130 Personal Content Experience: Managing Digital Life in the Mobile Age option and state that metadata management is a vital part of the operat- ing system as long as content-intensive applications are concerned. Some issues addressed in this chapter are common to those dealt with in traditional Content Management Systems (CMSs). Before more fully discussing the metadata framework, let us look at some of the problems with content management, especially those caused by mobil- ity. For more in-depth discussion on the technological issues and practices related to CMSs, see Boiko (2005). 5.2 Challenges in Distributed Mobile Content Management Mobility implies that the content is always with the user, regardless of the time and place. This results in what is perhaps the most fundamen- tal issue with mobile personal content, especially considering the remarkable growth rate. Not all personal content can be stored in the mobile device, due to limitations in storage capacity, wireless network capabilities, and media processing capabilities. Mobile content man- agement is by default distributed content management. This aspect 2 determines many characteristics of mobile personal content. 5.2.1 Storage An important aspect associated with mobile personal content is the device ecosystem, discussed in Chapter 4. In essence, it is a question of owning several devices, mobile or otherwise, that are capable of storing and providing access to personal content. As a consequence, personal content is probably spread across the device ecosystem. The most obvious question related to distributed content is to deter- mine where the content has been stored, if not in the mobile device. There are three obvious options available: 1. All content is stored in the mobile device. 2. A subset of content is included in the mobile device, and the rest is elsewhere (PC, set-top-box, Internet, etc). 2 Yes, mobile storage is increasing, but so are the sizes of content fi les and their number. We believe that mobile devices will, in the future, only be able to hold a fraction of the personal content – except maybe for people with limited content demands.