 |
 |
|
|
|
|
What is a PDA ?
Personal Digital Assistants,
popularly called PDAs are portable and easy to use electronic
personal organizers that are capable of sharing information with
the PC. They are also known as pocket computers or palmtop
computers and are used for a wide variety of purposes like
noting appointments, keeping a to-do list, saving contact
details, video recording, type writing, word processing and
calculating. PDAs have come a long way and at present, this
gadget can also be connected to the internet for sending and
receiving emails and playing various computer games; acting as a
GPS or global positioning system. PDAs are now used as cell
phones, web browsers and portable media players; many PDAs are
also capable of allowing their users to access intranet or
extranets through Wi-Fi or WWANs (Wireless Wide Area Networks).
What is a smartphone ?
A PDA that can be used as a cell phone or a mobile phone that
has all the features of a PDA is called a smartphone. A typical
smartphone will have the following features:
There will be a cell phone service provider to manage the
service so, you will buy a smartphone along with the cellular
scheme from the service provider.
Accessing the Internet via the cellular data networks.
There are various operating systems that include Windows
Mobile Pocket PC Phone edition, the Palm OS, the Blackberry OS
(for Blackberry smart phones) and the Symbian OS (for Nokia,
Samsung, and Panasonic smart phones).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What are
the major PDA operating systems (OS) in todays market ?
The major PDA operating services include:
Windows Mobile Microsoft
Symbian OS Ericsson, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung, Motorola and
Siemens
Palm OS PalmSource
RIM for the Blackberry Research In Motion
What are the popular consumer PDAs ?
The most popular PDAs in the consumer market are:
Blackberry
PocketMail
Psion
Acer N Series
Amida
AlphaSmart
hp iPAQ Pocket PC
Dell Axim
Abacus PDA Watch |
|
The
following, though popular, have been phased out from the market
Apple Newton
Sony CLIE
Casio Pocket Viewer
Tapwave Zodiac
What are
the uses of PDA ?
Typically PDAs are used as extensions of a PC to access data
when a laptop or a desktop cannot be used. It is becoming
immensely popular as users are finding the device extremely user
friendly and convenient. Today, there are a lot of PDAs in to
which more than 100 different functions or applications can be
downloaded.
One of the new uses of PDA includes its utilization in
automobile navigation. These devices are fixed with GPS or
global positioning systems to give the transport operators a
realtime automobile navigation. The systems are capable of
showing the various traffic conditions, dynamic routing and
mobile radar guns. All the details are either downloaded from
the web before the travel or downloaded on the fly with those
gadgets that come with the GPRS technology. TomTom is one the
most popular automobile navigation software (used in Europe) for
displaying the road conditions and 3D environments.
The flaw
One of the biggest drawbacks of PDA is that it does not have the
full fledged infrastructure of a Wireless Broadband Network.
However, with its growing demand and continuous up gradation, I
am sure this will also be taken care of in a short while.
|
|
Choosing
the right PDA
With the growth of the potentialities of the PDA, the standard
PDA device is also undergoing an enormous change. Let me give
you some tips on how to choose a PDA that will be best suitable
for your needs.
Before buying a PDA, ask your self the question what will you
use the gadget for most of the time? If you think that the basic
functions should serve your purpose, dont spend money on one
that comes with Wi-Fi or wireless connectivity. However, if you
are a frequent traveler and need to stay in touch via internet
and e-mails, opt for a PDA that comes with a Wi-Fi connectivity
or a smartphone with cellular data service.
|
|
|
|
Today most of the PDA users utilize
this device as an adjunct to their computers. Hence it becomes
important that the PDA is easily compatible with the PIM
software that is used on the computer. Another significant point
is the data entry method of this appliance; so if you plan to
use this machine for exchanging emails or other such
applications, opt for a model that has a built-in keyboard. Of
course, it must also be remembered that the model you are using
is comfortable to hold. A huge and cumbersome device is
definitely not desirable. But remember that the clarity of the
text and the display size are also extremely important. So a
sleek and stylish phone with not clear text and very small sized
writings is after all useless!
If you want your device to come with
all features like an MP3 player, a digital camera and a GPS, you
can either choose a brand that comes with all these add-ons or
select a model that has an SDIO slot and use synchronous SDIO
peripherals. So, if you need to use your PDA for a wide range of
applications, select one that accepts flash memory media cards.
Hope I was able to get an idea of what will be best suitable for
your needs. Nonetheless, whatever you choose, dont forget to
include the following in your to buy list:
An extra battery
An extra charger (car or travel)
Headphones
A carrying case
A plastic screen protector
PDA use in the coming years
The conventional PDAs are slowing losing their market. A study
conducted in the year 2005 has shown the sharp dip on the sales
chart of the traditional PDAs in the recent years; big players
like Sony and Toshiba have bowed out from the market. The new
age PDA comes with a host of features and must continue to add
more to their core PIM functions to live up to the competition
given the smart phone technology that comes with fantastic
accessories like GPS, multimedia capabilities and wireless
internet and blue tooth facilities.
|
|
Article Contributed By: Sukanaya
Banerjee
|
|
|
|
|
