When considering the various best practices surrounding the design of Mobile Web Experiences and Architectures, such works as the W3C’s Mobile Web Application Best Practices guide, or the excellent Mobile Web Best Practices site, and of course, the seminal text, Mobile First, are likely to come to mind. The concepts and strategies presented in these works are a staple in the design of many modern Mobile Web Experiences and are without question an invaluable resource. In addition to these and other similarly related works, another new and valuable resource has been made available from a very important player in the Mobile Space indeed – an actual Wireless Carrier, AT&T.
Recently, I was contacted by a representative of the AT&T Developer Program informing me of the research conducted by the AT&T Research Labs and, the subsequent resources made available by AT&T as a result of their findings. Since I was unaware of this work, I was very interesting in learning more and, after reading the introductory statements, I was quite eager to apply AT&T’s recommendations as well; to quote specifically:
We quickly saw that a few, simple design approaches could significantly improve application responsiveness.
Having read through the material in it’s entirety (provided below) I must say I am rather impressed. The information provided has very real and practical implications on the design of Mobile Web Applications. Specifically, I found the clear and concise explanation of the underlying implementation of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol to be particularly relevant and useful. RRC is by far one of the most important design factors to consider in terms of battery life and Application responsiveness and, as the research suggests, this may not have been common knowledge.
By far, the most interesting and notable aspect of the AT&T Research Lab’s work in this area is the fact that all of the information provided is applicable in the context of all Wireless Carriers, not just AT&T. That is, the recommendations given, such as those regarding the RRC State Machine, for example, are all based on carrier-independent standards and protocols implemented by all Wireless Carriers. As such, understanding the implementation specifics and recommendations provided is certain to prove valuable for all users of your Application, regardless of their Carrier.
If you haven’t all ready, I highly recommend reading and applying the principles provided by AT&T’s research to your current and future Mobile Web Application Designs.
AT&T Research Labs: Mobile Application Resources
Build Efficient Apps
Profiling Resource Usage for Mobile Applications: A Cross-layer Approach
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