The overall goal of this dissertation is to develop a theoretical framework describing the mechanisms shaping the use of smartphones for travel, and can be addressed by answering the following questions: ( 1) What are the uses of smartphones in the context of travel? (2) What are the factors influencing the use of smartphones in the context of travel? And, (3) What are the mechanisms shaping the use of smartphones for travel (i.e. How are the factors working to shape the use of smartphones in travel context?). A phenomenological approach was used to answer these questions as quantitative methods are believed to be inadequate in describing the processes underlying the use of smartphones for travel. Twenty-four Americans who own one kind of smartphones and traveled at least once for leisure purpose in the most recent three months were interviewed extensively to gain an in-depth understanding of their uses of smartphones and resulting travel experience.
This study identified four categories of uses of smartphones for travel (including 25 unique activities) including the uses of smartphones for communication, entertainment, facilitation, and information search. Five sets of factors that are associated with the use of smartphones for travel were identified from both contexts ...