"But the smartphone — a small pocketable screen – was not at all expected. It was a complete surprise because no one thought it would be possible to engage with

"But the smartphone — a small pocketable screen – was not at all expected. It was a complete surprise because no one thought it would be possible to engage with such a tiny screen. It was a shock to everyone (including me) that a screen smaller than my palm would be enough to watch a movie, or read a book, or get your news." Fictional depictions of a tablet form factor appear to go back to Asimov's original Foundation in 1951. "Isaac Asimov described a Calculator Pad in his novel Foundation (1951); Stanisław Lem described the Opton in his novel Return from the Stars (1961)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_computer#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_computer#History