Personal Digital Devices

Allow communication through:
- Text messages, social networking sites, instant messaging, voice calls and emails.

Leisure activities:
- Watch films on Blu-ray, taking photos with a camera, social networking, playing on consoles, listening to music and downloading music, streaming films.

Travel:
- People often use digital devices on the move, GPS, geotag images.

Audience and purpose:
- When companies design devices they need to thinl about who will be using the device and how they will use it. E.g. a teenager might want internet access to go on social networking sites. A business person might want ta qwerty keyboard so they can send emails easily.

Factors to consider:
- Battery life, connectivity, secruity, storage capacity, cost, compatibility with other devices.

Processor:
- It controls all the functions of the device with is in all digital devices.

Internal memory:
- The processor stores the program instructions and data in its internal memory.

Sizes of bytes:
byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte.

Flash memory:
- It doesn't lose data, no moving parts and can be used to transfer data. 

Types of flash memory: 
- SD card, USB memory stick. 

Input devices:
- Scanner, Graphics tablet, keyboard, mouse, microphone.

Output devices:
- Speakers, headphones, headset, screen, docking station, printer.

Data cable connection:
- Commonly used by a USB cable to connect devices such as an iPhone to sync with the right software such as iTunes.

Bluetooth:
- This is wireless, short distances using radio waves to send files or connect to other devices such as a phone or speakers that have enabled bluetooth.

Wi-Fi:
- A wireless communication that can connect devices to the internet over long distances. Allows devices such as phones and printers.

Sychronising:
- When two devices can exchange data automatically when connected such as an iPhone and iTunes. iCloud does the same but using a remote server allowing access to their files on all devices when automatically downloaded to all devices.

Core functions:
- Developed to make calls on the move and later people were able to send short messages using SMS.

Convergence:
- Smartphones can perform the functions of a personal media player, camera and laptop.

Multifunctional mobile phones:
- Camera/video camera, internet browsing, entertainment such as music, data storage.

Secruity: 
- Hide the phone, set a password or pin, lock the SIM card, restrict bluetooth usage to prevent bluejacking. 

Desktop computers:
- Need input and output peripherals such as a monitor and speakers.
- Hard disk drive, optical drives, CD and DVD, USB, FireWire and HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi. 
- Powerful processors.
Can add extra functions to upgrade.

Laptop computers:
- Battery powered or can use an electricity supply.
- CD, DVD, SD slots, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, FireWire, HDMI 
- Less easy to upgrade.

Netbook computers:
- Strong, small and lightweight.
- Boot up quickly, Wi-Fi, designed for using the Internet.

Tablet computers:
- Very light, battery powered, touch screen, cameras, apps, virtual keyboard, ebooks.

Features:
- Processor speed, a quick processor means a fast computer.
- Sound/graphics card, allows you to see/hear graphics and videos.
- Wi-Fi, enables a computer to join the internet. 
- RAM, lots of RAM can store more applications.
- Storage capacity, store more files.
- Battery life, long battery life less frequent charges. 

Health risks:
- Eye strain, looking at the screen for too long, take regular breaks.
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI), performing a repeated action, take breaks.
- Neck and back problems, sitting in the wrong position, change height on the chair.
- Pain in kness and legs, sitting in the same position for a long time, take breaks to stretch your legs. 

Digital zoom:
- Crops and enlarges part of the image which can affect quality.

Optical zoom:
- Takes lens closer to the subject, brining light from the subject closer. 

Resolution:
- Pixels are tiny points in an image, generally more pixels more detailed the image so it can be enlarged, more pixels larger the file size. 

GPS receiver: 
- Some cameras have GPS to see exactly where the picture was taken with the geographical coordinates.

Wi-Fi:
- Users can now email their images or upload them to online albums without having to connect to a computer first. 

Personal camcorders:
- These are cheap and have a better specification than smartphones, can be used to record high definition videos. 

Key features: 
- small, light, easy to carry, long battery life, can have playlists, lot of media, can lock the screen, simple interfaces e.g. jog wheel.

Media file formats:
- Audio, MP3 and WMA
- Still image, JPEG, GIF and PNG
- Video, MPEG-4 and WMV 

Security features:
- Locks automatically, reset features, biometric authentication e.g. fingerprint, encrypts data, backup features. 

Digital Rights Management (DRM):
- Prevents making copies of audio and video files that you have downloaded on to your personal media player. Protects the copyright holder by preventing illegal copying.

Connectivity:
- Wireless transfering, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
- HDMI port
- USB port, transfer files.

Advantages of streaming:
- Saves time and less storage space used.
Disadvantages of streaming:
- Cannot keep a local copy of viewing offline.
- Limited availability for some streamed video.
- Experience depends on connection quality. 

Features:
- High resolution for gaming.
- CD, DVD and Blu-ray 
- Multi-player online gaming.
- Connectivity, USB, Wi-Fi.

Peripherals:
- Wireless controllers, wireless headsets, webcam/speaker/microphone sets, motion sensors for hands free gaming, HDMI cable.

Wireless and hands-free gaming:
- Motion sensor which has buttons for game control.
- Hands-free gaming uses a laser and infared camera which builds up a picture of your room and works out what is a person and what is furniture. Then it identifies which parts of your body you are moving to play the game.

Current developments:
- Smart TV and smartphones and tablets.

Health risks:
- Overuse injuries, pressing buttons can lead to RSI, especially the thumbs, take breaks and time limits.
- Obesity, the amount of time playing is linked to obesity, time limits and do physical activity when not playing.
- Muscle and joing problems, hours in the same position can impact posture, take breaks, adjust comfort.
- Eye strain, eyes can become fatigued when focused for too long, adjust the screens brightness, take breaks.

Effects on behaviour:
- Violent games cause aggression and decreases feeling for others.
- Brain scans have shown that playing a shooting game for 10 hours a week results in less brain activity in regions involving thinking and emotional control.

Digital television:
- more channels, high quality, greater control (save programmes and pause live TV).

Internet:
- Smart Tvs and games consoles allow users to stream channels or films directly from the Internet.
- Apple TV (Alfred) allows users to access the audio and video media stored in iCloud.

Enhancements:
- Digital projectors project personal media onto a screen or wall.
- Home cinema include six speakers to provide surround sound.

Integration:
- Wi-Fi networks allow people to integrate their media devices and access collections of TV show or films in every room with a music server. 

Satellite navigation systems:
- Use GPS to plan routes and give directions such as a Sat Nav.

Drivers:
- Sat Navs check speed and warm about speed cameras, traffic reports and find service stations.

Pedestrians:
- Can find their way to a location using the coordinates and compass contained in the device.

Geocaching:
- An outdoor, high tech treasure hunt and players try to locate hidden containers using GPS enabled devices and then share their experiences online. 

Convergence:
- Where digital devices take functions normally found in other devices such as route planning apps are available for smartphones. 

Sat Nav or smartphone app?
Advantages of using a smartphone:
- Always likely to have your phone on you, small and light, can buy applications instead of buying a sat nav.
Disadvantages of using a smartphone:
- Expensive sat nav apps, charges a lot of money if you dont have good mobile data, runs the battery down quickly, does not always update quickly.

Accessibility:
- Sat navs for blind people will speak their location at the press of a button. 

Computers:
- Introduction of computers has had an impact on the number of employees needed, the skilles employees need, training requirements.

Portable digital devices:
- Greater collaboration, risk of hackers stealing or corrupting data 

Technology in education:
- Internet research, VLEs, Ebooks, online registration, specilalist software, interactive whiteboards.