Towards Cloud to Device Push Messaging on Android: Technologies, Possibilities and Challenges

Abstract

In this paper we look at different push messaging alternatives available for Android. Push messaging provides an important aspect of server to device communication, and we specifically focus on the integration of cloud computing with mobile devices through the use of push-based technologies. By conducting a benchmarking test, we investigate the performance of four relevant push technologies for the Android platform, namely C2DM, XMPP, Xtify and Urban Airship. The comparison focuses on three aspects of the libraries: 1) The stability; 2) Response times; and 3) Energy consumption. The test is conducted on both WLAN and 3G, and includes several mobile device types. Additionally, we also integrate with the Google App Engine to provide the cloud integration server that is responsible for sending push messages to the mobile devices.