The phrase denotes moveable digital tools designed and marketed by a particular expertise firm, launched to the general public beginning within the 12 months 2007, and mentioned inside the context of a outstanding information publication. A typical occasion can be the preliminary launch of a touchscreen-based smartphone, adopted by subsequent iterations and expansions into associated product classes, documented within the reporting of The New York Occasions.
The relevance of such units stems from their transformative affect on private communication, info entry, and leisure. Their introduction and evolution, as chronicled by information retailers, gives beneficial perception into technological developments, market developments, and societal diversifications to ubiquitous computing. The historic document of those units and their protection provides a lens via which to look at the interaction of innovation, commerce, and cultural affect.