The reconstruction of portable computers: On the flexibility of mobile computing in mobile activities

The remote distribution of contemporary activities has direct implications for the mobility of humans and associated actions. Remote distribution inherently entails parameters such as the mobility of individuals, artefacts, tasks and information; and potential conflicts between objective and personal motives of individuals. The interactions of these parameters bear directly on the range of mobile computing services derivable from the use of these artefacts. Based on an activity-theoretical perspective, this paper presents a discussion of the dynamics of mobile computing services through an analysis of the process of reconstruction of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in a mobility-saturated work-integrated learning project. Upon this analysis, I discuss the flexibility of mobile computing as a direct function of the reconstruction process and propose a conceptual framework for the analysis of flexible mobile computing in mobile activities.