Presence information

• Presence information. The majority of the value of IM over
simple SMS lies in the ability to utilize presence information.
Presence information is simply the ability to know who is
“present” and able to chat and who is not “present” and
therefore not available. Availability is key to making instant
messaging “instant.” The “instant” comes largely from being
able to identify who is available to chat and not waste time in
sending messages to those who are not.
Have you ever sent or received an email that required
action right away? Getting a time-sensitive message such as
“We are going to go get lunch, do you want to join us?” offers
both sender and receiver little value if the message is not
received, and replied to or acted on, in short order.
Although, IM is currently only used for text messaging it
will evolve beyond text very quickly. Text is a form of data.

Future networks will be able to handle higher amounts of
data, enough to allow voice calls over data channels as well
as other media types—pictures, video, audio files, and more.
End users will rely on presence data to control and filter
whom they attempt to contact and who is able to contact
them based on stated availability and user-controlled profiles.
Users will be able to tell the IM system they are available but
also further define availability in any number of ways—available
for work-related contacts only or only available after 5
p.m. for chats about happy-hour plans. This ability to control
and alter a user’s profile limits incoming messages to those
that the user deems currently relevant and useful.
Imagine using presence info the next time you want to call
someone. Often you wouldn’t bother calling if you knew they
weren’t available; you would simply call later or perhaps
choose to call someone else.

You know that those who call you or send you messages
aren’t all your friends or family—businesses such as retailers
are eager to reach out and contact you. Technologies such as
Bluetooth will allow businesses to send information to your
phone as you pass near their location. This initially sounds
good if you want this info but a real inconvenience if you
don’t. What if you could control what you receive? Imagine a
profile that you set up to allow info from restaurants—
menus, specials, seating availability—on a Friday night as you
are walking around looking for a place to eat.
This could be useful. The profile would block messages
from stores and other businesses that you aren’t currently
interested in. This could be reversed the next morning when
you are in shopping mode and could care less about finding
a place to eat. The ability to receive information and begin a
text or voice discussion with businesses you choose is valuable
to both parties.

You benefit by getting access to useful data when and how
you choose with complete control over the filtering process.
Companies benefit by knowing who is truly interested and
not offending uninterested consumers with unsolicited
offers. Presence information is an important tool for
location-based services and other messaging services that value
the ability to target who is available and potentially interested
in the message. 148

A continuous user interface

• A continuous user interface. Text messaging with SMS can be
very useful for sending short messages back and forth but the
effort required to open and close the application when sending
more than one or two messages to the same recipient in
a short time can be cumbersome. One way to improve the
SMS process is via a continuous user interface that can save
keystrokes and provide a better user experience. This simply
means that the screen scrolls the text as the two users send
each other messages. This eliminates the need to repeat the
process of opening, closing, and addressing messages to the
same person for the duration of the text discussion.

Interconnection to other online devices

• Interconnection to other online devices. American wireless
users are only now starting to use phones that are capable of
two-way text messaging. One problem is that there won’t be
many other users to exchange text messages with until more
users have a newer SMS-capable phone. Connecting online
PC applications to wireless systems gives the wireless text
users an existing embedded base of PC-based IM users with
which to trade two-way text messages.

IM allows the wireless user to send and receive text messages
to any person logged into the IM system with either a
wireless device or PC. The online population of global IM
users is about 130 million, which increases the size and value
of the network.
Wireless IM requires the user to have the ability to connect
to an IM system. This connection can occur over a number
of different transports such as SMS, circuit-switched data, or
packet-based connections. Some of these methods require
the carrier to have or connect to an IM system that routes
messages between PCs and wireless devices and provides
presence information to users.

INSTANT MESSAGING

Instant messaging (IM) is a very popular fixed Internet application
that allows users to identify who is available for the purpose
of exchanging text messages. IM is different from email or
SMS in that users are able to see “presence” information.

MOBILE ELECTRONIC MAIL

Electronic mail (email) is the transferring of information messages
via an electronic communications system. Initial versions
of email could send short text messages of 1 to 3 pages. Email
technology has evolved (standardized) to allow file attachments,
and new versions of email (such as those using Flash
technology) send animation or video clips as email messages.
Email messaging is probably the best single reason for users
to get connected to the Internet. There were over 400 million
email account users in 1998, and the number of email
accounts is expected to top 1 billion by the end of 2000.
Email messaging has been the leading application (“killer
application”) among online users age 18 and younger. Email is
used by greater than 40 percent of online children under age
13, and almost 60 percent of online children between ages 13
and 18. A large proportion of older children spend their time
online communicating with others via instant messaging.
Wireless email will grow quickly as society adapts to email as
a more vital lifeline of communications, and especially as people
begin to appreciate the convenience and freedom of being
able to connect from anywhere. Additionally, as the wireless
email landscape matures, advanced capabilities such as voiceenabled
text-to-speech, real-time synchronization with desktop
and calendar, intelligent filtering, and security will make wireless
email services a “need to have” rather than “want to have.”