Let us introduce an amazing crowd of researchers at Mobile Life Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and some of their friends at Nokia Research Center, Microsoft Research Cambridge and Ericsson Research. These people are at the international forefront of research in the domain of mobile interactive technology – a situation that this book aims to celebrate!

This is also a printed book, which means it may work a bit like a time capsule, showcasing a set of explorations that may appear peculiar and out-dated, depending on when you happen to read it. It may therefore be highlighted that all the work presented in here was conducted during the first five years of the Mobile Life Centre (2007-2012) — a time when the mobile mass market, as well as research in this field, was still new, fresh and explorative in nature.

The title, Plei-Plei, refers to a playful approach towards research as characteristic in the work presented in this book. The term is also used by natives in the pacific islands of Vanuatu, to describe “mere play” in their everyday lives, as well as in their use of mobile phones. This means that the book is not just about fun and games, but rather an attempt to capture how research can be driven by a genuine curiosity of, and inspiration from, what people enjoy doing.

Since many of our friends have told us that research papers are usually too long and also somewhat boring to read, we have chosen to present this work by highlighting some of our favourite results with illustrations and shorter texts that hopefully will be more inspirational and enjoyable to read. Thanks to massive help from Boris Design Studio, we are immensely impressed with the result that is now in your hand.

Please Enjoy!