NSP clients can be grouped into three classes:
Each is characterized by onboard computing capability, positioning technology, and onboard read/write storage. Additionally, the
often has one or more larger navigation service providers as clients; and the
may have a wide range of clients on both the fixed and mobile Internet.
Three classes of mobile terminals
A closer look at the first three targets shows that the mobile targets both have modest network connectivity and differ in terms of the computational capability of the mobile terminal themselves. While the minimum capability clients may require the most server capacity, the medium capability clients (PDAs and in-car systems) are the most difficult to deploy because they may have different amounts of on-board data and processing capability. In-car systems may have a complete multi-gigabyte static dataset that allows much of the core navigation functionality to be served on-board, relying on a remote NSP only for services that depend on other or dynamically varying information. The trend to lower cost of components and transfer of in-car functions from specialized components to general-purpose onboard systems makes for a confused picture.
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