Auto-update: a concept for automatic downloading of web content to a mobile device

ABSTRACT

Internet content is increasingly available for mobile users. Mobile devices are capable of delivering not only full Web pages but also other Web content such as podcasts and RSS feeds. Today, cost, speed of data transfer, and network coverage are among the biggest remaining concerns for mobile Web users. It would be useful to have the interesting content readily available on the device when the user wants to access it. Battery and memory limitations together with the cost of data transfer require delicate content prefetching, as loading content carelessly could result in overloading of device resources and a huge phone bill. This article introduces an Auto-update concept that lets the users control the costs and the mobile device resources by means of high level profiles that hide underlying complexity from the users. We tested the usefulness of the Auto-update prototype in a smallscale field study, and the results indicate that Auto-update is especially useful for prefetching feeds.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
      C.5.3 Microcomputers
          Subjects: Portable devices (e.g., laptops, personal digital assistants)

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Management

Keywords:
context-aware computing, internet content prefetching, mobile internet