This book offers a helpful starting point in the scattered, rich, and complex body of literature on Mobile Information Retrieval (Mobile IR), reviewing more than 200 papers in nine chapters. Highlighting the most interesting and influential contributions that have appeared in recent years, it particularly focuses on both user interaction and techniques for the perception and use of context, which, taken together, shape much of today's research on Mobile IR. The book starts by addressing the differences between IR and Mobile IR, while also reviewing the foundations of Mobile IR research. It then examines the different kinds of documents, users, and information needs that can be found in Mobile IR, and which set it apart from standard IR. Next, it discusses the two important issues of user interfaces and context-awareness. In closing, it covers issues related to the evaluation of Mobile IR applications. Overall, the book offers a valuable tool, helping new and veteran researchers alike to navigate this exciting and highly dynamic area of research.

The ongoing migration of computing and information access from the desktop and te- phone to mobile computing devices such as PDAs, tablet PCs, and next-generation (3G) phones poses critical challenges for research on information access. Desktop computer users are now used to accessing vast quantities of complex data either directly on their PC or via the Internet - with many services now blurring that distinction. The current state-of-practice of mobile computing devices, be they mobile phones, hand-held computers, or personal digital assistants (PDAs), is very variable. Most mobile phones have no or very limited information storage and very poor Internet access. Furthermore, very few end-users make any, never mind extensive, use of the services that are provided. Hand-held computers, on the other hand, tend to have no wireless network capabilities and tend to be used very much as electronic diaries, with users tending not to go beyond basic diary applications.