Mobile device

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Handheld" redirects here. For other uses, see Handheld (disambiguation).
An iPhone (smartphone) and iPad (tablet)—two examples of mobile devices

A mobile device or handheld computer is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Modern mobile devices often place emphasis on wireless networking, to both the Internet and to other devices in their vicinity, such as headsets or in-car entertainment systems, via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular networks, or near-field communication.[1]

Characteristics

Device mobility can be viewed in the context of several qualities:[2]

  • Physical dimensions and weight
  • Whether the device is mobile or some kind of host to which it is attached is mobile
  • What kind of host devices it can be bound with
  • How devices communicate with a host
  • When mobility occurs

Strictly speaking, many so-called mobile devices are not mobile. It is the host that is mobile, i.e., a mobile human host carries a non-mobile

autonomous vehicle
.

There are three basic ways mobile devices can be physically bound to mobile hosts:

  • Accompanied,
  • Surface-mounted, or
  • Embedded into the fabric of a host, e.g., an embedded controller in a host device.

Accompanied refers to an object being loosely bound and accompanying a mobile host, e.g., a smartphone can be carried in a bag or pocket but can easily be misplaced.

autonomous vehicle
can appear larger than pocket-sized.

The most common size of a mobile computing device is pocket-sized, but other sizes for mobile devices exist.

phablets and pads are defined as hand-held decimeter-sized devices. If one changes the form of the mobile devices in terms of being non-planar, one can also have skin devices and tiny dust-sized devices.[2]

Dust refers to miniaturized devices without direct

OLED display. Also, see smart device
.

Although mobility is often regarded as synonymous with having wireless connectivity, these terms are different. Not all network access by mobile users, applications, and devices needs to be via wireless networks and vice versa. Wireless access devices can be static and mobile users can move between wired and wireless hotspots such as in Internet cafés.[2] Some mobile devices can be used as mobile Internet devices to access the Internet while moving, but they do not need to do this and many phone functions or applications are still operational even while disconnected from the Internet.

What makes the mobile device unique compared to other technologies is the inherent flexibility in the hardware and software. Flexible applications include video chat, web browsing, payment systems, near field communication, audio recording etc.[5] As mobile devices become ubiquitous, there will be an increase of services which include the use of the cloud.[6] Although a common form of mobile device, a smartphone, has a display, another perhaps even more common form of smart computing device, the smart card, e.g., used as a bank card or travel card, does not have a display. This mobile device often has a CPU and memory but needs to connect or be inserted into a reader to display its internal data or state.

Types

Smartphones, handheld mobile devices
Smartwatches, handheld mobile devices

There are many kinds of mobile devices, designed for different applications. They include, but are not limited to:

History

The history of the mobile device has been marked by increasing

pocket calculators, portable media players, satellite navigation devices, and digital cameras—excelled at their intended use but were not multifaceted. Personal digital assistants (PDAs) proliferated in the 1990s as a way to quickly write down notes, schedule business appointments, and set personal reminders, as a handheld supplement to bulkier laptops
.

During the same period, the mobile phone evolved from supporting voice communication only to accommodating text messaging, Internet connectivity, multimedia, and videotelephony.[7] These feature phones eventually gave way to the modern smartphone, which combine all the aformentioned devices, and more, into one device. Since the late 2000s, smartphones have been the most common mobile device in the world, in terms of quantity sold, owing to their great convergence of technologies.[8][9][10]

Uses

By the early 2010s, mobile devices began integrating sensors such as

face recognition
or fingerprint recognition.

Handheld devices such as

RFID
tags.

In 2009, developments in

television receivers have existed since 1960,[14] and, in the 21st-century, mobile phone providers began making television available on cellular phones.[15]

In the 2010s, mobile devices were observed to frequently include the ability to sync and share a variety of data despite the distance or specifications of the devices. In the medical field, mobile devices are quickly becoming essential tools for accessing clinical information such as drugs, treatment, and even medical calculations.[16] Due to the popularity of mobile gaming, the gambling industry started offering casino games on mobile devices, which led to the inclusion of these devices in the anti-hazard legislature as devices that could potentially be used for illegal gambling. Additional potentially unlawful actions could encompass the utilization of mobile devices in disseminating explicit material involving minors. Moreover, the legitimate adult entertainment sector's incorporation of mobile apps and technology to advance its operations raises concerns. There is also a prospect of leveraging mobile devices to facilitate cross-border services, warranting regulatory attention.

Within the military domain, mobile devices have introduced novel prospects for delivering training and educational resources to soldiers, irrespective of their stationed location.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Iversen, Jakob; Michael Eierman (2014). Learning Mobile App Development: A Hands-on Guide to Building Apps with IOS and Android. Addison-Wesley. p. 3 – via Google Books.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-470-03560-3. Archived from the original
    on December 10, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  3. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  4. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0991-94
    .
  5. ISSN 1948-075X. Archived
    from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  6. ^ "Characteristics of Mobility in Wireless Networking". Lyna Griffin. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  7. ISBN 9783031022043
    – via Google Books.
  8. ISBN 9781420046250
    – via Google Books.
  9. ISBN 9781317660798
    .
  10. ISBN 9780702054679
    – via Google Books.
  11. PMID 37988517
    . Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Robbins, Renee (May 28, 2009). "Mobile video system visually connects global plant floor engineers". Control Engineering. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012.
  13. ^ Mellow, P. (2005).The media generation: Maximise learning by getting mobile. In Ascilite, 470–476
  14. ^ "Image of sony tv8-301 portable television receiver, 1960. by Science & Society Picture Library". www.scienceandsociety.co.uk. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  15. ^ Lotz, Amanda D. (2007). "The Television Will Be Revolutionized." New York, NY: New York University Press. p. 65-66
  16. PMID 24415916
    .
  17. ^ Casey, Mike (June 26, 2014). "Army seeks to increase use of mobile devices". ftleavenworthLamp.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2014.

Sources

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