Learn the Technology in easy ways!!

Demo with Smartphone - By G.E.Sundaralal

Learning:

"There is no end to education . It is not that you read a book, pass an examination and finish with education.The whole of our life, the moment you born to the end of life, is a process of learning." -- Jiddu Krish.

       Learning is a life long process.Normally learning rate will be high during our School and College days. We learn things by:      Learning leads to:

Methods of Learning:

"Teenagers learn best by doing things, they learn best in teams and they learn best by doing things for real-all the opposite of what mainstream schooling actually does."-- Geoff Mulgan.

  It is easy for Engineering Students to learn the things from their place without moving to Study centers, Training Centers etc. and without spending much money. We can learn Technology around us in minimum cost. Internet is very cheap now and we can use it effectively for learning the Technology.In this blog I am going to demonstrate learning the Technology in easy ways. For this, we should have intention to learn and spend some time in using the Internet.

Modern smartphone Example:

 As an example, we shall see about the Smart Phones.
Almost all of us are using the smart phones now. The modern smart phone is not only used for voice calling but also for:
  • Video calling
  • Short Messaging (SMS), Multimedia Messaging(MMS) etc.
  • Internet Browsing, Chatting , Emailing etc.
  • Software applications, Utility applications etc.
  • Smart Phone

    smartphone.

    A.Different Components Of A smartphone

    We shall be breaking down the core parts present in what’s become as one of the essential devices of today’s computing age, the smartphone. Looking inside asmartphone the different Components we see are:
    1. Display - The most obvious components of a modern smartphone is its display, and it is actually an internal component of the device. Display technologies in smartphones of today come in two main types:
      • Those based on LCDs (IPS technology and its variations)
      • Those based on LEDs (AMOLED or Super AMOLED and its variations)
      LCD vs LED:
      On an LCD-based display, there is a backlight that is shining through some polarizers, and it is shining through some filters. And by manipulating the crystal display, we can see a boatload of different colors on the other side. This means, the light is not being generated by the display itself; it is being generated by the light behind the display, and only some of it is coming to the other side. On an LED-based display, the light-emitting-diodes are doing all the magic. All the pixels that we can or cannot see are being emitted by these minuscule light-emitting-diodes (also know as LEDs and they produce red, green, and blue colors). Over here, it is the display itself that is generating the different and vibrant colors. The advantage of AMOLED or Super AMOLED displays over its IPS LCD counterparts is that when a pixel is off and we can see a black color, it is not using up any battery, which is why smartphones that feature AMOLED displays are more efficient in delivering extended periods of battery life. With an LCD display, however, if we’re seeing black, the crystal display is being manipulated so that none of the light gets through. However, the light behind the display is still being generated meaning that the smartphone will be using small bits of the battery.
    2. Battery - Most modern mobile devices use lithium-ion (sometimes called Li-ion) batteries, which consist of two main parts: a pair of electrodes and the electrolyte between them. The materials that these electrodes are made of varies (they can be lithium, graphite, or even nano wires), but they all rely on the chemistry of lithium. It's a reactive metal, which means that it has a tendency to combine with other elements. Pure lithium is so reactive, it can catch fire in the air, so most batteries use a safer form called lithium cobalt oxide. Between the two electrodes is the electrolyte, which is usually a liquid organic solvent that allows electrons to flow between them. When a lithium-ion battery is charged, the lithium cobalt oxide molecules capture and hold electrons, which they then release when the battery is in use, such as when it is running the cell phone.
    3. ‘System-on-a-chip’ or SoC - The SoC is perhaps the most important component present in a smartphone, and some might confuse it as being the processor of the device. However, it is far more than that; the SoC not only comprises up of the smart-phone’s CPU, but GPU, LTE modem, display processor, video processor, and other bits of silicon that turn it into a functional ‘system’ in a phone. While Mobile Phones are touting different SoCs from Qualcomm, MediaTek, Samsung, Huawei’s own Kirin and Apple’s own developed chipsets, they are using the same system architecture from ARM. ARM functions by not only producing their own processors and GPUs but by also licensing their design and system architecture to other companies, so they are able to use their technology to make powerful and efficient SoCs. Some companies also use architectural licenses so that they are able to make their proprietary processors for use in smartphones as long as they are compatible with ARM’s system architecture. Examples of these will be Apple’s custom-made chipsets running custom-developed Cyclone processing cores, or Qualcomm’s Kryo processors.
    4. Memory and storage - No smartphone can function without the use of RAM and memory (system storage). First, let’s talk about the RAM; most mobile devices are shipped with LPDDR3 or LPDDR4, while some high-end smartphones are shipped with LPDDR4X RAM. ‘LP’ stands for ‘Low-Power,’ and it reduces the total voltage of these chips, making them highly efficient and giving mobile phones the extended battery life. LPDDR4 is more efficient and powerful than LPDDR3, while LPDDR4X is the holy grail of RAM, resulting in unprecedented speeds and efficiency. LPDDR4X is more expensive to produce though, which is why being used only flagship smartphones. When newer generations of RAM are going to be introduced, such as LPDDR5, then we will see the flourishing of LPDDR4X memory in mid-ranged devices. As for internal storage, it exists as the flash memory, ranging from 32GB, and can go all the way up to 256GB on some phones. Naturally, as the requirements of users start to rapidly increase based on the amount of storage that they use, phone manufacturers will exponentially increase the amount of RAM present in smartphones. A phone featuring 64GB of storage will probably have between 53-55GB available for our personal use because the smart-phone’s operating system and pre-installed applications require that initial internal memory.
    5. Modems - Since smartphones are just phones at the end of the day, they need communication components to receive and send text messages and calls. That’s where modems come in, and every SoC manufacturer has their own brand of modems, and this includes Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei and several others. These manufacturers are also battling it out to release the fastest and efficient category of LTE chips, and the Cat.9 LTE modem is the fastest one. If the cellular network does not support those level of speeds, then there’s absolutely no point of having such powerful chips present in smartphones.
    6. Camera - All smartphones come with a rear-facing and front-shooting camera. A smartphone camera comprises up of three main parts: The camera is measured in terms of megapixels of image it captures and records. The primary limiting factor is the camera sensor of the phone and how sensitive it is when light passes through the lens.Each sensor behaves very differently in a different smartphone, so every single image or video that we capture will be a variation of contrast, color accuracy, saturation and several others compared to a different handset. Most camera apps have manual settings so we can capture an image or video based on our own settings.Since smartphones have small sensor sizes, they tend to perform badly in low-light areas.
    7. Sensors - There are five main sensors in a smartphone that allow it to function as a ‘touch-enabled smart device’. The names of all these sensors and their importance have been detailed below:
      • Accelerometer: Used by apps to detect the orientation of the device and its movements, as well as allow features like shaking the phone to change music.
      • Gyroscope: Works with the Accelerometer to detect the rotation of our phone, for features like tilting phone to play racing games or to watch a movie.
      • Digital Compass: Helps the phone to find the North direction, for map/navigation purposes.
      • Ambient Light Sensor: This sensor is automatically able to set the screen brightness based on the surrounding light, and helps conserve battery life. This would also explain why our smartphone’s brightness is reduced in low-light environments, so it helps to reduce the strain on our eyes.
      • Proximity Sensor: During a call, if the device is brought near our ears, it automatically locks the screen to prevent unwanted touch commands.

    B.Smartphone Technologies

       A smartphone is a handheld personal computer with a mobile operating system and an integrated mobile broadband cellular network connection for voice, SMS, and Internet data communication; most if not all smartphones also support Wi-Fi . smartphones are typically pocket-sized and are able to run a variety of software components, known as “apps”. Today, with the help of a smartphone, we can control home appliances, make films and clips, play games etc.
    1. Mobile operating system - A mobile operating system (or mobile OS) is an operating system for phones, tablets, smartwatches, or other mobile devices. A mobile OS typically starts up when a device powers on, presenting a screen with icons or tiles that present information and provide application access. Mobile operating systems also manage cellular and wireless network connectivity, as well as phone access. Examples of mobile device operating systems include Apple iOS, Google Android, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry OS, Nokia’s Symbian, Hewlett-Packard’s webOS (formerly Palm OS) and Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. Most mobile operating systems are tied to specific hardware, with little flexibility. Users can jailbreak or root some devices, however, which allows them to install another mobile OS or unlock restricted applications.
    2. Cellular network - A cellular network is a mobile network that provides services by using a large number of base stations with limited power, each covering only a limited area. This area is called a cell. The limited power makes it possible to re-use the same frequency a few cells away from the base station without causing interference. In this way a geographic large area can be covered with only a limited set of frequencies. A cellular network is a very efficient manner of using the scarce frequency resources. The size of a cell can vary according to the number of users that have to be served in a certain area and the amount of traffic per user. If there is much traffic in an area the cell size will be smaller than in rural areas.
      An overall cellular network contains a number of different elements.Some are (a) Base Transceiver station (BTS) with its antenna system, (b) Base station controller (BSC), (c)Mobile switching centre (MSC), (d) Location registers (HLR and VLR) and (e) Public switched telephone network (PSTN).
      Types of Mobile Networks are (i) Global System for Mobile (GSM), (ii)Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), (iii)Long Term Evolution -(4G/LTE) and (iv) WiMAX
    3. Wi-Fi - It is a term for certain types of wireless local area networks (WLAN) that use specifications in the IEEE 802.11 family -- for example,  Wi-Fi Direct, a peer-to-peer specification that allows devices certified for Wi-Fi Direct to exchange data without an internet connection or a wireless router. Products that pass Wi-Fi Alliance tests for interoperability, security and application-specific protocols are labeled "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED," a registered trademark of the Alliance.
    4. "Apps" - A mobile app or mobile application is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone/tablet or watch. Apps were oiginally intended for productivity assistance such as Email, calendar, and contact databases, but the public demand for apps caused rapid expansion into other areas such as mobile games, factory automation, GPS and location-based services, order-tracking, and ticket purchases, so that there are now millions of apps available. Apps are generally downloaded from application distribution platforms which are operated by the owner of the mobile operating system, such as the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store. Some apps are free, and others have a price, with the profit being split between the application's creator and the distribution platform.. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers, and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device.

    C.Technology that created today's smartphone experience

    Below are a few highlights of important steps in the evolution of the smartphone and the technologies we now often take for granted.
    1. CamerasSharp introduced the first integrated camera phone in Japan in late 2000. Samsung also introduced one at about the same time. Both were very limited in capabilities and implementation. Since then, nearly every vendor of phones has integrated ever-increasing quality cameras in their devices. In fact, Nokia even staked its brand reputation for a while on how well it could take photos with its phone and deliver quality pictures with built-in editing. Embedded cameras made the smartphone the ubiquitous go-to device for the vast majority of photos. And we’ll likely continue to see advances in camera technology going forward, such as augmented reality, virtual reality and 3D, as improving phone processor chips from key suppliers support it.
    2. GPS — Benefon launched the first commercially available GPS phone in 1999, called the Benefon Esc! The GSM phone was sold mainly in Europe, but many other GPS-enabled mobile phones would soon follow. In 2004, Qualcomm introduced “assisted GPS” technology, allowing phones to use cellular signal in combination with GPS signal to locate the user to within a few feet. This is the primary model for the current generation of smart phone GPS. And although it is often taken for granted, it provides one of the most fundamentally important features for powering all manner of apps (from Uber/Lyft, to social media, to location based services, etc.)
    3. High-speed data modems — Today we take high-speed data over 4G/LTE (and soon 5G) for granted. Indeed, without 4G/LTE, it’s highly unlikely we’d have the smartphone marketplace we currently have. The Samsung SCH-R900 was the first LTE mobile phone (September 2010), while the Samsung Galaxy Indulge was the first LTE smartphone (February 2011). The HTC ThunderBolt offered by Verizon was the second LTE smartphone. In June 2013, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 powered the the first LTE-Advanced smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A, with data speeds of up to 150 Mbps. Today, 4G/LTE is ubiquitous and speeds continue to increase, with Gigabit LTE launching this year and 5G by 2020.
    4. Seamless roaming — In the early days of cellar phones, it was difficult to move beyond our given local area, let alone make and receive calls anywhere across the globe. It was not until the European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI) released phase 1 of the GSM specification in 1990 that the early roaming standards emerged. These capabilities were improved over subsequent generations of the spec and now result in our phones’ ability to seamlessly cross network providers and geographic boundaries — a service we simply take for granted despite the significant infrastructure required in the background to make this happen.
    5. Touchscreens — The IBM Simon (1992) was the first phone with a touchscreen and is often referred to as the first “smartphone.” While groundbreaking for its time, it was extremely primitive by current standards. In the 1990s, most devices with touchscreens were more like PDAs than current phones. Apple’s original iPhone (2007) redefined the notion of what touchscreen interfaces could do. Apple did not invent the touchscreen, but it innovated the interface through advanced gesture recognition with the acquisition of FingerWorks (2005). However, a year before the iPhone was released, the LG PRADA boasted the first capacitive touchscreen. Samsung and Nokia also had touch-based mobile phones in the works, although less compelling than the iPhone user interface.
    6. SIM cards — The ubiquitous SIM card is what gives nearly every phone its unique identity to virtually any network. The first SIM card was developed in 1991 by Munich, Germany, smart-card maker Giesecke & Devrient. Today, SIM cards ubiquitously allow over 7 billion devices to connect to cellular networks worldwide. Apple was key in reducing the size of SIM cards with Micro-SIM cards introduced in the original iPad. The iPhone 4 (2010) was the first smartphone to use a micro-SIM, and the iPhone 5 (2012) was the first device to use a nano-SIM.
    7. Fingerprint scanners — The first mobile phones with a fingerprint scanner were the Toshiba G500 and G900 in 2007. In 2012, Apple acquired AuthenTec, a fingerprint reader and identity management company. The iPhone 5S (2011) was the first phone on a major U.S. carrier since the Motorola Atrix to feature the technology. Recently (September 2016), Xaomi showed a phone that incorporated ultrasonic fingerprint scanning using technology that Qualcomm acquired with its purchase of Ultrascan that enables more accurate and potentially “through the screen” recognition.
    8. App stores — Despite the current dominance of Apple’s App Store, it wasn’t the first to implement one. In November 2001, South Korea’s KTFreeTel (KTF) became the first wireless network operator in the world to launch Brew-based services after Qualcomm introduced Brew as an open app platform for CDMA-based devices. While Brew never really took off due to the limited capabilities inherent in phones of that era, it did provide a model for future generations of app stores. Once the iPhone launched, Apple virtually took over the app store market for a time, but now it has significant competition from the Android app marketplace.
    9. DisplaysSuper AMOLED — These have been used in some Samsung Nokia devices since 2012 and even before that for lower resolution/pixel displays on non-smartphone devices. But taking advantage of the new super AMOLED displays makes the most sense when you include fast video compression capabilities in the processor (including recently added 4K video) and fast download speeds over high bandwidth networks like LTE Advanced that came to market in the past couple of years.
    10. Wireless chargingWireless charging efforts are not really new and indeed go way back to Palm when they offered a wireless charging option on their devices. And Samsung offered wireless Fast Charging starting with the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+. Nokia offered wireless charging on its Windows 8-powered Lumia 920 in 2014. Wireless charging solutions were mostly proprietary in nature, and it wasn't until the past couple of years that various (and competing) standards emerged. But wireless charging itself was not sufficient as companies developed “fast charging” techniques that reduced charge times by 2X-3X. With a coming together of standards, it’s apparent that much more wireless charging will be available in new devices.
    11. Android — The launch of the T-Mobile G1, manufactured by HTC, in October 2008 was the world's first Android-based mobile device. Although it was not up to par with what Apple had done with the iPhone, it signaled that Android was going to be a fierce competitor. With many hundreds of devices produced since, Android has captured a majority share of worldwide smartphone sales.

    In the above example I have demonstrated with an example of Smartphone that, 'Learning Technology is very easy if we have interest and time to browse the Internet'. If we use the links provided above for each component and technologies, we can learn them in deep.

    Good wishes