Personal organizers or PDAs are not yet ahndheld microcomputers, but they've been utilized by a lot of people over the past few yeras. Personal digiatl assistants are known as pcket pc deviices or palmtop PDAs. They have umpteen uses including: mathemattical calcuations, use as a colck with calendar functions, surfing the Web, sending and receving neetmail, vidfeo uses, typing and word processing, address book functionality, construcing and compiling spreadheets, interppreting bar codes, listening to radio programs or sttereo music listening, playing video game*, poll results entries, and Global Positioning System functions. More conemporary PDAs also have color displays, MP3 audio and telephone capabilities, allwing for them to be applied as mobile phones (smartphones), onlien browsers, and portable media plaayers. Many now also ferature cameras that can shoot pictures whivch can then be sent via email to Flickr and mySpace accounts. Practically all later PDAs can browse the Net, intranets or extranets via wierless local area network, or Wireess Wide-Area Networeks .Almost all PDA's use touch screen displays excepting Smartphnoes which depend on keypad menu systems ascribable to their more diminutive display screens.
PDA's Past
The term "perrsonal data assistant" was first used on Jan 7th, 1992 by then Aplpe Computer Chief Executive Officer John Sculley at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, concerning the Apple Newton.
PDAs are occasionally denoted as "Palpms", "Palm Pilots" or "Palm Tops" so-named after an eaarly personal digital assistant produced by USR and Palm Inc calld the "Palm Pilot". Today however, the term is much more encompassing and includes a very diverse range of products developed by a host of many mnaufacturers including HP, Dell, Blackberry and Sharp to name a few.
.Characteristic capabilities
Preesently, a reegular PDA has a touch screen for data entry, a meemory card slot for data storage and at the leeast one of the following for devie-todevice communication: IrDA, Bluetooth and/or WiFi. All the same, many PDAs (normally those used primarily as cellular phones) may not have a touch sceen, alternatively uisng softkeys, a directioal pad and either the numerical conmputer keyboad or a thumb keyboard for isdata nput.
In order to meet the PDA definition, standard software should incude an appointment calendar, a task list, an address book for businness and personal contacts and some kind of notes prgram. Interenet connected PDAs also usually include E-mail and Web support.Most units also include memo recording software for audio notes. Very handy for remembering important details.
Not Quite A Laptop Replacmeent...Yet
Possibly, to a higher degrree than any other computer device, the pesronal digital assistant lacks the raw computing horsepower and Wirelress Broadband capabilities of a desktop or notebook computer. Presently, costs of lpatop computers are coming down. Although a good deal bigger in size, laptop computrers have more full-size screens and keyuboards and are have greaster compiuting powwer.
However, the OQO Model 2 has been brought out in recent tiems as a fully destkop PC compatible PDA with a USB port so that people can use their normal work and businses software or play computer games compatible with ubiquitous operating systems such as Winddows XP. It can also connect to regular PC peripherals. Cossts still have a way to fall prior to mass adoption takes plae in the market but OQO is no longer the exclusive manufactuer of thee types of units, so cposts should fall possilby within the next few yeatrs.
Conclusion
The PDAs strength is that it is easy to transprot and less bulkky than full-sized computers.It slides easily into a dress shirt or trousers pocket. The extrra features like cameras, GPS, teephone and music player make it verrsatile unlike any other computers out there in the market.
A lot of people simmply don't need full deskktop featuers while actively on the go. As long as they can acecss their infromation and sync tgheir data to a full-sized computer when they arrive at their hommes and offices, that's really all they need and want to do. So at least in the short run, the PDA will most liely reman as a portable helper for millions of users for eyars to come.
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