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My first blog on Mobile Devices and The App Delivery Center seemed to get enough hits that I thought I would follow up with a video demo to give a better view of XenApp applications actually being delivered to a mobile device. Also felt that it would be good to describe the setup used to create the video, so details follow below. The demo was intended to show a "real world" use case that a lot of us have been through. The script for the video is that your boss sends you an email asking you to perform a number of tasks in preparation for an upcoming meeting:
- update a Word document
- update an Excel spreadsheet
- verify a CAD document is up to date
- join a GoToMeeting
All of these tasks are performed in the below video. Details on the setup:
- A real ATT 8525 device with the 10.0 WinMo ICA client was used to connect to a XenApp 4.5 server
- The server is hosted on the internet, outside of the Citrix network.
- The Web Interface changes referred to in my Mobile Devices and The App Delivery Center blog post are in use on this demo server, thus you get the better app sizing described in the aforementioned post (http://support.citrix.com/forums/thread.jspa?forumID=136&threadID=91629&tstart=0).
- Soti Pocket Controller was used to display the screen of the 8525 on my laptop
- When connected to Soti, an active sync connection is used, which actually provides the network connection for the 8525. So the native 3G data connection of the 8525 was not used, BUT.
- I used the EVDO Rev A connection on my laptop to connect to the internet, so even though the device has ATT 3G connection, a Verizon EVDO Rev A connection was actually used in this case, thus a WWAN connection is being used.
- Camtasia was used to capture the Soti output on my laptop
So now that you know the gory setup to get this capture, the video is below. Hope this give a better picture of use of the Citrix Mobile ICA clients.
Obviously some clarity of the video was lost during conversion and upload to YouTube. But I thing you'll get the idea!
Like a lot of folks in the industry, I consider myself somewhat of a gadget guy. But after 10yrs of working at Citrix, thoughts of application delivery start to run through your veins and every time I get a new RRS post from Engadget or similar site, the first thoughts that go through my head are:
- Is this the Nirvana Device for connecting to XenApp and XenDesktop (See Chris Flecks post on The Nirvana device a Smartphone as a PC alternative)?
- Are there a particular Citrix customer segments that this device would provide a unique solution for?
- Could I use this device on the road and leave my laptop at home?
- And then, this thing looks pretty cool!
Citrix has long had alliance partnerships with a number of the main mobility players, both on the carrier side and the device side. Given the recent advancements in both WWAN bandwidth and small device capabilities, it's made a lot of the conversations much more interesting than in the days of no QWERTY keyboard and Edge level connectivity. As the devices get better, so does our solution with them.
The demand for access to corporate apps and data from mobile devices also seems to continue to grow, which is driving the concerns about enabling this scenario by IT administrators. CMP Research recently published a paper on this trend entitled The State of Mobile Device Management that hit both on the growing trend and concerns caused by the trend.
Berfore I contine, I'd like to do a quick poll (note you must be logged in to participate):
| 1-Did you know that Citrix offers ICA client for cellphones and PDAs? | Choose |
|---|---|
| Yes |  |
| No | |
| 2-Have you ever used/tried the ICA client on a mobile device (cellphone/PDA)? | Choose |
|---|---|
| Yes | |
| No | |
| 3-How would you rate the experience? | Choose |
|---|---|
| Great | |
| OK | |
| Bad | |
| Don't want to talk about it | |
| N/A, based on answer to #2 | |
| 4-What type of OS did the device have | Choose |
|---|---|
| Windows Mobile | |
| Symbian | |
| Blackberry | |
| Other | |
| N/A, based on answer to #2 | |
| 5-Do you or your company use cell phones or PDA with the ICA client today? | Choose |
|---|---|
| Yes | |
| No | |
DID YOU KNOW?
Citrix has for years offered ICA clients for mobile devices on its Client downloads page. ICA clients that can be downloaded from the Citrix download site include variants for Windows Mobile devices and well as select Nokia Symbian based devices and have been used by customers for years to securely access data in their data center, helping evolve it into a Citrix Delivery Center.
Citrix Access Gateway as well as Secure Gateway offer clientless access to XenApp servers, so yes, there is a way to securely connect such mobile devices to your XenApp server. CAG boxes need to be configured to allow what is referred to as "Secure Gateway" mode to provide such clientless access. No SSL/VPN software is required on the phone when the connecting to a CAG box in this mode.
UNDERSTANDING THE USE CASE
So the Citrix Delivery Center concept does provide the solutions to allow you to use mobile phones to access corporate applications and data, but there are still a few things to discuss. First I probably need to appropriately set some expectations. Below is a slide I commonly use when discussing this use case with partners and customers:
What this basically tries to convey is that there will still be cases where a user will need to pull out a laptop. If the user needs to produce a large amount of data, or make a lot of changes to data, they most likely will still prefer to pull out a larger device with a full keyboard and large screen to perform the task.
Data Production: For example, I would not try and produce this blog posting from my cell phone, even though I technically could by launching a browser from XenApp to get full functionality of the blogging software on my phone.
Data Consumption/Response: But I would and do frequently consume blog entries from this site, and post simple replies from my cell phone. Or respond to email I get from the SAP system to approve a request by launching SAP into IE published on XenApp, just so I can hit the Accept button without having to pull out my laptop.
So without moving into the Nirvana Device concepts discussed on Chris Fleck's blog post, there are a lot of tasks that can be accomplished using today's devices and today's XenApp technology.
YA, BUT WINDOWS APPS ARE BIG, AND THE SCREEN IS SMALL
For all of you that answered YES to poll question #2, you probably are familiar with the below scenario:
Your device's screen is 320x240 resolution, but XenApp is sending you an application running 1020x768 resolution. And you spend way too much time panning/moving the app around the screen to get to the data you need. You even need to pan to the right or bottom, just to get to the apps scroll bars. This is where most people start giving up because of usability issues.
Changes to Web Interface 4.5 have been posted on the Citrix support forums that can greatly help this scenario (http://support.citrix.com/forums/thread.jspa?forumID=136&threadID=91629&tstart=0) These changes can be added to the .ASPX code of Web Interface to make the launch of the XenApp application more device aware. Rather than launching Excel or some other application on my device at 1024x768, wouldn't launching the session at a resolution more native to the devices screen be better to limit the amount of panning required? That's what this code basically does.
- When the user clicks on an application icon in Web Interface from a mobile device (Windows Mobile and Nokia Symbian S60 devices recognized today), the device's OS type and the device's screen resolution are sent to Web Interface as part of the transaction.
- When Web Interface creates the ICA file to be sent back to the phone to launch the requested application, it changes the session resolution parameters in the ICA file to a resolution more compatible with the device's OS and screen size.
Again, both the OS type of the device and the size of the devices screen size (Treo=WinMo,240x240, Cingular 8525=WinMo,320x240, Nokia E61i=Symbian,320x240) are used to determine the session resolution of the application.
You can read more details on this by following the above link to this posting on the Citrix support forum (http://support.citrix.com/forums/thread.jspa?forumID=136&threadID=91629&tstart=0) But I also do want to mentaion that the session resolution that is assigned can be defined on a per-application basis. So you can run Excel at 320x285 (the current default in this code) on an 8525, but then have SAP running in a published IE browser run at 450x300, because the SAP UI simply demands a slightly larger resolution. Running a cell phone at 450x300 is a lot better than 1024x768. It's all about limiting the amount of panning and scaling (zoom-in/zoom-out) the user needs to do to perform the necessary task with the application.
The screen shots below represents how the same spreadsheet above would appear on a Cingular 8525 phone, with the Web Interface changes made. Excel would be launched on this device at 320x285.
Once the user opens the desired document, they can pan the file menu ribbon up and off-screen to maximize the available screen space for the actual spreadsheet data. The can then pan back down if the need to access the file menu ribbon again.
Note that at this resolution both the right and bottom scroll bars of the app are present on the screen, so the user does not need to pan the application, just to get to the scroll bars. The defaults in the Web Interface code have been optimized for a lot of "standard" windows applications such as Excel and Word 2003, based on the "normal" size of a file menu ribbon. The defaults are completely configurable in the code.
SO WHY USE XenApp WITH MOBILE DEVICES
Below is a snippet from the CMP paper mentioned earlier on the key concerns of enterprises and use of mobile devices:
Numerous Citrix customers today are using Citrix solutions to solve a lot of the same issues with laptops and home desktops. So why not use the same infrastructure to help solve these problems with mobile devices. A lot of applications do not need to be "mobilized", and you can simply deliver the same app that you deliver to your lap/desktops to the mobile device, just running in a smaller window (yes there will always be some apps the just don't make sense).
SUMMARY
So if you've been investigating a strategy to enable mobile device access to your corporate data, I hope this summary helps you understand how the technology in the Citrix Delivery Center can help. While it may not be the 100% solution, it can help you establish a common infrastructure to base you solution on.
Associated blog with video at http://community.citrix.com/display/~adamma/2008/03/21/Citrix+App+Delivery+to+an+ATT+8525+using+WWAN
Actual use of such devices with Nirvana Device Concepts from CTIA 2008:
In Search of the Nirvana Device at CTIA 2008 (OQO Model 2)
Nirvana Device Search (Celio Corp Redfly Mobile Companion)
Nirvana Device Search (i-mate Ultimate 6150)
Nirvana Device Search (i-mate Ultimate 9502)
Nirvana Device Search (Impatica Showmate)
I wanna leave my laptop at home, BUT (you fill in the rest!)
The Nirvana Smartphone as a PC , Thin Client , Desktop Appliance ...
As Smartphones become more capable, and fast networks pervasive, plus now with Virtual Desktops going mainstream ( like Citrix XenDesktop ) , the practicality of using a Smartphone as a laptop/desktop alternative is closer than ever. The use case's for this model are many fold. It's is not intended to replace a PC or laptop ( at least initially ), rather the early adopters of this "Nirvana" Smartphone would likely already have a laptop for work and a PC at home. The general use case's revolve around enhanced mobility with broader access to applications and desktops. So even though most users already have access to apps and desktops from PC's and laptops, most of us would prefer to travel locally ( including the inside the office ) or on selective trips without a laptop if it was practical.
So what is missing from today's Smartphone's in a single device ?
Video-out - A few Smartphones have video-out like the Nokia N95 but the resolution is limited and it has no pointing device support. Some PDA's ( HP and Dell Axim ) have better screens and resolution with Video-out but they are not phones and are still too big. The upcoming i-Mates promise this functionality... we'll see. The iPhone also has some video out capability but it's still too limited. The resolution needs to be capable of 1024 x 768 to satisfy most users.
Keyboard & Mouse - The Smartphone user input options continue to improve, however to do "real" work a full keyboard and mouse will continue to the requirement when stationary. Many Smartphone's today do have bluetooth which can work fine for this scenario. Some new portable keyboards are making this more realistic as well.
Docking Station - This scenario works best if there is also a Nirvana docking station that recharges the phone at the same time as providing the VGA video interface and USB hub. The " Nirvana " Smartphone ideally would provide USB host functionally vs. USB slave that many have today. Additional / alternative functionality for the docking station include VGA/USB passthrough - so the docking station can plug into a home PC and use the same monitor and peripherals, as well as audio in/out for headsets. This docking station would also need to come in a portable dongle version as well as stationary.
Industry trends that are also working in favor of this scenario
Free seating / Office hoteling is a growing trend for mobile workers that occasionally work in the office. Today many cubicles already have a monitor for a laptop hook up, they would just need the docking station and keyboard to provide a full desktop experience. Similarly "real" hotels have office facilities with printers and monitors, they just need a "Nirvana" docking station to complete the solution.
LCD TV's are now pervasive and many have VGA and multiple Video inputs. This opens up hotel rooms, kitchens, family rooms, etc.
LCD's in general are getting cheaper and pervasive. They are showing up everywhere; cars, picture frames, book readers.
Digital Projectors - most conference rooms are already equipped and portable projectors are getting smaller and cheaper.
Virtual Desktops - Like XenDesktop ... hosted centrally but available everywhere.
Remote Desktops - Like GoToMyPC ... remote desktop connections to home or office PC's.
Application Virtualization - like Presentation Server .. apps hosted centrally available from any device.
Web based; apps / storage / photos / social networks - more and more of digital life ( work and play ) is available from any device on the web.
Consumer driven use cases
Most device companies we speak to about this concept are interested in the idea, however many are clearly driven by the consumer use cases vs business ones due to the huge volume that the cell phone market drives today. The assumption is that Smartphone's will continue to improve and excel in handling voice, video, music and cameras, but here are some additional consumer use cases that could exploit the unique features of the Nirvana Smartphone;
Web enable all the TV's in your house - most new LCD TV's are VGA capable but normally are only connected to a cable box and DVD player. Simply adding the Nirvana docking station would provide web connectivity without all the other complexity required in today's configurations.
Video conference from your TV - add a camera to the front of the Smartphone and use the TV to view and communicate with others doing the same.
Photo / Video Playback - many cameras already offer viewing from a TV, the Nirvana Smartphone will carry your photos and videos that could be viewed full size from the Smartphone Video-out to any LCD monitor or TV through the Nirvana docking station.
So how long is this going to take ? Why has this failed so far.
It's easy to project everything is going to be possible in the far future; wireless video, virtual keyboards, rollup video screens, etc. However, I am more interested in the next 12-18 months, the technologies to build this Nirvana Smartphone and use it as a Desktop Appliance are all available now, it just needs a leading device vendor to put together all the parts ( and embed some Citrix SW..
).
So far there have been a few attempts to build full PC functionality into a Smartphone/PDA however they all come up short ( too big, too slow, too expensive ) because they try to replicate a full PC in a small device. Instead, if device makers can assume that a remote virtual desktop is accessible with all the apps you need and full size keyboard+mouse+monitors are readily available and connectible, then the Nirvana device could be built at a reasonable price, fit in your pocket, and provide the freedom to leave your PC or laptop at home.
| Who will build the Nirvana Smartphone ? | Choose |
|---|---|
| Apple | |
| HP | |
| Motorola | |
| Nokia | |
| I-Mate | |
| BlackBerry | |
| HTC | |
| Would you buy the Nirvana Smartphone ? | Choose |
|---|---|
| Yes, even if it's $400-$800 | |
| Yes, only if its less than $400 | |
| Not interested | |
Related links
Update : What is a Nirvana Phone video post
Adam Marano's search for the Nirvana Device posts from CTIA 2008
The Viewsonic ViewDock with an iPod looks like a perfect combination, unfortunately it still needs a PC to run and view.
John Dvorak's PC week article from 2003..
Nokia N95 TV-out feature review.
i-Mate 8150 with VGA out on youtube.
The RedFly Mobile companion announced at CES.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/chrisfleck