Over the past few years, mobiles have undergone a continual transformation, becoming more capable and flexible with each new release. The ability to record audio and video turned them into tiny multimedia devices; as storage capacity increased, they became the storehouses of our digital lives; and geolocation, web browsing, and email has brought much of the functionality of a laptop to the pocket-sized devices. Then, a year ago, another transformation took place. Devices with touch screen displays appeared on the market. These new mobiles can access the Internet over the increasingly higher-speed 3G networks or by using wifi, and they can sense motion and orientation and react accordingly thanks to built-in accelerometers. They can use GPS to locate themselves and can run robust applications. They communicate with other devices. Most significantly, their manufacturers are working with the developer community to open up the devices to all the innovation that third-party developers can bring.
New interfaces, the ability to connect to wifi and GPS in addition to a variety of cellular networks, and the availability of third-party applications have created an almost entirely new device with nearly infinite possibilities for education, networking, and personal productivity. The implications for education are dramatic: the potential for mobile gaming and simulation, research aids, fieldwork, and tools for learning of all kinds is there, awaiting development.