Chapter 1. Living in a Mobile World

Smartphones are the essential devices of the modern mobile world. We use smartphones to tackle seemingly limitless tasks such as texting, chatting, shopping online, updating our social networking status, researching, emailing, creating documents, making phone calls, video conferencing, and banking. The list will only grow as smartphone capabilities continue to expand. 50.4 percent of US consumers own a smartphone; a percentage which is projected to increase as it has, every previous year (http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/07/nielsen-smartphones-used-by-50-4-of-u-s-consumers-android-48-5-of-them/).

Smartphones are attractive devices that can simplify many of our most essential and mundane tasks. Not only do they allow us to connect and interact with others in a simplified manner, but they also allow us to conduct many essential business tasks without the need for comparatively bulky laptops. However, in addition to the seeming wealth of capabilities provided by these devices, smartphones also carry a certain number of risks.