Portable Computing Devices In Our Everyday Lives

What is a Portable Computing Device? A Portable Computing Device (also known as a Mobile Computing Device)is defined by Techopedia.com as "any device that is created using mobile components, such as mobile hardware and software. Mobile computing devices are portable devices capable of operating, executing and providing services and applications like a typical computing device."(1)

The following table shows the most popular types of Portable Computing Devices.

Types of Portable Computing Devices

Description

Image

Laptop Computer

"A portable computer, usually battery-powered, small enough to rest on the user's lap and having a screen that closes over the keyboard like a lid."(2)
Some examples of Laptop Computers are; the Apple MacBook (Pro, Air,or original), the Acer Swift,and the ASUS VivoBook (3)

Tablet

"A tablet is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touchscreen interface. The tablet form factor is typically smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a smartphone."(4)
Some examples of tablet computers are; the Apple iPad (as shown on the right), the Microsoft Surface, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. (5)

Smartphone

"A mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps."(6)
Some examples of Smartphones are; The Apple iPhone X, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and the Google Pixel 2. (7)

How each device is used day to day and it's history

Laptop Computer

"The computer considered by most historians to be the first true portable computer was the Osborne 1. Adam Osborne, an ex-book publisher was the founder of Osborne Computer Corp, which produced the Osborne 1 in 1981. It was a portable computer that weighed 24 pounds and cost $1795." (8) Laptop Computers are extremely popular with everyone from young students to their retired grandparents, they are very portable due to their ability to fold like a clamshell, they are also designed quite basically, making them overall easy to use and take care of for people of all ages.

Tablets

While iPad's may be the best known for starting the Tablet Computer trend, Microsoft actually created the first "Tablet Computer" in 2002. (9)Tablet Computers have only come to the general population in recent years, but they have been extremely popular since the first generation iPads general release in April 2010. With the release of the iPad came a massive consensus for more tablet computers, they are easy to use, they have a touch screen feature that for many people is much easier to use than a normal computer keyboard and mouse, with their sleek/ simple design they are very portable and easy to use on the go.

Smartphones

The term "Smartphone" wasn't used until three years later in 1995, but the first actual "Smartphone" was created by IBM in 1992 and was called the "Simon Personal Communicator", Apple's iPhone wasn't created for another 15 years.(10) Smartphones are used by almost everyone these days, if somebody were to pull out an older generation "Flip Phone" questions would be asked. Smartphones can range quite a bit in size, some of the larger models even being called "Phablets" (Phone/ Tablet). Because of how they are made it is practically like carrying a computer around in your pocket with some basic phone features, and an easy to use touch screen display.

Questions

What are the three most popular types of Portable Computing Devices? What year was the first ever Smartphone created? What is the slang name for larger Smartphones? Answer:Answers

Bibliography

1.What is a Mobile Computing Device (MCD)? - Definition from Techopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/8270/mobile-computing-device-mcd

2.Laptop. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/laptop

3.(Laptop Picture) HP Pavilion 14-bk069sa 14" Laptop & LiveSafe Premium Bundle. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-bk069sa-14-laptop-livesafe-premium-bundle-10171062-pdt.html

4.What is tablet (tablet PC)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/tablet-PC

5.128GB iPad mini 4 (Wi-Fi Only, Space Gray). (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2018,from https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1185478-REG/apple_mk9n2ll_a_128gb_ipad_mini_4.html

6.Smartphone | Definition of smartphone in English by Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2018, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/smartphone

7.(iPhone Picture)Ng, A. (2018, January 22). Don't expect the iPhone X to get cheaper as it gets older. Retrieved January 25, 2018, from https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-may-discontinue-iphone-x-as-2nd-gen-model-arrives/

8.Bellis, M. (n.d.). Who Invented the Laptop Computer? Retrieved February 04, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-laptop-computers-4066247

9.Bort, J. (2013, May 30). Microsoft Invented A Tablet A Decade Before Apple And Totally Blew It. Retrieved February 04, 2018, from http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-visual-proof-of-just-how-badly-microsoft-blew-it-with-tablets-2013-5

10.Tweedie, S. (2015, June 14). The world's first smartphone, Simon, was created 15 years before the iPhone. Retrieved February 04, 2018, from http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-first-smartphone-simon-launched-before-iphone-2015-6