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๐Ÿ“ฑ Mobile Devices

Class of hardware devices designed to fulfill their function independently of the place they're used at, usually designed to be easy to carry and containing rechargable or replaceable battery. Also called 'portable devices'.

I have been familiar with the notion of a 'portable device' since the early 1990s when I read about 1980s portable computers. The term 'laptop' I encountered much later, probably in late 1990s or early 2000s. At that time I was also aware of the existence of personal assistants (PDA) and palmtops but I never had a chance to see one in the wild.

These days the term 'mobile device' usually means a smartphone or a tablet, less frequently a laptop. It can also be opportunistically explained as a device with a touch screen as the primary means of interacting with the human using it.

Despite formal eligibility I don't consider wearable devices (smartwatches, smartbands and similar) mobile devices per se - I think of them more as wristwatch derivates rather than computers (but I do not deny most of them are indeed tiny computers).

I can't decide if I consider ebook readers eligible to be called 'mobile devices' like smartphones or tablets, but I don't consider them significant enough in my life to form a separate category.

Personal notesโ€‹

  • The best time to get interested and excited about mobile devices was in 2010s. Currently I find this category stagnant and boring
  • New generations of mobile devices are designed by accountants and rarely solve any interesting problems to justify buying them on the release day. If anyone says otherwise, they're most likely a marketer or a salesperson, whether anyone pays them for their work or not
  • Mid-end and low-end range of devices are the most interesting, because that's where market competition happens. High-end devices offer 'everything' but they also get unjustifiably expensive. Anything high-end devices offer today will be available with lower ranges of devices within next years, maybe months

Mobile devices I currently useโ€‹

Those are devices that are in active duty as we speak

Ordered alphabetically.

  • Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 5 Signature Edition (2021)
  • Samsung Galaxy A52 5G - work phone
  • Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (SM-G990), codename Martini - personal daily driver
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE (T736) - tablet with stylus

Mobile devices I used in the pastโ€‹

Those are devices that used to be my daily drivers.

Ordered alphabetically.

  • Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2
  • Apple iPhone 3GS
  • Archos 80 G9 Turbo
  • Motorola V2288
  • Motorola C200
  • LG Cookie
  • LG Swift (GT540)
  • Nokia Lumia 610
  • Nokia Lumia 710
  • OnePlus 7 Pro 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 (SM-A510F)
  • Samsung Galaxy S III (GT-i9300)
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S5E (SM-T725)
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2016 (SM-T285)
  • Sony Ericsson J210i
  • Sony Ericsson K310i
  • Sony Ericsson K810i

Mobile devices I had a chance of tryingโ€‹

Those are devices I briefly owned for the purpose of testing (e.g. for mobile software development) or observed among my family members or friends. They were never my daily drivers but I had enough time to get familiar with them and form my thoughts.

Ordered alphabetically.

  • Alcatel One Touch Fire
  • Goclever Terra 101
  • Motorola Razr V3
  • Motorola Moto G4
  • Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 (SM-J320F)
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G