Mobile Task-Based User

An example of a mobile task-based user is a police officer with a thin-client mobile device in her car. As the officer requires information, she can access any of the applications on the server through her terminal via wireless communications. For example, she might be giving a traffic ticket and need to check with the registry of motor vehicles. Other officers might use maps or other information that is updated daily. The server that the police officers are logged on to can be powerful and robust and connected directly to national databases through high-speed lines. The device in the police car doesn t carry any confidential information; all transactions are executed on the server and displayed on the mobile device.

An express delivery carrier is another excellent example of a person who uses a mobile client device with thin-client software. As this person picks up and delivers packages, he enters the latest tracking and status data into his handheld device. The thin client in the handheld device encrypts and transmits the information back to the driver s base of operations, where all data is consolidated for quick processing and where the carrier has access to the most up-to-date data. Again, no confidential information exists on the local device because 100 percent of the application executes on the server.