Mobile phones and information capture in the workplace

Abstract

Smartphones (mobile phones with downloadable applications) are being used for far more than making calls and reading email. We investigated the use of phones for information capture for work purposes through interviews, multiple free response surveys, and two multiple choice surveys. While we expected and found taking pictures to be useful for work, we were surprised at the extent of audio, video, and note taking done on the phone, and the impact on other devices. Our work also suggests future mobile information capture for work will increase more due to cultural changes than technological improvements.