Mobile cloud applications

Abstract

The use of smartphones and tablets is set to surpass the use of PCs for Internet access, media experiences, and social networking. Recognizing the growing "bring your own device" trend, enterprises are increasingly embracing the use of multi-platform mobile devices. And for millions of users in many parts of the world, mobile devices are emerging as the primary means to participate in an increasingly online and digital world. The above trends have given rise to, and been facilitated by, the development and adoption of mobile applications, which leverage the unique capabilities of the mobile device including its location awareness and the numerous on-device sensors. However, mobile applications can also be limited by the processing and battery capabilities of mobile devices, which despite recent progress, shows a widening gap with the growing computing/power requirements of emerging Internet multimedia applications. The use of cloud computing can help bridge this gap, providing mobile applications the capabilities of cloud servers and storage together with the benefits of mobile devices and mobile connectivity, enabling a new class of media rich mobile cloud applications, with the additional benefit of true ubiquitous access from any device, anywhere.