Middleware for Distributed Computing on Mobile Phones

Abstract

The low Internet penetration and lack of electricity in the rural areas of the developing countries of Africa make the use of computerbased solutions a big challenge. Yet there is dire need of such applications in these areas. Luckily, most of these countries have reported impressive adoption levels of mobile phones [3], a phenomenon that is now creating a paradigm shift; computing is slowly moving from the traditional PC to the phone. Coincidentally, advancements in the smartphone technology have produced such powerful gadgets that can ably compete with PCs of the 21st century. Today, for less than US$ 400, one can acquire a smartphone equipped with; 1000MHz clock speed, 512MiB (ROM +RAM), access to several types of data networks (CSD, HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE), and Wireless local-area network (WLAN) among other features [6]. With this kind of computing power, computer analysts/programmers can now develop both scientific and commercial applications to address numerous challenging facing poor people in the developing countries of Africa.