Handheld Devices

Handheld devices, also known as mobile devices or simply as handhelds, are portable electronic tools that provide wireless access to one or more communication networks. Although the term can refer to small devices that simply receive information (e.g., most global positioning systems and satellite radios), it primarily refers to devices that provide for the two-way movement of data [Page 777]between the end user and other handheld users and the Internet.

In the global era, information technology and the Internet facilitate the time-space convergence necessary for a truly global communication network; handheld devices extend that network by moving the Internet beyond the desktop computer. Because handheld devices are highly portable and can both send and receive data, they simultaneously extend the Internet into more of the physical world and allow for the collection of geo-located real-time data that can be aggregated on the Internet. As handheld devices become ubiquitous, they play an important role as tools for political organizing, environmental monitoring, and surveillance at many different geographic scales.

Handheld devices, made possible through the miniaturization of computing and the expansion of wireless cellular networks, have become “smart.” They contain sensors such as cameras, global positioning systems, compasses, and accelerometers that can collect data on their immediate surroundings, and they are Internet-enabled, which allows users to connect immediately to a global communications network. The interaction of local and global data through the interface of the handheld has given rise to the “mobile web,” allowing users to connect instantly to multiple global and regional networks (telecommunications, financial, and social) from almost anywhere. Handheld users can communicate with other users through cellular or voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) networks, broadcast updates on their activities through social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, and access real-time information from across the globe.

Powerful results often emerge when the geolocational tools of a handheld are connected to the global networks available on the Internet. Users can pinpoint their geographic location, view that location on a map, and then locate various phenomena around them (business addresses, less-congested roads, and other handheld users). Software applications on a handheld can augment reality, so that the user is able to obtain much more information than could be acquired otherwise. A handheld's camera could be held up to a building, for example, and the user could immediately access information on the building itself, the tenants inside, and whether a public restroom was available.

As powerful as augmented reality can be for an individual user, it is when combined with a network of other handheld users that we often see such information used for the mobilization of humans in geographic space. Handhelds provide a means for collective information sharing—some-times known as “citizen journalism”—that can be globally disseminated in real time. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 provide an example of the role of handhelds and the mobile web for the rapid collection and sharing of information. Just after the attacks began, and before any mention was made on the traditional media outlets, eyewitnesses began posting accounts on Twitter, Face-book, and YouTube. Many of the posts to these sites included geographic location, allowing an interactive web map to update almost instantaneously with updates from handhelds located all over the city. A similar phenomenon occurred during the Haiti earthquake of 2010, with information and photos from handhelds streaming onto the Internet within minutes of the quake. One survivor even credited his handheld with saving his life, as he was able to download medical information on how to treat his injuries and map the safest location to await rescue. Days after the quake, handheld users in the United States were able to send money quickly and easily to relief efforts by entering a code on their handhelds.

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