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{{Short description|Small, hand-held computing device}}
{{Redirect|Handheld}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 2025 (1).jpg|thumb|right|[[Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra]] - example of mobile devices]]
A '''mobile device''' or '''handheld device''' is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a [[flat-panel display]] and one or more built-in [[input device]]s, such as a [[touchscreen]] or [[keypad]]. Modern mobile devices often emphasize [[wireless network]]ing, to both the [[Internet]] and to other devices in their vicinity, such as headsets or [[in-car entertainment]] systems, via [[Wi-Fi]], [[Bluetooth]], [[cellular network]]s, or [[near-field communication]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Iversen | first=Jakob | author2=Michael Eierman | date=2014 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B6lKAgAAQBAJ | title=Learning Mobile App Development: A Hands-on Guide to Building Apps with IOS and Android | publisher=Addison-Wesley | page=3 | isbn=978-0-321-94786-4 | via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
Device mobility can be viewed in the context of several qualities:<ref name="Poslad">{{cite book|last=Poslad|first=Stefan|title=Ubiquitous Computing Smart Devices, Smart Environments, and Smart Interaction|publisher=Wiley|year=2009|isbn=978-0-470-03560-3|url=http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/people/stefan/ubicom/index.html|access-date=January 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210111324/http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/people/stefan/ubicom/index.html|archive-date=December 10, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 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 [[Mobile operating system|smartphone]] device. An example of a true mobile computing device, where the device itself is mobile, is a [[robot]]. Another example is an [[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.<ref name="Poslad"/> Hence, mobile hosts with embedded devices such as an [[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. [[Mark Weiser]], known as the father of [[ubiquitous computing]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/01/business/mark-weiser-a-leading-computer-visionary-dies-at-46.html|title=Mark Weiser, a Leading Computer Visionary, Dies at 46|last=Markoff|first=John|date=May 1, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411133322/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/01/business/mark-weiser-a-leading-computer-visionary-dies-at-46.html|url-status=live}}</ref> referred to device sizes that are tab-sized, pad, and board sized,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Weiser|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Weiser|title=The Computer for the Twenty-First Century|year=1991|journal=[[Scientific American]]|volume=265|issue=3|pages=94–104|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0991-94}}</ref> where ''tabs'' are defined as accompanied or wearable centimeter-sized devices, e.g. [[smartphones]], [[phablets]] and [[tablet computer|tablets]] 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.<ref name="Poslad"/>

''Dust'' refers to miniaturized devices without direct [[Human–computer interaction|HCI]] interfaces, e.g., micro-electromechanical systems ([[Microelectromechanical systems|MEMS]]), ranging from nanometers through micrometers to millimeters. See also [[Smart dust]]. ''Skin'': fabrics based upon light emitting and conductive polymers and organic computer devices. These can be formed into more flexible non-planar display surfaces and products such as clothes and curtains, see [[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 network]]s and vice versa. Wireless access devices can be static and mobile users can move between wired and wireless hotspots such as in Internet cafés.<ref name="Poslad"/> Some mobile devices can be used as [[mobile Internet device]]s 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.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Beddall-Hill, Nicola|author2=Jabbar, Abdul|author3=Al Shehri, Saleh|name-list-style=amp|year=2011|title=Social Mobile Devices as Tools for Qualitative Research in Education: iPhones and iPads in Ethnography, Interviewing, and Design-Based Research|journal=Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology|volume=7|issue=1|pages=67–90|issn=1948-075X|url=http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/10507/|access-date=January 21, 2015|archive-date=June 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618003445/http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/10507/|url-status=live}}</ref> As mobile devices become ubiquitous, there will be an increase of services which include the use of the [[Cloud computing|cloud]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Characteristics of Mobility in Wireless Networking|url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/characteristics-of-mobility-in-wireless-networking.html|journal=Lyna Griffin|access-date=February 10, 2023|archive-date=February 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210040457/https://study.com/academy/lesson/characteristics-of-mobility-in-wireless-networking.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 [[Central processing unit|CPU]] and memory but needs to connect or be inserted into a reader to display its internal data or state.

==Types==
[[File:HA0478-006 (6011470974).jpg|thumb|[[Smartphone]]s, handheld mobile devices]]
[[File:Android tablet.png|thumb|Android [[tablet computer]]]]
[[File:Samsung Smartwatch.jpg|thumb|[[Smartwatch]]es, wearable mobile devices]]
[[File:Ray-Ban Stories.jpg|thumb|[[Smartglasses]], wearable computer glasses]]
There are many kinds of mobile devices, designed for different applications. They include, but are not limited to:
{{Div col}}
* [[Mobile computing|Mobile computers]]
** [[Tablet computer]]
** [[Netbook]]
** [[Digital media player]]
** [[Enterprise digital assistant]] (EDA)
** [[Graphing calculator]]
** [[Handheld game console]]
** [[Handheld PC]]
** [[Laptop]]
** [[Mobile digital computer]] (MDC)
** [[Mobile Internet device]] (MID)
** [[Personal digital assistant]] (PDA)
** [[Pocket calculator]]
** [[Pocket computer]]
** [[Portable media player]]
** [[Ultra-mobile PC]]
* [[Mobile phone]]
** [[Camera phone]]
** [[Feature phone]]
** [[Smartphone]]
** [[Foldable smartphone]]
* [[Digital camera]]
** [[Digital camcorder]]
** [[Digital still camera]] (DSC)
** [[Digital video camera]] (DVC)
** [[Front-facing camera]]
* [[Pager]]
* [[Satellite navigation device]]
** [[Personal navigation assistant]] (PNA)
* [[Wearable computer]]
** [[Calculator watch]]
** [[Smartwatch]]
** [[Smartglasses]]
** [[Head-mounted display]]
** [[Smart ring]]
* [[Smart card]]
{{Div col end}}

==History==
The history of the mobile device has been marked by increasing [[technological convergence]]. Early mobile devices—such as [[pocket calculator]]s, [[portable media player]]s, [[satellite navigation device]]s, and [[digital camera]]s—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 [[laptop]]s.

During the same period, the [[mobile phone]] evolved from supporting voice communication only to accommodating [[text messaging]], Internet connectivity, multimedia, and [[videotelephony]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Kjeldskov | first=Jesper | date=2022 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYlyEAAAQBAJ | title=Mobile Interactions in Context: A Designerly Way Toward Digital Ecology | publisher=Springer | pages=11–15 | isbn=9783031022043 | via=Google Books}}</ref> These [[feature phone]]s eventually gave way to the modern [[smartphone]], which combined all the aforementioned 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.<ref>{{cite book | last=Wang | first=Wen-Chia | author2=Mark S. Young | author3=Steve Love | chapter=Interaction Design for Mobile Phones | date=2011 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_rLBQAAQBAJ | title=Human Factors and Ergonomics in Consumer Product Design: Uses and Applications | editor1=Marcelo M. Soares | editor2=Neville A. Stanton | editor3=Waldemar Karwowski | publisher=CRC Press | pages=285–300 | isbn=9781420046250 | via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Ng | first=Wan | author2=Howard Nicholas | editor=Wan Ng | editor2=Therese M. Cumming | date=2015 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQktCgAAQBAJ | chapter=Sustaining innovation in learning with mobile devices | title=Sustaining Mobile Learning: Theory, Research and Practice | publisher=Taylor & Francis | pages=1–2 | isbn=9781317660798 | via=}}</ref><ref name="convergence">{{cite book | editor=John Dent | editor2=Ronald M. Harden | last=Sandars | first=J.&nbsp;E. | author2=G.&nbsp;S. Frith | date=2013 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_GYkvH1r_gC | title=A Practical Guide for Medical Teachers | chapter=Mobile learning (m-learning) | publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences | pages=22–23 | isbn=9780702054679 | via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Uses==
{{tone|section|date=February 2020}}
By the early 2010s, mobile devices began integrating sensors such as [[accelerometer]]s, [[magnetometer]]s, and [[gyroscope]]s, allowing the detection of orientation and motion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mondragón-González |first1=Sirenia Lizbeth |title=Machine Learning for Brain Disorders |date=2023 |editor-last=Colliot |editor-first=Olivier |chapter-url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK597479/ |access-date=January 24, 2024 |place=New York, NY |publisher=Humana |isbn=978-1-0716-3194-2 |pmid=37988517 |last2=Burguière |first2=Eric |last3=N’diaye |first3=Karim|chapter=Mobile Devices, Connected Objects, and Sensors |series=Neuromethods |volume=197 |pages=355–388 |doi=10.1007/978-1-0716-3195-9_12 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Mobile devices may provide [[biometric]] user authentication, such as [[face recognition]] or fingerprint recognition.

Handheld devices such as [[enterprise digital assistant]]s have become more [[Rugged computer|rugged]] for use in [[Field service management|mobile field management]]. This involves tasks such as [[digitizing]] notes, sending and receiving [[invoice]]s, [[Mobile asset management|asset management]], recording signatures, managing parts, and [[Barcode scanner|scanning barcodes]] and [[RFID]] tags.

In 2009, developments in [[mobile collaboration]] systems enabled the use of handheld devices that combine video, audio, and on-screen drawing capabilities to enable multi-party [[teleconferencing|conferencing]] in real-time, independent of location.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=Renee|title=Mobile video system visually connects global plant floor engineers|publisher=Control Engineering|date=May 28, 2009|archive-date=July 27, 2012|url=http://m.controleng.com/index.php?id=2819&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11999&cHash=0387e9884a|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727182007/http://m.controleng.com/index.php?id=2819&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11999&cHash=0387e9884a}}</ref> Handheld computers are available in a variety of form factors, including [[smartphone]]s, handheld [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]]s, [[ultra-mobile PC]]s and tablet computers ([[Palm OS]], [[WebOS]]).<ref>Mellow, P. (2005).The media generation: Maximise learning by getting mobile. In Ascilite, 470–476</ref> Users can watch [[Internet television|television through the Internet]] by IPTV on some mobile devices. Mobile [[television receiver]]s have existed since 1960,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Image of sony tv8-301 portable television receiver, 1960. by Science & Society Picture Library|url=https://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10463743#:~:text=Picture%20As...-,Sony%20TV8-301%20portable%20television%20receiver,%201960.,world's%20first%20truly%20portable%20television.|access-date=September 19, 2023|website=www.scienceandsociety.co.uk}}</ref> and, in the 21st-century, mobile phone providers began making television available on cellular phones.<ref>Lotz, Amanda D. (2007). "The Television Will Be Revolutionized." New York, NY: New York University Press. p. 65–66</ref>

In the 2010s, mobile devices were observed to frequently include the ability to [[Data synchronization|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Boruff|last2=Storie|first1=Jill|first2=Dale|title=Mobile devices in medicine: a survey of how medical students, residents, and faculty use smartphones and other mobile devices to find information*|journal=Journal of the Medical Library Association|date=January 2014|volume=102|issue=1|pages=22–30|doi=10.3163/1536-5050.102.1.006|pmid=24415916|pmc=3878932}}</ref> Due to the popularity of [[Mobile game|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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Casey|first=Mike|title=Army seeks to increase use of mobile devices|publisher=ftleavenworthLamp.com|date=June 26, 2014|url=http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/article/20140626/News/140629541|access-date=July 23, 2014|archive-date=July 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712084147/http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/article/20140626/News/140629541|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Mobile interaction]]
* [[Problematic smartphone use]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite journal|title=Mobile Devices|year=2008|journal=Library Technology Reports|volume=44|number=5|pages=10–15|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-191015232/mobile-devices}}
* {{cite journal|author=Hanson, C. W.|year=2011|title=Chapter 2: Mobile Devices in 2011|journal=Library Technology Reports|volume=47|number=2 |pages=11–23|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-252847618/mobile-devices-in-2011}}

{{Major mobile device companies}}
{{Computer sizes}}
{{Table mobile operating systems}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Information appliances]]
[[Category:Mobile computers]]