Last month at a meeting in Hollywood, it was time to plot out the sequel to “Star Trek,” last year’s blockbuster reboot of the sci-fi franchise.

The attendees all brought smartphones — gadgets far more powerful than the videophones imagined by the “Star Trek” writers 40 years ago. Bob Orci brought something the writers back then could only dream of: an iPad.

Mr. Orci, meeting with the producers J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, and his fellow writer Alex Kurtzman, jump-started the discussion with an iPad slide show, showing stills from the first film, snapshots of potential locations and a photo of a suggested actress for one of the roles. On the woman’s photo, he had used his iPad to paint on a Vulcan ear.

“When you’re carrying a little TV around, you bring the power of imagery to places that you don’t normally have it,” Mr. Orci said in an interview.