Customer Reviews

GPRS and 3G Wireless Applications: Professional Developer's Guide

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Generally a good overview of technologies available to wireless developers today, including WAP, Bluetooth, GPRS and 3G. As other reviewers have stated, the scope of the book is rather broad, so there is surface coverage of lots of issues.

However, there is a hidden gem in this book, Chapter 8. This chapter delves into the theory of wireless application development and presents some good foundational strategy for dealing with packet loss, discontinuous service, security holes, and so on. It also provides a good overview of the proper use of caching, compression, and reducing overhead. There is a discussion on the right way to keep the user engaged through a difficult airlink connection, and that's information which is usually ignored in most texts.

Add it to your library!

Konny Zsigo, President; ...

If you're looking for a book on wireless application development from a code perspective this is the wrong book. The value of this book is it provides a solid foundation that needs to be in place before coding starts.

It begins with basic concepts of how wireless infrastructure works. Developers can safely ignore this section of the book. I liked it because it sorted out the "moving parts" as well as the technological underpinnings. It also answered a lot of questions I had regarding where standards and the industry as a whole were headed, and the strengths and weaknesses of existing technologies and why 3G is so important. As an aside, I learned one trivial fact that had been bothering me: where did the name "Bluetooth" come from? Answer: It was named after a Danish king, Harald Blatand who brought unity among different groups of people. Blatand means Bluetooth in English. Not only does the name capture the spirit of Bluetooth as a technology, but this piece of trivia might gain you "Alpha Geek" status at a seminar or convention :-)

From chapter 3 on, however, is of paramount interest to architects and developers because it gets into lower level details of GPRS, 3G and Bluetooth. The author provides all of the key characteristics of each technology from which a design and development strategy can be derived. Chapter 6 is where both developers and architects will gain information for performance aspects of their products. The author is meticulous in describing the issues and factors that will arise with protocols (the realities of TCP/IP over wireless in chapter 6 is priceless), and is supported with graphs and diagrams that a developer should carefully go over before writing a single line of code.

Because of my focus in QA and SQA I thought chapter 14 on testing was particularly strong. Again, this is something that developers need to fully understand (as well as the rest of a project team), and the information provided in this chapter fills a large gap in the testing body of knowledge.

In response to previous comments about this book: (1) Although the content on the CD ROM is out of date, the author's web site contains up-to-date artifacts and URLs. (2) I contacted the author directly (contact information is provided in the book) about the missing test documents cited on the cover of the book and found out that last minute copyright issues prevented their inclusion on the CD ROM. He sent me to where these documents could be obtained (for free) and they were well worth the effort. (3) The book is anything but basic - it gets into some low-level details such as timing and state diagrams that are essential for *properly* developing wireless applications.

The author has a talent for packing an incredible amount of information into a paragraph and still holding your interest. He also comes across as authoritative and manages to cover a wide spectrum of issues and facts without compromising on details needed by developers and architects (or anyone who wants to update their knowledge on the latest wireless technologies).

Andersson states that the book is "ideal for those who know a bit about software/Web development and who want to get into the wireless field." As a member of that group, I found the book to be exactly what I needed: a comprehensive guide into the vast and technical world of GPRS and 3G. The chapters are far reaching in breadth and depth so that the reader walks away with a solid understanding and technical base, as well as clarity into the GPRS and 3G technology arena from an application development and deployment perspective. The three sections are divided up so that the reader is led step by step through the history, applications, relationships, and components of GPRS and 3G. In addition, all the wireless industry lingo and acronyms were very clearly defined, which not only helped me in my reading, but also makes this a great future reference guide. Overall, this book delivered much more than it promised and exceeded expectations presented by previous authors on this topic.

Let me confess, the author's being an Ericsson member (me, too :) further helped me to add this book to my library.
I found this book an average book that is nothing but a good collection of information which you can find through internet.
I expected the author to tell me from how to define effective user interfaces to how to combine servers, which directions to take about future apllications (positioning services, notification, charging etc.)
I expected good examples from the industry, since the author was a practician, but I didn't find any concrete example from the real world that can really change the way I develop a WAP application (if I develop one).
I didn't find these...
Another reason for me to buy it was the CD-ROM. I thought it would be a good idea to have a collection of tools compiled in one CD for me. Let me tell you before you get frustrated like me. The whole 650 MB capacity CD contain the Nokia WAP Toolkit (an old version), and a WAP Toolkit of Ericsson plus Ericsson R380 emulator and that's it! No editors, no GPRS simulators. I still can not understand why did they stick such a content-less CD at the back of the book.
Good luck...

I started this book with the yearning to know about all of these technologies: Bluetooth, 3G, GPRS, UMTS, CDPD, HSCSD, Location-based services, and TDMA/CDMA/etc. I really have a decent understanding after this reading this book.

It gets to the details of how handoffs between GPRS base stations and stuff like that. Things you might not need to know, but its the details that get you places. I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to know about the general gamut of wireless technologies.

Great overview of the cellular system, GPRS, 3G, etc. From a high-level the book accomplishes its goals. If you are trying to come up to speed on creating applications for a packet-switched wireless network, this is a good introduction to the various issues involved with creating new mobile applications and porting desktop-based applications to be mobile. However, if you are expecting annotated code listings or techniques you will be disappointed.

As mobile internet becomes increasingly rampant and soon to be a household word, it's vital for the individuals who are on the design and sales forefront to educate themselves on this evolving technology. I recommend for all of our sales and marketing staff to familiarize themselves with Andersson's Professional Developer's Guide. Andersson's book can assist even the novice wireless hopeful with fundamental terms and concepts vital to surviving in this era of cutting edge wireless technology.

A superb book that explains what the mobile Internet really is all about in a very straightforward way. Mr. Andersson's book has been extremely valuable for me explaining the technologies behind the companies I meet in my work as an equity research analyst.

I recommend the book to anyone that wants to understand both the opportunities and the risks associated with mobile Internet applications development.

The table of contents looks very impressive, with wide coverage and lots of fancy looking terms and acronyms, but the book contents are quite disappointing, lack of depth. Good for someone who wants to know the terms. Not helpful for developers and industry professionals.

Nice coverage of the basics of wireless communications, and trends in the market and technology domains. The CD ROM contains some useful tools, but was missing the testing templates promised on the back cover of the book. Since I work in SQA this oversight makes the book a major disappointment. If you want to quickly immerse yourself in the technology, this is a good place to start. If you are looking for meatier details, this book is not particularly valuable.