The handheld personal device is almost as ubiquitous as the cell phone. While that's probably an exaggeration in the general sense, it's certainly true within the business world. They're everywhere, and there are plenty different kinds to choose from. The list of manufacturers is extensive. Palm, Handspring, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Casio and more. Which one should you buy? First you have to decide: do you want one with the Palm operating system or with Windows CE? There are even units that use their own operating systems but are more handy because they're so specific in their functions.
Handhelds only hit the market less than five years ago and already there are so many choices and permutations that it's nearly impossible to keep up. What makes handhelds so popular is that you can bring all your important contacts, things to do, small notes and daily schedule with you anywhere.
Initially these handy units really only appealed to stuffed shirt businessmen who toted them as high-tech status symbols. But with the appearance of Sony, Handspring, RIM and now Cybiko, handhelds play MP3s, take pictures, morph into mobile phones, sport wireless connections for Internet and e-mail and even wireless peer-to-peer gaming!
The oldest player in the game here is Palm. The first Palm devices were dinosaurs compared to their functionality only three years later. Originally with one meg of memory and another as a high cost option, you got a fairly small PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with a calendar, to-do list, appointment book and address book.
One of the biggest innovations was the handwriting recognition. For the first time in a small device, data entry was fairly easy without a keyboard. Writing names and numbers at the bottom of the PDA converted it into text, which you could store. If you've ever entered a large number of names and numbers into your cell phone by using the number pad, then you know this is no fun. Handwriting recognition was perhaps the biggest boon for PDAs.
As the Palm matured, it got faster, smaller and better at everything it did. When its originators left the company, Handspring was born. Handspring decided they wanted to use the same Palm operating system but give users the ability to do more with their handhelds, so an expansion slot was added. That led to the ability to add memory, MP3 players, mobile phones, cameras, GPS and more. The industry took a turn down a new road - or a super highway.
The Next Generation of HandheldsWith the future set on expansion and the PDA as a multifunction, do-almost-anything device, everything seemed to change. At this time, computer makers like Compaq and HP decided to get into the market with a PDA that had a steeper slant towards a mini-computer. These PDAs incorporated a small version of Microsoft Windows called Windows CE.
WinCE is designed to go into mobile or small products with the look and feel of Windows from your desktop computer. Folks who had difficulty translating Word or Excel files from their desktop to their Palm PDA, now have a system with the same programs. These machines have large amounts of memory, fast processors and a great deal of compatibility with the machine so many people use everyday on their desk. They do, however, also come with the challenges of Windows.
Hewlett Packard, Casio and Compaq all make Windows CE or PocketPC handhelds. They generally have a higher price tag than a Palm-based PDA, but there aren't any budget versions with only 2 megabytes of memory and no expansion capability. Keep a PocketPC version of a PDA in mind if you're more of a computer guy and need to have Word or Excel files handy.