Getting mod: a look at modularity in mobile systems

Current methods of conceiving, engineering and using mobile technology typically embody a single integrated design philosophy. This integrated design approach seeks to combine as many features and functions into a single device as possible. In this manner it can be said that it hides the complexity of the system from the user. However, this design philosophy is by no means ubiquitous. In fact, it is the antithesis of one of the major design philosophies that characterizes modern thinking and underlies other areas of computing: modularity. The modular design approach attempts to create simplicity, not by combining multiple functions into one integrated whole, but by separating them out into distinct functional units. This work examines aspects of modular design that are relevant to computing in general, and what they might offer to the design and use of mobile systems.