Okabe, Daisuke, and Mizuko Ito. 2005. “Personal, Portable, Pedestrian Images.” Receiver, July.

In Japanese, the mobile phone is called a keitai, which might be roughly translated as “a portable” or “something you carry with you”. In contrast to “the cellular phone” or “the mobile” which stress technology and function, the Japanese term stresses the relation between user and device. A keitai is not so much about a new technical capability or freedom of motion, but about a snug and intimate technosocial tethering, a personal device supporting communications that are a constant, lightweight, and mundane presence in everyday life.