Full network connection options
A full network connection to a mobile device generally means a full TCP/IP connection to the mobile device. This option has the following benefits:
A full TCP/IP connection, with the cooperation of the mobile device, can be expanded to provide Internet connectivity. It can provide access to cloud services, or with the right amount of cooperation, it can also provide services to the outside world.
Since a TCP/IP connection looks the same to most of the applications as the USB networking and Ethernet, it can simplify software development. Any program written to work with IP networking can work with a full TCP/IP network through a mobile device almost as it is. Again, the caveat is that the mobile device and the carrier it is using need to cooperate. Under Linux, the physical connectivity is largely transparent to the application. For example, our LED flasher from Chapter 4, Refining the LED Flasher, can be made accessible to a mobile device with no changes other...
