Mobile Computing
INFO103 Computer Literacy
Joan Rhodes
24 September 2012

Mobile Computing Mobile computing is here to stay, it will progress daily, and will never stay the same; I will teach you some of the history of mobile computing, a small comparison to wired, the future of mobile computing, and show you some of the most popular types of devices out. Cell phones, laptops, and tablets; are these devices taking over your life; well don’t worry you’re not alone. Millions of people across the world these days cannot live without their technology. Portability and mobility have created a new market for personal computing and consumer electronics. Are we setting ourselves up for failure or are the devices of the future going to define our existence? You decide. There are many references to the history of mobile computing, but mobile computing dates back to 2600 BC when the abacus was made. The creator of the first mobile computing device is a hard question to answer, it will depend on your own definition of mobile and how far you can go to break down what constitutes as mobile computing. Nearly all electronic devices we use today are lighter, smaller, and more mobile than their predecessors. The first electronic pocket size calculator wasn’t invented until the 60’s. The first portable computer was developed by a company call Linex. This device was called the Osborne 1. It weighed 22 pounds compared to today’s latest of the X11 975 grams. It cost $1700 in 1981 and it held 64 kilobytes of memory (Horn2011). It sold about 10,000 units, but there were too many issues with the device for the company to maintain the sales. They ended up filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 1983. Some of the issues of the early mobile computing devices were, too heavy, awkward to carry, and they generated too much heat. Some of the good things about the early devices were; very durable, simple to operate (when working), and repair parts were readily available; from the lack of interest due to the issues they had. The first mobile phone call was made from a car phone in 1946 (ATT, 2011). The medical field uses mobile computing devices every day. For instance clinicians can access the needed information at the point of care with the use of PDA’s (personal digital assistants) that had drug referencing programs loaded on them. They were able to look up the right dosage and help the patient. I hope I showed you the progression of some of the world mobile computing devices.
By 2009, 17 million mobile devices were being sold worldwide... annually. There are many differences between a wired computing device or otherwise called a desktop and a mobile computing device. To start on the mobile devices, they have a few drawbacks to them. They’re battery operated so power is limited. They also are very dependent on bandwidth so if you in a congested area good luck getting the information you need fast. They have a lot of interferences from buildings, weather, terrain, and rural areas; since the device use signals to transmit data you need to have an optimal area of use. Also mobile devices tend to be a lot smaller so it is hard for some people to use the keyboard or buttons. The great things about mobile are similar to some of their drawbacks like the size, they can fit in any pocket or hand bag. You can have information anywhere you go. They are wireless, as long as you have a full charge you are good to go. Most mobile devices are very easy to use with touch and go technology. The drawbacks to being wired aren’t as many as the drawbacks to the mobile; you are limited to one room, of course there is no mobility. The equipment is large and heavy, you need to dedicate a room or desk just for the computer. It also uses a lot of power, especially if you have a large monitor. There are a few more advantages to being wire; you can have multiple screens which come in handy when writing a research paper. The screens can be as large a television screen or