Seybold's take: Will next-gen wireless networks lead to smarter applications?

Will the advent of the next generation of wireless broadband spawn a whole new series of applications? This next generation of broadband networks, including Clearwire with its WiMAX offering, is building on an IP architecture that makes it simpler to move information across various types of networks and provides a common infrastructure that makes differences between wireless and wired more transparent. But more transparent does not mean the networks are exactly the same. There will continue to be differences between wired and wireless networks including their speeds and capacities.

I am wondering what all of the programmers will do with increased speed, increased device performance, more storage on the devices, and better screens. Always one to look back in history to see what lies ahead, I see that in the world of computers, the trend was that as memory, speed and capabilities increased, many programmers did not write code as tightly as they had before. When we were using Apple II and CPM-based machines, we had some robust word processors and spreadsheet programs that ran in 64 KB of memory and were fast and complete (WordStar and VisiCalc).

Then we had 640 KB of memory with megabytes more on hard disk storage and we saw new programs that did more, but with so much more memory and speed, code writers did not have to write what was known as "tight code." Every generation since has seen more memory, faster processors and faster connections. The best examples of the creeping code base are the operating systems we now use, including Windows 7 and Apple's OS X, which take up megabytes of disk storage and require gigabytes of memory in which to run.

I have to wonder if the same thing will happen in wireless. We should be seeing applications that are written smarter, and with tight code, to minimize the amount of information that is sent and received over the wireless networks with their limited capacity. However, trends from our past indicate that we will not be going in this direction and that applications will grow fatter and fatter (with more functionality, I am sure), and the space needed to crunch the data will be enlarged to take advantage of larger amounts of memory in our devices.

I would like to suggest that perhaps with the introduction of these new, faster wireless networks, along with the new smart devices that will make use of them, that it might be time to look at applications more on an end-to-end basis. We will have smarter networks and smarter devices, so shouldn't we have smarter applications as well?

We will certainly see more multi-tasking and increased ability to run multiple programs at once, as evidenced by the Android operating systems capabilities, and much of the content that will be moved around will consist of video and other graphics-intensive information. I don't want to be disrespectful to the programming community because I admire those who can turn concepts into working applications, but when given more speed, more memory and faster processors, there is a tendency to become a little lazy when it comes to writing tight code.

I would like to suggest to all developers who have the skills and knowledge to sit down and write applications that you write your applications to run across second-generation networks, on second-generation devices, but make them capable of running on current 3G networks and devices. When the next generation of networks is deployed over the next two to three years, your applications will scream and your customers will be happier. It may take a little extra work, but it will certainly be worth it in the long run.

While I am on my soap box, let me make my plea once again. Please, please, write applications that either do not require a browser on the mobile device or that hide the browser from the user. Yes, the iPhone has increased the number of people who use a browser, but many of the real iPhone applications or applets hide the browser with an easy-to-use interface. I am willing to bet that these types of applications are used more often than those that require invoking a browser.

So tighter code, no browser, and easy-to-use applications. If you follow these three basic principles, I think you will find that your applications are better received and that they will work across multiple generations of networks and devices. For the foreseeable future, we will be moving from next-generation to 3G and even 2G in some places, and your applications should be able to work across all of these networks without frustrating the user.

P.S. You will notice I use the term "next-generation" and not "4G." This is because Clearwire and Sprint seem to have usurped "4G" to refer to their 3G-like network even though the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) does not consider either WiMAX or LTE to be a 4G technology. In fact, I have yet to see a good description of what 4G entails.

Andrew Seybold is an authority on technology and trends shaping the world of wireless mobility. A respected analyst, consultant, commentator, author and active participant in industry trade organizations, his views have influenced strategies and shaped initiatives for telecom, mobile computing and wireless industry leaders worldwide. www.andrewseybold.com