Mobile Applications Provisioning Using Bluetooth Wireless Technology

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a cheap means for propagating mobile application using Bluetooth, a convenient short range wireless technology. Today, one of the main problems about mobile technology is about implementing automatically the software in the multiple and various type of phones devices, irrespective of the phone model (Nokia, Samsung, iPhone, etc.). There are many ways of doing OTA like by SMS. This approach allows providing an http download link by SMS but, we are limited by the maximum size one can have to build an application and send it trough this means. This approach is also expensive because data sources are expensive. Within the context of mobile social networking and proximity marketing, we come up with an original way of provisioning mobile applications using Bluetooth. We use anybody who is already a subscriber of an application to become an ambassador of it. The application is self-replicating and distributing in itself and sending back results. It ethically acts like a virus or a disease. A prototype is built to validate the proposed methodology.