The Many Uses And Applications Of PDAs
A personal digital assistant (PDA), also called a palmtop computer, is a handheld computer. Color screens as well as audio capabilities have been introduced into the newer PDAs so that they can also be used as smartphones or mobile phones, portable media players or web browsers. Many PDAs can now access the Internet, intranets or extranets using Wi-Fi, or Wireless Wide-Area Networks. Touch screen technologies too have been introduced.
The first PDA to be launched was CASIO PF-3000 in 1983. 9000 Communicator was the first mobile phone to have PDA functionality. This product of Nokia launched in 1996 became the best selling PDA. Following this, smartphones such as Apple iPhone, Nokia N-Series and RIM Blackberry emerged as a new category of phones. The new PDAs come with a memory card for storing data and the touch screen. WiFi, Bluetooth, or IrDA provided the connectivity. The softkeys, numeric keyboard or a thumb keyboard or directional pad for input continue to be used by those that are yet to have touch screen technology. The software normally includes a to-do list, an address book, appointment calendar and a note program. The PDAs that have connectivity offers web support along with E-mail. The user can access the information stored in PDAs when ever needed. Realtime automobile navigation is provide with those PDAs that come with the differential Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. Such PDAs are installed in some of the new cars. Traffic conditions, road conditions, dynamic routing and roadside mobile radar guns are displaced by many of the PDAs that are enabled with these features.
The popular PDAs include Abacus PDA Watch, E-TEN, AlphaSmart, Acer N Series, Amida Simputer, Audiovox (Sprint) PPC Series, BlackBerry, Encore Simputer, HP iPAQ, Fujitsu Siemens Loox, Nokia E Series, I-mate, Motorola Rokr E6, Dell X51, SonyEricsson P-series, MotoRokr E8, and Apple Inc.’s iPhone & iPod Touch.
Business as well as government organizations use PDAs for mobile data applications. These applications include package delivery, medical treatment and record keeping in hospitals, supply chain management in warehouses, parking enforcement, route accounting, capital asset maintenance, facilities maintenance and management, ‘wireless waitress’ applications in restaurants and hospitality venues, access control and security and meter reading by utilities. Data capture devices such as RFID, Smart Card Readers and Bar Code were also built into many of these PDAs.
PDA gadgets have proven its importance to man’s daily transactions. More and more brands are coming out, so it’s always best to choose the product/company with good reputation.