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Original Article

Mobility and portability of media, or as Paul Levinson calls it in his book Cellphone, “the media-in-motion business”[1] has been a process in the works ever since the “first time someone thought to write on a tablet that could be lifted and hauled – rather than on a cave wall, a cliff face, a monument that usually was stuck in place, more or less forever”.[2] For a time, mobile media devices such as mobile phones and PDA’s (Personal Digital Assistants), were the primary source of portable media from which we could obtain information and communicate with one another. More recently, the smartphone (which has combined many features of the cell phone with the PDA) has rendered the PDA obsolete.[3] The growth of new mobile media as a true force in society was marked by smartphone sales outpacing personal computer sales in 2011.[4]

While mobile phone independent technologies and functions may be new and innovative (in relation to changes and improvements in media capabilities in respect to their function what they can do when and where and what they look like, in regard to their size and shape) the need and desire to access and use media devices regardless of where we are in the world has been around for centuries. Indeed, Paul Levinson remarks, in regard to telephonic communication, that it was “intelligence and inventiveness" applied to our need to communicate regardless of where we may be, led logically and eventually to telephones that we carry in our pockets”.[5] Levinson in his book goes on to state that the book, transistor radio, Kodak camera are also bearers of portable information. And that it is thanks to the printing press that information became available to a mass audience, the reduction in size and portability of the camera allowed people to capture what they saw no matter where they were, and the Internet meant that people could talk to anyone and use on demand information.

Smartphones consume much of our daily lives. These devices and their corresponding media technologies, particularly cloud-based technologies, play an increasingly important role in the everyday lives of millions of people worldwide. Media can be downloaded onto the device by podcasting or can be streamed over the internet.


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The Evolution of the Mobile Phone

The notion of making media mobile can be traced back to the “first time someone thought to write on a tablet that could be lifted and hauled – rather than on a cave wall, a cliff face, a monument that usually was stuck in place, more or less forever”.[2] In his book Cellphone, Paul Levinson refers to mobile media as “the media-in-motion business”[1]

Since their incarnation, mobile phones as a means of communication have been a focus of great fascination as well as debate.[6] In the book, Studying Mobile Media: Cultural Technologies, Mobile Communication, and the iPhone, Gerard Goggin notes how the ability of portable voice communication to provide ceaseless contact complicates the relationship between the public and private spheres of society.[6]

The development of the portable telephone can be traced back to its use by the military in the late nineteenth-century.[7] By the 1930s, police cars in several major U.S. cities were equipped with one-way mobile radios.[7]  In 1931, the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation designed a mass market two-way radio.  This radio was named Motorola, which also became the new name for the company in 1947.[7] In 1943, Motorola developed the first portable radiotelephone, the Walkie-Talkie, for use by the American forces during World War II.[7]  After the war, two-way radio technology was developed for civilian use.  In 1946, AT&T and Southwestern Bell made available the first commercial mobile radiotelephone.  This service allowed calls to be made from a fixed phone to a mobile one.[7]

The book, the transistor radio, the Walkman, and the Kodak camera are also bearers of portable information and early examples of mobile media consumption.[6][1]

For a time, mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) were the primary source of portable media from which we could obtain information and communicate with one another. More recently, the smartphone has rendered the PDA obsolete by combining many features of the cell phone with those of the PDA.[3] In 2011, the growth of new mobile media as a true force in society was marked by smartphone sales outpacing personal computer sales.[4]

While mobile phone independent technologies and functions may be new and innovative (in relation to changes and improvements in media capabilities with respect to their function, or what they can do and when and where they can do it, as well as their shape and size) the need and desire to access and use media devices regardless of where we are in the world has been around for centuries. In regards to telephonic communication, Levinson remarked that it was “intelligence and inventiveness" applied to our need to communicate regardless of where we may be, led logically and eventually to telephones that we carry in our pockets." Levinson credits the printing press for disseminating information to a mass audience, the reduction in size and portability of the camera for allowing people to capture what they saw regardless of their location, and the Internet for providing on-demand information.[1]

Smartphones have altered the very structure of society[6]. The ability of smartphones to transcend certain boundaries of times and space has revolutionized the nature of communication, allowing it to be both synchronous and asynchronous.[8] These devices and their corresponding media technologies, such as cloud-based technologies, play an increasingly important role in the everyday lives of millions of people worldwide.[7]

Forms of mobile media, such as podcasts, can be downloaded or streamed over the internet.

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  1. ^ a b c d Levinson, Paul (2004)Cellphone, Palgrave/St. Martin's, New York
  2. ^ a b Levinson, Paul (2004)Cellphone, Palgrave/St. Martin's, New York
  3. ^ a b CompTIA Strata Study Guide. John Wiley & Sons. 2011. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-470-97742-2.
  4. ^ a b Canalys Smart phones overtake client PCs in 2011 http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/smart-phones-overtake-client-pcs-2011.
  5. ^ Levinson, Paul (2004)Cellphone, Palgrave/St. Martin's, New York
  6. ^ a b c d Hjorth, Larissa (2012). Studying Mobile Media : Cultural Technologies, Mobile Communication, and the IPhone. Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 9780203127711.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Farman, Jason, editor. Foundations of mobile media studies : essential texts on the formation of a field. ISBN 978-1-138-23582-3. OCLC 964575189. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Chipchase, Jan (2008-05-09), "Reducing Illiteracy as a Barrier to Mobile Communication", Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies, The MIT Press, pp. 79–90, ISBN 978-0-262-11312-0, retrieved 2020-04-12