OnesuchideaisNokia’sconceptphone,Nokia Morph9,whichsuggestshownanotechnologymaybecomeinvolvedintransformingourphoneintotheultimatefashionaccessory .Whyshouldthephonelooklikeaphonewhenitcanbecomeabracelet,apendant,orbasicallyanythingelsethatlooksgood?

Nokia Morph

• flexiblematerials• transparentelectronics• self-cleaning• chargedbysolarpower• sensesourenvironment

[Source:www .nokiablog .nl]

9 www .youtube .com/watch?v=IX-gTobCJHs

–13–

Turn over


Appendix I – Abbreviations used in the case studyGHz – Gigahertz

GPS – GlobalPositioningSystem

IP – InternetProtocol

PIM – PersonalInformationManager

RISC – ReducedInstructionSetComputer

USB – UniversalSerialBus

VPN – VirtualPrivateNetwork

Appendix II – Additional terminology to the guide1G,2G,3G,4G“apps”backwards-compatibleBluetoothcells(inmobilephonenetworks)firewirefrequencyreusefrequencyhoppingGraffitihot-spotsinfra-red“kill”switch“jail-break”“man-in-the-middle”attackmulti-touchnanotechnologyopen-sourcePDAphishingpiconetscrollwheelsocialengineeringstylussynchronizationthumbwheelUSBconnectorsvideostreamingvirtualprivatenetworkWi-FiWiMAX


Appendix III – Bibliography

All about Symbian.comURL:www .allaboutsymbian .com/features/item/Keeping_It_Clean .php

AppleURL:www .apple .com

ARMURL:www .arm .com

BlackberryURL:http://na .blackberry .com/eng/devices

BluetoothURL:www .bluetooth .com/English/Products/Pages/Bluetooth_Low_Energy_Technology_Advantages .aspx

Cnet newsURL:http://news .cnet .com

How Stuff WorksURL:http://electronics .howstuffworks .com/bluetooth2 .htm

Memory Breakthroughs Will Propel Smartphone DevelopmentURL:www .smartphonemag .com/cms/_archives/Sep05/memory .aspx?page=0%2C1

SmartphonesURL:www .pcworld .com/article/199243/a_brief_history_of_smartphones .html

Smartphone security lacking at many businessesURL:http://searchsecurity .techtarget .com/news/column/0,294698,sid14_gci1348589,00 .html

Smartphone security put on testURL:www .bbc .co .uk/news/technology-10912376

Symbian Ships Nearly 300,000 Devices A Day In Q2 2010.URL:www .symbian .org/news-and-media

Virus writers hit Google Android phonesURL:www .bbc .co .uk/news/technology-10928070

What really is a Third Generation (3G) Mobile TechnologyURL:www .itu .int/ITU-D/imt-2000/DocumentsIMT2000/What_really_3G .pdf