Handheld devices

A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computing device small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Typically, the device has a either flatscreen display with a small numeric keypad or alphanumeric keyboard, or a touchscreen providing a virtual keyboard and buttons (icons) on-screen. Many such devices can connect to the Internet and interconnect with other devices such as car entertainment systems or headsets via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or near field communication (NFC). Integrated cameras, digital media players, mobile phone and Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities are common. Power is typically provided by a lithium battery. Mobile devices may run mobile operating systems that allow third-party apps specialized for said capabilities to be installed and run.

Early pocket-sized devices were joined in the late 2000s by larger but otherwise similar tablet computers. Input and output is now usually via a touch-screen interface. Smartphones and personal digital assistants may provide much of the functionality of a laptop or desktop computer but more conveniently. Enterprise digital assistants can provide additional business functionality such as integrated data capture via barcode, RFID and smart card readers By 2010, mobile devices often contained sensors such as accelerometers, compasses, magnetometers and gyroscopes allowing detection of orientation and motion. Mobile devices may provide biometric user authentication such as face recognition or fingerprint recognition.