Meaning – The term information appliance, refers to the computing device that is used to access, manipulate, or transmit information but is not traditionally thought of as a computer. Cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are examples of information appliances.
In the earlier years, computers were the only source of information for the general public, and if an individual or an organization needed to access some information, or even perform information exchange, it had to be done via computers. Today, thanks to technological evolution, anyone can access any information on the world wide web, from the palm of their hands, thanks to smartphones.
Example of usage – “Information appliances partially overlap in definition with, or are sometimes referred to as smart devices, embedded systems, mobile devices or wireless devices. Typical examples of information appliances include smartphones and personal data assistants.”
