Databases for Mobile Applications

Owing to the rapid development of mobile technology over the past few decades, there have been many different kinds of mobile devices emerging in the market, and most of them work with databases seamlessly. Mobile phone gaming, downloading of ringtones, and e-calendaring are some of the prominent examples of mobile applications that require the close integration of mobile devices with databases. Mobile devices take various forms and configurations. The packaging, form factors, hardware platforms, operating system support, and functional capabilities vary across these devices. There are, however, many common attributes shared by the devices, such as notebook computers, pen-based computers, handheld computers, and the like, all of which are used in mobile computing. These devices can be categorized into the following categories according to their functionalities and features, as detailed in Dhawan (1997). They are: • notebook computers • personal digital assistants • tablet computers • hybrid mobile devices • mobile phones In this article, we focus on personal digital assistants (PDA) and mobile phones as they are the most popular and commonly used mobile devices in the industry.