Mobile Devices

While the history of mobile computing traces back to the early 1970s with Alan Kay’s proposal of the Dynabook portable computer, modern-day discussion of mobile devices refers to a class of powerful computing devices that are often handheld and easily transported and operated in a number of locations for an extended period of time without need for cords or wires. Canonical examples now include tablet devices, e-readers, mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), and more recently, wearable technologies. Unlike desktop or laptop computers that rely on keyboard and pointer input systems, these devices have entirely new interface and control paradigms that typically emphasize use of just a few buttons and capacitive touchscreens. These new interface paradigms coupled with the reduced size of mobile devices have ...