Portable Electronic Devices
This Explorer technology area has been discontinued.
Explorer offers limited, short-term web access to this discontinued technology. If you would like access to these documents, please contact us to discuss pricing and details.
Archived Viewpoints
2020
-
September:
A Market Test for Cloud Gaming
Big Picture: Video Games and Portable Electronics -
August:
-
July:
-
June:
The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Digital Connectivity and Lifestyles
Scenarios Presentation: The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Technology Development
-
May:
The Pandemic Crisis: Key Forces That Will Shape the Future of Digital Connectivity and Lifestyles
-
April:
Rethinking Peer-to-Peer Capabilities for Smartphones
Progress in Solid-State Batteries -
March:
Ultrawideband Communications
European Parliament Calls for Common Charging Standard -
February:
Dual-Display Laptops Are Imminent
Electrochromic Phone-Camera Filters
2019
-
December/January:
2019: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2020 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
Mobile-Payment Strategies
Huawei Reveals Its New Operating System -
August:
The Health-Monitoring Potential of Smart Eyewear
Smartphone Mesh Networks -
July:
-
June:
-
May:
Smartwatches for Children
Military Applications for HoloLens 2 -
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2018
-
December/January:
2018: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2019 -
November:
Oculus's VR Predictions
RISC-V's Potential for Portable Electronics -
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
AR Experiences across Multiple Devices
Gaming-Centric Smartphones -
June:
-
May:
-
April:
Smart Eyewear for Consumers
Midair Haptic Feedback for Gesture Interfaces -
March:
China's App Obsession
Android Fragmentation and Project Treble -
February:
2017
-
December/January:
-
November:
-
October:
-
September:
Performance-Monitoring Wearables for Professional Athletes
Wearable Wireless Audio -
August:
-
July:
Building for the Next Billion Smartphone Users
Edge-to-Edge Displays -
June:
-
May:
-
April:
Storage Upgrades for Mobile Devices
Portable Electronics in Education -
March:
-
February:
2016
-
December/January:
2016: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2017 -
November:
The Headphone Jack Is Dead, Long Live Earbuds
Wearable Smartphones -
October:
-
September:
Portable Electronics and the Hearing Impaired
Hacking Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers -
August:
The Modular Smartphone
Augmented Reality Moves toward the Factory Floor -
July:
Pokémon Go and Augmented-Reality Games
Portable Electronic Devices and Autism-Spectrum Condition -
June:
New Advances in Wi-Fi Localization
Foot- and Leg-Based Interactions with Devices -
May:
The Slow Pace of Connected Bicycles
Ultrasonic Gesture Detection in Portable Devices -
April:
Virtual Keyboards as Competitive Interface
Innovation in Physical Keyboards -
March:
-
February:
2015
-
December/January:
2015: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2016 -
November:
Shape-Shifting Mobile Devices
Predictive Intelligence and Smartphone Launchers -
October:
Update on Sensor Hubs in Portable Electronic Devices
Bipolar-Disorder Detection via Smartphones -
September:
New Developments in Two-Factor Authentication
Mechanical Turks: Apps with People -
August:
-
July:
-
June:
Smartphone Sensors, Batteries, and User Privacy
Consumer Electronics and Wearables in the Military -
May:
Food Journals and Personal Tracking
Interactive Toys and Conversational Technology -
April:
Expanding Uses for Light-Field and 3D Photography
Pastoralists and Portable Electronic Devices -
March:
-
February:
2014
-
December/January:
2014: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2015 -
November:
Advances in Wearable Electromyography
Force Illusion in Portable Electronic Devices -
October:
-
September:
3D Sensors Move to Wearable Devices
Using Portable Devices to Identify Users -
August:
Smart Glasses for the Vision Impaired
Detecting Mind Wandering in Readers -
July:
Smartphones in Space
The Amazon Fire Phone and User-Focused Devices -
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2013
-
December/January:
2013: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2014 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
The Emerging Paradigm of Anticipatory Computing: First Steps
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
Children and Tablets: The Emergence of a New Computer Market
-
March:
-
February:
Portable Devices, Streaming Services, and User Horizons: Bubbles versus Membranes
2012
-
December/January:
2012: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2013 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
Smartphones as Portable Health Devices in the Developing World
-
March:
-
February:
2011
-
December/January:
2011: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2012 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
Next-Generation Portable Gaming Platforms
Intelligent Wristwatches: Auxiliary Displays for Smartphones -
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2010
-
December/January:
2010: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2011 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2009
-
December/January:
2009: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2010 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2008
-
December/January:
2008: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2009 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
Mobile Virtualization Start-Up Has Financial Boost from Motorola
-
April:
Power Air to Release Micro Fuel Cells for Portable Electronic Devices
-
March:
-
February:
2007
-
December/January:
-
Before December 2007, the Portable Electronic Devices technology area was Portable Intelligence.
-
November:
Not Just Toys for Boys: Portable Games for Every Demographic
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
Recent Developments: Intel Plans to Return to the Mobile-Device Market | EMI Offers DRM-Free Music
-
March:
-
February:
2006
-
December/January:
2006: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2007 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2005
-
December/January:
2005: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2006 -
November:
-
October:
Mobile TV: Many Solutions and One Question (Does Anyone Want It?)
-
September:
-
August:
Palm Devices Running Windows Signal the Beginning of the End for the Palm OS
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2004
-
December/January:
2004: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2005 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
Mid-2004 Handheld-Computing and Intelligent-Communicator Market Figures Show Increase in Sales
-
August:
-
July:
Sony Exits the PDA Market in Both the United States and Europe in a Major Blow to Palm
-
June:
Handheld Personal Computers on Steroids: The Ultra Personal Computer
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2004: A Year of Growth for Location Technology Applications in PI Devices
2003
-
December/January:
2003: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2004 -
November:
-
October:
How Close Are Micro Fuel Cells for Use in PI Handheld Devices?
-
September:
-
August:
Increased Wi-Fi Use in Portable-Intelligence Devices Likely—Update of 802.11 WLAN Standards
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2002
-
December/January:
2002: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2003 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
Next Generation Cellular Standard: The Marketplace Battlefield
-
June:
Intensification of Competition between Next-Generation Cellular Standards
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2001
-
December/January:
2001: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2002 -
November:
-
October:
Larger-Form-Factor Terminals for Next-Generation CDMA Wireless Data Service in the United States
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
GSM Association Reinvents WAP for GPRS 2.5G Internet Services
-
June:
-
May:
Wireless Local-Area Networks to Increase the Utility of PI Devices for Enterprise Applications
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
2000
-
December/January:
2000: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2001 -
November:
Bluetooth: Instead of a Flood of Products to Market, Only a Trickle
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
GPS Decision Creates Additional Momentum for Portable Intelligence Location Based Service Markets
-
May:
-
April:
Voice Commerce—Speech-Enabled Browsers for Portable Intelligence
-
March:
-
February:
Wireless Data and Handheld Intelligent Devices: Reconciling the Hype of Promise with Reality
1999
-
December/January:
1999: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2000 -
November:
Internet Services for Cellular Phones: Debut of WAP-Enabled Handsets
-
October:
Enhanced 911 Service: A Market Force and Technology Enabler for Portable Intelligence
-
September:
-
August:
-
Before August 1999, the Explorer service was called TechMonitoring, and Viewpoints were TechLinks.
-
July:
-
June:
Convergence of Mobile Satellite Services with Portable Intelligence: Promise or Reality?
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
1998
-
December/January:
1998: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1999 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
Short-Range RF: The Convergence of Mobile Computing and Wireless Communications
-
June:
Handwriting Recognition in Retreat | A "Real-Time" Microsoft OS
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
1997
-
December/January:
1997: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1998 -
November:
-
October:
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
Mobile Internet Access | New MessagePad from Apple | Motorola's Discontinued Portable Line
1996
-
December/January:
1996: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1997 -
November:
Market Development | Chinese Language PDA Commercialized | New Wireless Platform from Microware
-
October:
Microsoft Announces Launch of Windows CE | Corel to Develop PDA
-
September:
-
August:
-
July:
-
June:
-
May:
-
April:
-
March:
-
February:
-
December/January:
1995: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1996
About Portable Electronic Devices
July 2019
Portable electronic devices are among the most important technologies of the past decade and arguably among the most influential of the past century. Any electronic device that people can carry is portable, but the greatest interest centers on battery-powered gear that people can operate on the go. Many stakeholders are preoccupied with smartphones and tablets, but interest is also increasing in wearable devices such as smartwatches, virtual-reality headsets, and activity monitors for users who embrace the "quantified-self" concept. After industry-attained milestones such as the first laptop PCs in the 1980s, early tablets in the 1990s, and smartphones in the 2000s, the landscape shifted during 2007–08, when the current Apple-versus-Android competition emerged. Smartphones—and, since 2010, multitouch tablets—made it possible for users to interact with devices in qualitatively different ways than in the past: in a broad variety of geographic locations and social contexts, constantly rather than episodically, and during spontaneous sessions on an instant's notice rather than after waiting for bootup.
Smartphones also began to cannibalize the functionality of other portable electronic devices. Stand-alone music and video players, digital still and video cameras, handheld game systems, and portable GPS navigation units have all seen their sales fall as smartphones duplicate their functionality. Similarly, tablets have eroded expectations for sales of dedicated e-book readers. Yet a new crop of portables—wearable electronics—is making substantial market headway. Fitness bands, smartwatches, smart jewelry, health monitors, lifelogging cameras, and virtual- and augmented-reality headsets offset the declining popularity of legacy portable platforms. In contrast to music players, cameras, and other previous-generation technologies, wearable devices need not compete with smartphones. They use smartphones to extend their capabilities or are in use to extend the capabilities of smartphones. Fitness bands and activity monitors offload some functionality to smartphones via Bluetooth connections, reducing weight and price and enabling a smartphone to serve as a user interface. Smartwatches are increasingly "second screens" for smartphones, allowing users to read text messages and alerts and see the identity of incoming callers without touching their phones. Wearables, in other words, are not eroding smartphones' central importance to users; they are reinforcing it. The result is a portable-electronic-device ecosystem in which the smartphone is the apex predator, eliminating competitors and reinforcing its dominance with the aid of symbiotic devices. At the same time, many diverse vertical-market portables continue to pervade industry and military organizations, and manufacturers produce abundant niche-market portable offerings such as pocket-size video projectors, wireless boomboxes, and even smart dog collars.
Portable electronic devices will likely continue to disrupt business and social trends. Despite the relative maturity of cell-phone, portable-game, and other markets, ongoing developments drive the need to monitor potential disruptions and their implications for the future. Designers, manufacturers, and users alike will be grappling in the coming years with a new set of technologies that could be as radically transformative as those of the previous decade. Bendable or foldable screens could allow for devices with entirely new form factors. Efforts to bring broadband wireless access to the several billion people in rural, remote, and poor parts of the world will generate demands for transformative designs and may accompany major changes in how people connect, such as by use of optical communications, television white-space frequencies, airborne communications platforms, and mesh networks. Radically new energy technologies such as fuel cells, energy harvesting, energy-saving sensor hubs, and improved energy-management software may yield devices that can run for days or weeks without recharging. Sensors will fall in price and increase in sensitivity, expanding the ability of portables to monitor our vital signs, sense our moods, and warn us of threats; as they move into clothing, shoes, and other everyday objects, they'll expand the definition of wearable computing devices. Finally, speech recognition and "anticipatory-computing" systems that deliver information in contextually sensitive ways could make interactions with portable devices more informal, social, and naturalistic. R&D planners, business developers, government organizations, and others need to prepare for the range of possible outcomes and their implications to set timely research agendas, select appropriate partners, and understand the type of future that may unfold as portable-electronic developments progress through the pipeline.