This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Accessories
Well, a person has to accessorize, right? It almost seems a requirement with today’s mobile devices. Probably the number-one thing that people do to augment their device is to protect it—using protective covers or cases, plastic or glass-based screen protectors, waterproofing, car mounts, and so on.
Then there’s add-on storage. You can never have enough memory, right? Adding long-term storage is usually accomplished with the addition of a microSD card (for example 32, 64, or 128 GB). It is common for people who shoot a lot of videos (or a whole lot of photos) to need more memory than the mobile device comes with when purchased. Some devices allow for add-on storage via a slide-out tray on the side of the device. Others don’t allow upgrades.
Next on the list are audio accessories. The 3.5 mm audio jack (if you have one) allows a user to connect headsets, earbuds, or small speakers. Or you can connect a 3.5 mm-to-3.5 mm cable from your phone to the auxiliary port of your car radio or your all-in-one music device—though Bluetooth is usually the easier option. When it comes to music, you can connect a mobile device to anything, such as TVs and music players, given the right cable or adapter. A person can even use a device when performing a live event. The possibilities are endless. And today’s mobile device audio ports can be programmed in such a way as to accept special credit-card readers and a host of other devices. Appliance repair persons and other workers who need to be paid onsite might make use of this technology, though that can also be accomplished in a wireless fashion.
Most of today’s devices cannot be opened by the consumer without voiding the warranty. So, replacing a battery is not as easy as it once was. To do this, a heat gun and proper shims are required. However, if not done correctly, it can defeat the IP rating (more on IP code in a bit). That’s why manufacturers require that battery replacements be done at authorized repair centers. More important when it comes to accessories are battery chargers. Smartphones and tablets can be charged with their included AC chargers or possibly with wireless chargers, where the unit is laid down directly on the charger. A user might also opt to use a “power brick,” which stores a charge for a long time. Keep in mind that these battery packs take a long time to charge up themselves.
Docking Stations and Port Replicators
A docking station expands a laptop so that it can behave more like a desktop computer. By connecting a laptop to a docking station and adding a full-size keyboard, mouse, and monitor, the user doesn’t actually touch the laptop except perhaps to turn it on. Some laptops can hot dock, meaning they can connect to a docking station while powered on. The docking station recharges the laptop’s battery, and possibly a second battery, and has connections for video, audio, networking, and expansion cards. Docking stations might even have an optical disc drive, an additional hard drive, and additional display and USB ports; it all depends on the brand and model. If all these extras aren’t necessary, a user might require only a port replicator, which is a similar device but has only ports (for example, video, sound, network, and so on). Sometimes these are just referred to as docking stations as well.
Drawing Pads, Touchpads, and Touch Pens
A mobile device’s screen is often small, and it can be difficult to manipulate with your fingers. Sometimes a mobile device is not entirely accessible to your hands, perhaps because it is being used as a desktop replacement. And so, necessity breeds invention—in this case easier manipulation in the form of drawing pads, touchpads, and touch pens.
A drawing pad is a flat tablet that allows you to use a stylus to “draw” on the screen of a mobile device. It can be used in illustration programs, slideshows, teaching utilities, and complex programs that have very tight interfaces where the tip of a stylus will work much better than your finger.
A stylus is often referred to as a touch pen or stylus pen. A touch pen can be used by itself with a mobile device to increase the accuracy of input to the screen.
A touchpad (or trackpad) is used to take the place of a laptop’s touchpad; it is much larger and easier to manipulate. It is usually connected via USB or Bluetooth.
Always check whether a mobile device’s operating system will support any of these devices before purchasing and installing them. Installing such accessories is usually very easy as they are typically either plug and play or configured within the Bluetooth properties.
We could go on for days about the accessories available for mobile devices, and we’ll discuss the concepts more later in the book, but that should be enough for the exam for now. Remember, protecting a mobile device and protecting its memory capacity are crucial. The rest of the things we have discussed enable a user to increase functionality or just plain make it more fun, but these things are usually not essential to the device performing its job. Plus, in a bring your own device (BYOD) or choose your own device (CYOD) environment, the users are often quite limited when it comes to accessorizing to prevent compatibility issues and to avoid security vulnerabilities.
Cram Quiz
Answer these questions. The answers follow the last question. If you cannot answer these questions correctly, consider reading this chapter again until you can.
1. Which type of charging connector would you find on an iPad?
A. Micro-USB
B. Lightning
C. Thunderbolt
D. IP68
2. You are required to add long-term storage to a smartphone. Which type would you most likely add?
A. DDR4
B. microSD
C. LPDDR4
D. SSD
E. SIM
3. The organization you work for allows employees to work using their own mobile devices in a BYOD manner. You have been tasked with setting up the devices so that they can “beam” information back and forth between each other. What is this known as?
A. Mobile hotspot
B. IoT
C. CYOD
D. IR
E. NFC
4. Which of the following can be useful in areas where a smartphone has cellular access but a PC (or laptop) cannot connect to the Internet?
A. Proprietary vendor-specific connector
B. Accessories
C. IP codes
D. Tethering
5. A user has asked you to provide her with a more accurate way of manipulating her smartphone screen. She is part of a mobile sales force and needs to be able to work quickly and efficiently. Which of the following is the easiest and best solution?
A. Connect an external monitor so that the images on the screen will be bigger.
B. Configure a drawing pad to work with the smartphone.
C. Set up a touch pen to access the screen directly.
D. Add an external touchpad to the device.
Cram Quiz Answers
1. B. The Lightning connector is one of Apple’s proprietary charging and synchronization connectors used by iPads and iPhones, although Apple also uses USB-C. Micro-USB is used by older Android-based mobile devices, and USB-C is more common on newer Android-based devices. Thunderbolt is a high-speed hardware interface used in desktop computers, which we will discuss more in Chapter 13. IP68 deals with ingress protection against dust and water.
2. B. You would most likely add a microSD card (if the smartphone has a slot available for add-ons or upgrading). This is the most common method for adding long-term storage. DDR4 is a type of RAM; it is not used for adding long-term memory storage. Some smartphones use LPDDR4 as their main memory, but this is part of the system on a chip (SoC) and not accessible to the typical user. An SSD is a solid-state drive, which generally means a hard drive that is installed to a PC or laptop, connected either as SATA or M.2. SSDs are too large for smartphones and tablets. A SIM is a subscriber identity module, usually represented as a small card (mini-SIM) used in smartphones that securely stores authentication information about the user and device, such as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), which we will discuss more in the following chapter.
3. E. “Beaming” the information back and forth can be accomplished in a couple of ways, primarily by using near-field communication (NFC). This can only be done if the devices are in close proximity to each other. NFC is commonly used for contactless payment systems. Another potential option would be Apple’s AirDrop, but this relies on Bluetooth (for finding devices) and Wi-Fi (for transmitting data), and of course relies on using Apple-based devices. A mobile hotspot enables a smartphone or tablet to act as an Internet gateway for other mobile devices and computers. IoT stands for the Internet of Things. The question says that employees can use their mobile devices in a BYOD manner, but CYOD is a bit different. This means that employees can choose a device to use for work purposes (most likely whichever type they are more familiar with). Whether the employees can use those devices for personal purposes usually depends on company policy. IR stands for infrared, which is not commonly found on smartphones.
4. D. Tethering can allow a desktop computer or laptop to share the mobile device’s Internet connection. Tethering functionality can be very useful in areas where a smartphone has cellular access but a PC/laptop cannot connect to the Internet. Mobile device accessories such as headsets, speakers, game pads, extra battery packs, and protective covers are useful, but they are not used to connect to the Internet. IP codes (for example, IP68) are used to classify and rate the degree of protection against dust and water.
5. C. The best option is to set up a touch pen to access the smartphone’s screen directly. A smartphone may come with a touch pen (also known as a stylus pen or simply a stylus); or it may be able to have a touch pen added later. A touch pen enables a person to input information to the screen more accurately. The other devices listed will make mobility more difficult (if not impossible). The next best answer would be an external touchpad, but it isn’t the easiest solution. If the user finds that she needs the touchpad more often, then a better, more permanent solution might be to use a tablet computer instead of a smartphone.
Chapter 3 is in the books, so to speak. Excellent work! Keep going!