Why is this an important feature to address? People are more mobile than ever. Laptops, PDAs and cell phones help them stay connected from whereever they are. To escape work, running errands or life's demands, it's nice to know that there's always a friendly game waiting to be played.
"According to a November 2002 study from IDC, titled, "Are We Having Fun Yet?: U.S. Wireless Gaming Forecast, 2002-2007," the number of mobile gamers in the United States will jump from 7 million in 2002 to 71.2 million in 2007. IDC also expects U.S. mobile gaming revenue to jump from $130 million in 2002 to $4 billion in 2007."
"Without this game, my Palm is just a business handheld & no fun!" A. Walker
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Joe is a frequent business traveler. While he's waiting out yet another delay at the airport, he calls his son on his PalmOS-based Treo.
"Game on!" he says as he fires up the PDA capability of the Treo, hooks onto the Internet thru his GPRS connection and waits for his son in the DreamQuest Software gaming lobby for a few hands of Championship Hearts Pro. His son, while sitting at a local coffee house, opens up his laptop and uses the shop's 802.11 wireless Internet service to go online. |
| The games' cross-platform capabilities make it possible for dad and son to spend some "quality-time" even across the globe. | |
"The people (online players) at the DQ site were great... I have made many new friends and enjoy the interaction and competition of "real" people instead of 'bots". - B. Daley
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Sally loves the quiet time between dropping off her daughter at ballet class and picking her son up from the soccer practice at the local elementary school. It gives her 20 blissful minutes to enjoy a quick game of Championship Cribbage Pro on her Symbian-based Sony Ericsson P800.
She parks the minivan in the school lot and begins to play. She pauses to wonder if her new online friends she met yesterday are playing. She activates the phone's internal modem, using minutes from her cell phone plan to dial through to the Internet. Seemlessly, she is logged in to the gaming lobby and finds her friends are playing, too. Using the phone's keyboard feature, she's able to chat, set up a game, and unwind from life's hectic schedule. |
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"Thanks a million! This is really great. I will get these [games] out to the soldiers on the next mail run!" - V. Washington, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
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When Michael isn't polishing his boots, or preparing for a drill, he spends most of his free time honing his card playing skills. Many evenings he plays against other platoon members online via a wireless LAN using their mobile devices' IP addresses. Once a week, he uses his iPAQ PocketPC and the military base's Wi-Fi or wireless Internet connectivity to challege other Spades players in DreamQuest Software's weekly card tournaments.
When duty calls, Michael also takes his PDA out in the field. In between shifts, he can play on his own. He enjoys a humorous diversion by taking on the world-class computer players of Championship Spades Pro. |