What Is A PDA? Smartphone?
The acronym PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant. These are essentially “handheld” computers that come in many shapes and sizes, as well as operating systems (OS). The Palm OS is reputed to be the most common operating system for PDAs, as Palm struck up licensing agreements with PDA and smartphone manufacturers early in the game. (Note: Palm recently sold off the operating system, which I think was a bad move.)
The term smartphone refers to two types of mobile communication devices. First, any mobile phone that has user-accessible application software which allows the user to organize their life is a smartphone. Also, any PDA that has cellular access is called a smartphone.
Many of the newer PDA breed of smartphones also have Wi-Fi network access, as well as the build to talk to desktop and laptop computers using IR (infrared), Bluetooth and USB connectivity. Because the higher end PDA models, such as the Palm Treo, allow people so much freedom of mobility and connectivity, they are exploding in popularity and even inspiring websites dedicated to discussing applications and accessories for specific product lines. Examples: Treonauts, Everything Treo.
Operating system-wise, PDAs run on PalmOS, WinCE (a mobile edition of MS-Windows), many flavours of Linux, and more. Today’s PDAs and smartphones also hold many times more memory, have better screen resolution, and display more screen colours than those of a couple of years ago.
Most new PDAs offer card slots, where you can insert miniature hardware accessories in the form of a tiny rectangular card. These cards could be for additional memory, audio/video recording or playback, or even GPS (Global Positioning System) units to help with navigation while driving, hiking, or treasure-hunting.
Using the variety of network connectivity options (cellular or WiFi), many PDA owners use their units to browse the Internet, retrieve or send email, or even update their websites or weblogs. Some PDAs allow you to record your voice, then using suitable software and a matching web service, let you podcast by posting the audio file to your weblog.
In short, PDAs are convenient handheld computers designed for daily use by a single person who requires mobile computing power. Those requiring some sort of Internet connection use smartphone variants of PDAs.
ADDENDUM [May 15/06]: Technology Evangelist has a grid comparing the feature set of 3 Palm Treos and a PPC-6700.
(c) Copyright 2006-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://www.chameleonintegration.com/
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May 12th, 2006 at 3:30 am
[…] Purchase only a smartphone or PDA. He already has a computer at home, so if he just wants to access emails throughout the day, he could go for a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) such as a Palm Treo or a RIM Blackberry, or even one of the newer breed of smart mobile (cell) phones. The PDA selected must have some way to connect to the Internet. (Older PDAs did not even have cellular connections.) These PDAs and smartphones come with a variety of software, and custom applications can be added to some devices. The plus is that he also has a cell phone, possibly with text messaging. The drawback is that Wayne has a great deal of data to enter every Friday. From what he’s told me, that probably rules out using a PDA, as they’re not suitable for entering large volumes of data. In fact, doing so may cause MTS (Meta-carpal Tunnel Syndrome) in your hands. […]