i-Mode - Network Structure


i-Mode Networks utilize two types of computers − servers and clients. Servers are the computers that hold information and they are called DoCoMo i-Mode Centers. Clients are the computers that we view the information and they are cellular i-Mode phone.

The following image shows the i-Mode Network structure diagram −

i-mode Network Structure

There are two other important components involved in connecting to a wireless network. In order to connect a cellular network to a server, a gateway must exist. Also, the web site must be in an i-Mode format.

i-Mode Gateway

An i-Mode gateway translates wireless requests from a mobile phone to the server and sends information from a gateway back to the mobile phone.

NTT DoCoMo provides a gateway to their users and connects them to i-Mode enabled websites.

i-Mode Enabled Sites

An i-Mode enabled website utilizes pages that are written in C-HTML. The transmission between the handhelds and the i-Mode-enabled cell sites takes place via packet mode using packets of 128 octets at high speed data transmission rates.

An i-Mode phone utilizes a micro-browser to browse i-Mode enabled site. These phones usually have a title bar with icons at the top of an LCD screen. These icons then allow users to access various services such as weather forecasts, transportation schedules, data searches, news updates, etc.