Developing i-mode Content

• By Paul Wallace
• Oct 26, 2001

This chapter is from the book

i-Mode Developer's Guide

Hardware Considerations

When you create document for i-mode, the devices that will access your content are mobile phone handsets, smart communicators, and portable digital assistants (PDAs). You should know that there are some hardware restrictions for these devices, as compared to your desktop computer. Handsets and PDAs are getting more powerful all the time, but if we look at the state of the current crop, from the hardware point of view, the main characteristics of the target devices are the following:

• Small Memory Size

  Usually 128–512Kbytes RAM and 512K–1Mbytes ROM.

• Low Power CPU

  Generally 5–15 MIPS class CPU for embedded systems.

• Reduced Display Size

  Range from 30X50 pixels to 100X150 pixels.

• Restricted Color Display

  Range from black and white to 8- or 16-bit color.

• Limited Fonts and Text Size

  Often a single font face with limited styles and sizes.

• Restricted Input Method

Handsets include several softkey buttons for navigation and number-pad buttons (0–9, * and #) for input.