Personal digital assistant - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager

Personal information manager

A personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...

. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

. A PDA has an electronic visual display

Electronic visual display

An electronic visual display is display technology which incorporates flat panel displays, performs as a video display, output device for presentation of images transmitted electronically, for visual reception, without producing a permanent record....

, enabling it to include a web browser

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

, but some newer models also have audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s or portable media player

Portable media player

A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...

s. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranet

Intranet

An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...

s or extranet

Extranet

An extranet is a computer network that allows controlled access from the outside, for specific business or educational purposes. An extranet can be viewed as an extension of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company, usually partners, vendors, and suppliers...

s via Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

or Wireless Wide Area Networks. Many PDAs employ touchscreen

Touchscreen

A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...

technology.

The first PDA was released in 1986 by Psion, the Organizer II

Psion Organiser

The Psion Organiser was the brand name of a range of pocket computer developed by the British company Psion in the 1980s. The Organiser I and Organiser II had a characteristic hard plastic sliding cover protecting a 6x6 keyboard with letters arranged alphabetically.Early Psions are very robust...

. Followed by Psion's Series 3, in 1991, which began to resemble the more familiar PDA style. It also had a full keyboard.

The term PDA was first used on January 7, 1992 by Apple Computer

Apple Computer

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

CEO John Sculley

John Sculley

John Sculley is an American businessman. Sculley was vice-president and president of PepsiCo , until he became CEO of Apple on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993...

at the Consumer Electronics Show

Consumer Electronics Show

The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...

in Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, referring to the Apple Newton

Apple Newton

The MessagePad was the first series of personal digital assistant devices developed by Apple for the Newton platform in 1993. Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's MessagePad devices was done in Japan by the Sharp Corporation...

. In 1996, Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

introduced the first mobile phone with full PDA functionality, the 9000 Communicator, which grew to become the world's best-selling PDA. The Communicator spawned a new category of mobile phones: the "PDA phone", now called "smartphone

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

". Another early entrant in this market was Palm

Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...

, with a line of PDA products

Palm (PDA)

Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...

which began with the March 1996 Pilot 1000

Pilot 1000

The Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 were early Palm PDAs produced by Palm, Inc. . It was introduced in March 1996....

.

Today, almost all PDAs are smartphones. Over 150 million smartphones are sold each year, while "stand-alone" PDAs without phone functionality sell only about 3 million units per year.

Typical features

A typical PDA has a touchscreen

Touchscreen

for entering data, a memory card slot for data storage, and IrDA

Infrared Data Association

The Infrared Data Association defines physical specifications communications protocol standards for the short-range exchange of data over infrared light, for uses such as personal area networks ....

, Bluetooth

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

and/or Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

. However, some PDAs may not have a touch screen, using softkey

SoftKey

SoftKey International was a publisher and distributor of CD-ROM based personal computer software for Windows and Macintosh computers during the 1990s. Their products typically consisted of software intended for home audiences, especially compilation discs containing various freeware or shareware...

s, a directional pad, and a numeric keypad or a thumb keyboard

Thumb Keyboard

A thumb keyboard, or a thumbboard, is a type of keyboard commonly found on PDAs, mobile phones, and PDA phones which has a familiar layout to an ordinary keyboard, such as QWERTY...

for input; this is typically seen on telephones that are incidentally PDAs.

In order to have the functions expected of a PDA, a device's software typically includes an appointment calendar

Calendaring software

Calendaring software is software that minimally provides users with an electronic version of a calendar. Additionally, the software may provide an appointment book, address book, and/or contact list. These tools are an extension of many of the features provided by time management software such as...

, a to-do list, an address book

Address book

An address book or a name and address book is a book or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields...

for contacts, a calculator

Calculator

An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...

, and some sort of memo

Memorandum

A memorandum is from the Latin verbal phrase memorandum est, the gerundive form of the verb memoro, "to mention, call to mind, recount, relate", which means "It must be remembered ..."...

(or "note") program. PDAs with wireless data connections also typically include an email client and a Web browser

Web browser

Touch screen

Many of the original PDAs, such as the Apple Newton

Apple Newton

and Palm Pilot, featured a touchscreen

Touchscreen

for user interaction, having only a few buttons—usually reserved for shortcuts to often-used programs. Touchscreen PDAs, including Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...

devices, may have a detachable stylus to facilitate making selections. The user interacts with the device by tapping the screen to select buttons or issue commands, or by dragging a finger or the stylus on the screen to make selections or scroll.

Typical methods of entering text on touchscreen PDAs include:

A virtual keyboard
Virtual keyboard
A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows a user to enter characters. A virtual keyboard can usually be operated with multiple input devices, which may include a touchscreen, an actual keyboard and a computer mouse.- Types :...

, where a keyboard is shown on the touchscreen. Text is entered by tapping the on-screen keyboard with a finger or stylus.
An external keyboard
Keyboard (computing)
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...

connected via USB, Infrared port, or Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

. Some users may choose a chorded keyboard
Chorded keyboard
A keyset or chorded keyboard is a computer input device that allows the user to enter characters or commands formed by pressing several keys together, like playing a "chord" on a piano...

for one-handed use.
Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or...

, where letters or words are written on the touchscreen, and the PDA converts the input to text. Recognition and computation of handwritten horizontal and vertical formulas, such as "1 + 2 =", may also be a feature.
Stroke recognition allows the user to make a predefined set of strokes on the touchscreen, sometimes in a special input area, representing the various characters to be input. The strokes are often simplified character shapes, making them easier for the device to recognize. One widely-known stroke recognition system is Palm's Graffiti
Graffiti (Palm OS)
Graffiti is an essentially single-stroke shorthand handwriting recognition system used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm, Inc...

).

Despite rigorous research and development projects, end-users experience mixed results with handwriting recognition systems. Some find it frustrating and inaccurate, while others are satisfied with the quality of the recognition.

Touchscreen PDAs intended for business use, such as the BlackBerry

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

and Palm Treo, usually also offer full keyboards and scroll wheel

Scroll wheel

A scroll wheel is a hard plastic or rubbery disc on a computer mouse that is perpendicular to the mouse surface. It is normally located between the left and right mouse buttons.- Functionality :...

s or thumbwheels to facilitate data entry and navigation.

Many touchscreen PDAs support some form of external keyboard as well. Specialized folding keyboards, which offer a full-sized keyboard but collapse into a compact size for transport, are available for many models. External keyboards may attach to the PDA directly, using a cable, or may use wireless technology such as infrared or Bluetooth to connect to the PDA.

Newer PDAs, such as the HTC HD2

HTC HD2

The HTC HD2 , is a smartphone belonging to the HTC Touch family, manufactured by HTC and running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The phone was designed and manufactured by HTC, and was released in Europe in November 2009, and in December 2009 in Hong Kong...

, Apple iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

, Apple iPod Touch

IPod Touch

The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...

, and Palm Pre

Palm Pre

The Palm Pre is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...

, Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pixi

Palm Pixi

The Palm Pixi and Pixi Plus are multimedia smartphones, developed by Palm, which was purchased in 2010 by HP. The device is viewed as a successor to the Palm Centro smartphone and was Palm's second webOS device, after the Palm Pre....

, Palm Pixi Plus, include more advanced forms of touchscreen that can register multiple touches simultaneously. These "multi-touch

Multi-touch

In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...

" displays allow for more sophisticated interfaces using various gestures entered with one or more fingers.

Memory cards

Although many early PDAs did not have memory card

Memory card

A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...

slots, now most have either some form of Secure Digital

Secure Digital

Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...

(SD) slot or a CompactFlash

CompactFlash

CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...

slot. Although originally designed for memory, Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) and CompactFlash cards are available that provide accessories like Wi-Fi or digital cameras, if the device can support them. Some PDAs also have a USB port, mainly for USB flash drive

USB flash drive

A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...

s. Some PDAs use microSD cards, which are electronically compatible with SD cards, but have a much smaller physical size.

Wired connectivity

While early PDAs connected to a user's personal computer via serial port

Serial port

In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...

s or another proprietary connection, many today connect via a USB cable. PDAs are not typically able to connect to each other via USB

USB On-The-Go

USB On-The-Go, often abbreviated USB OTG, is a specification that allows USB devices such as digital audio players or mobile phones to act as a host allowing a USB Flash Drive, mouse, or keyboard to be attached.- Architecture :...

, as USB requires one machine to act as a "host," which isn't a typical PDA function.

Some early PDAs were able to connect to the Internet indirectly by means off an external modem connected via the PDA's serial port or "sync" connector, or directly by using an expansion card that provided an Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

port.

Wireless connectivity

Most modern PDAs have Bluetooth

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

a popular wireless protocol for mobile devices. Bluetooth can be used to connect keyboards, headsets, GPS receivers

Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...

, and other nearby accessories. It's also possible to transfer files between PDAs that have Bluetooth.

Many modern PDAs have Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

wireless network connectivity, and can connect to Wi-Fi hotspots.

All smartphones, and some other modern PDAs like the Apple iPod touch

IPod touch

, can connect to Wireless Wide Area Networks, such as those provided by cellular telecommunications companies.

Older PDAs from the 90s to 2006 typically had an IrDA

IRDA

IRDA may refer to:* Infrared Data Association, in information and communications technology , a standard for communication between devices over short distances using infrared signals...

(infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

) port allowing short-range, line-of-sight wireless communication. Few current models use this technology, as it has been supplanted by Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. IrDA allows communication between two PDAs, or between a PDA and any device with an IrDA

IRDA

IRDA may refer to:* Infrared Data Association, in information and communications technology , a standard for communication between devices over short distances using infrared signals...

port or adapter. Some printers have IrDA receivers, allowing IrDA-equipped PDAs to print to them, if the PDA's operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

supports it. Most universal PDA keyboards use infrared technology because many older PDAs have it. Infrared technology is low-cost and has the advantage of being allowed aboard aircraft.

Synchronization

Most PDAs can synchronize

Data synchronization

Data synchronization is the process of establishing consistency among data from a source to a target data storage and vice versa and the continuous harmonization of the data over time. It is fundamental to a wide variety of applications, including file synchronization and mobile device...

their data with applications on a user's personal computer. This allows the user to update contact, schedule, or other information on their computer, using software such as Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...

or ACT!

ACT!

Sage ACT! is a customer relationship management software application which is used to keep track of client and prospect details in a single database that can be shared by multiple users...

, and have that same data transferred to PDA—or transfer updated information from the PDA back to the computer. This eliminates the need for the user to update their data in two places.

Synchronization also prevents the loss of information stored on the device if it is lost, stolen, or destroyed. When the PDA is repaired or replaced, it can be "re-synced" with the computer, restoring the user's data.

Some users find that data input is quicker on their computer than on their PDA, since text input via a touchscreen or small-scale keyboard is slower than a full-size keyboard. Transferring data to a PDA via the computer is therefore a lot quicker than having to manually input all data on the handheld device.

Most PDAs come with the ability to synchronize to a computer. This is done through synchronization software provided with the handheld, or sometime with the computer's operating system. Examples of synchronization software include:

HotSync Manager, for Palm OS
Palm OS
Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...

PDAs
Microsoft ActiveSync
ActiveSync
ActiveSync is a mobile data synchronization technology and protocol developed by Microsoft, originally released in 1996. There are two implementations of the technology: one which synchronizes data and information with handheld devices with a specific desktop computer , and another technology,...

, used by Windows XP and older Windows operating systems to synchronize with Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...

, Pocket PC
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...

, and Windows CE
Windows CE
Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...

PDAs, as well as PDAs running iOS, Palm OS, and Symbian
Symbian
Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...
Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center for Windows Vista, which supports Microsoft Windows Mobile and Pocket PC devices.
Apple iTunes, used on Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

and Microsoft Windows to sync iOS devices (such as the iPhone and iPod touch)
iSync
ISync
iSync is a software application published by Apple Inc. It runs only under Mac OS X and is used to synchronize contact and calendar data from Address Book and iCal with many non-Apple SyncML-enabled mobile phones via a Bluetooth or USB connection. Support for many devices is built-in, with newer...

, included with Mac OS X, can synchronize many SyncML
SyncML
SyncML is the former name for a platform-independent information synchronization standard. The project is currently referred to as Open Mobile Alliance Data Synchronization and Device Management...

-enabled PDAs
BlackBerry Desktop Software, used to sync BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

devices

These programs allow the PDA to be synchronized with a personal information manager

Personal information manager

, which may be part of the computer's operating system, provided with the PDA, or sold separately by a third party. For example, the RIM BlackBerry comes with RIM's Desktop Manager program, which can synchronize to both Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...

and ACT!

ACT!

Sage ACT! is a customer relationship management software application which is used to keep track of client and prospect details in a single database that can be shared by multiple users...

.

Other PDAs come only with their own proprietary software. For example, some early Palm OS PDAs came only with Palm Desktop, while later Palm PDAs—such as the Treo 650—have the ability to sync to Palm Desktop or Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft's ActiveSync and Windows Mobile Device Center only synchronize with Microsoft Outlook or a Microsoft Exchange server.

Third-party synchronization software is also available for some PDAs from companies like CommonTime and CompanionLink. Third-party software can be used to synchronize PDAs to other personal information managers that are not supported by the PDA manufacturers (for example, GoldMine

GoldMine

GoldMine is a Customer Relationship Management software package, made by FrontRange Solutions. It is a Microsoft Windows program that manages client and prospect contact details as well as interactions with these contacts, such as calls made to and by the contact, emails sent and received and...

and IBM Lotus Notes).

Wireless synchronization

Some PDAs can synchronize some or all of their data using their wireless networking capabilities, rather than having to be directly connected to a personal computer via a cable.

Apple iOS devices, like the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, can use Apple's MobileMe

MobileMe

MobileMe was a subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription...

subscription service to synchronize calendar, address book, mail account, Internet bookmark, and other data with one or more Macintosh or Windows computers using Wi-Fi or cellular data connections.

Palm's webOS smartphones primarily sync with the cloud

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....

. For example, if Gmail

Gmail

Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google. Users may access Gmail as secure webmail, as well via POP3 or IMAP protocols. Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though...

is used, information in contacts, email, and calendar can be synchronized between the phone and Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

's servers.

RIM sells BlackBerry Enterprise Server

BlackBerry Enterprise Server

BlackBerry Enterprise Server designates the middleware software package that is part of the BlackBerry wireless platform supplied by Research In Motion...

to corporations so that corporate BlackBerry users can wirelessly synchronize their PDAs with the company's Microsoft Exchange Server

Microsoft Exchange Server

Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...

, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise

Novell GroupWise

GroupWise is a messaging and collaborative software platform from Novell that supports email, calendaring, personal information management, instant messaging, and document management. The platform consists of the client software, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and the server...

servers. Email, calendar entries, contacts, tasks, and memos kept on the company's server are automatically synchronized with the BlackBerry.

Automobile navigation

Some PDAs include Global Positioning System

Global Positioning System

(GPS) receivers; this is particularly true of smartphones. Other PDAs are compatible with external GPS-receiver add-ons that use the PDA's processor and screen to display location information.

PDAs with GPS functionality can be used for automotive navigation. PDAs are increasingly being fitted as standard on new cars.

PDA-based GPS can also display traffic conditions, perform dynamic routing, and show known locations of roadside mobile radar guns. TomTom

TomTom

TomTom NV is a Dutch manufacturer of automotive navigation systems, including both stand-alone units and software for personal digital assistants and mobile telephones. It is the leading manufacturer of navigation systems in Europe. TomTom's customer service is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands...

, Garmin

Garmin

Garmin Ltd. , incorporated in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, is the parent company of a group of companies founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao , that develops consumer, aviation, and marine technologies for the Global Positioning System...

, and iGO

IGo (software)

iGO is a Global Positioning System navigation software package for personal digital assistants and personal navigation assistants devices, developed by Hungary-based Nav N Go Kft. Nav N Go iGO is a popular choice for several PNA OEM manufacturers...

offer GPS navigation software for PDAs.

Ruggedized PDAs

Some businesses and government organizations rely upon rugged PDAs, sometimes known as enterprise digital assistant

Enterprise digital assistant

An enterprise digital assistant is a handheld computer, born of the personal digital assistant popularity which was adapted for extensive, more robust usage within the SME and Enterprise business applications as a data capture mobile device.Over the years, these business applications have grown...

s (EDAs), for mobile data applications. EDAs often have extra features for data capture, such as barcode reader

Barcode reader

A barcode reader is an electronic device for reading printed barcodes. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating optical impulses into electrical ones...

s, radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers, magnetic stripe card

Magnetic stripe card

A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card...

readers, or smart card

Smart card

A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...

readers.

Typical applications include:

Military: Notably Army
supply chain management in warehouses
package delivery
route accounting
medical treatment and recordkeeping in hospitals
facilities maintenance and management
parking enforcement
access control and security
capital asset
Capital asset
The term capital asset has three unrelated technical definitions, and is also used in a variety of non-technical ways.*In financial economics, it refers to any asset used to make money, as opposed to assets used for personal enjoyment or consumption...

maintenance
meter reading by utilities
"wireless waitress" applications in restaurants and hospitality venues

Medical and scientific uses

Many companies have developed PDA products aimed at the medical professions' unique needs, such as drug databases, treatment information, and medical news. Services such as AvantGo

AvantGo

AvantGo was a Web page / file synchronization service for personal digital assistants and smartphones. The system consisted of a browser client software running on the device, a synchronization server, and an Internet-connected PC to transfer Web pages into the mobile device...

translate medical journals into PDA-readable formats. WardWatch organizes medical records, providing reminders of information such as the treatment regimens of patients and programs to doctors making ward rounds. Pendragon and Syware provide tools for conducting research with PDAs, allowing the user to enter data into a centralized database using their PDA. Microsoft Visual Studio and Sun Java also provide programming tools for developing survey instruments on the handheld. These development tools allow for integration with SQL

SQL

SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....

databases that are stored on the handheld and can be synchronized with a desktop- or server-based database.

PDAs have been shown to aid diagnosis and drug selection and some studies have concluded that when patients use PDAs to record their symptoms, they communicate more effectively with hospitals during follow-up visits.

The development of Sensor Web

Sensor Web

The concept of the "sensor web" is a type of sensor network that is especially well suited for environmental monitoring.The phrase the "sensor web" is also associated with a sensing system which heavily utilizes the World Wide Web...

technology may lead to wearable bodily sensors to monitor ongoing conditions, like diabetes or epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

, which would alert patients and doctors when treatment is required using wireless communication and PDAs.

Educational uses

As mobile technology becomes more common, it is increasingly being used as a learning tool. Some educational institutions have embraced M-Learning, integrating PDAs into their teaching practices.

PDAs and handheld devices are allowed in many classrooms for digital note-taking. Students can spell-check, modify, and amend their class notes on the PDA. Some educators distribute course material through the Internet or infrared file-sharing functions of the PDA. Textbook publishers have begun to release e-book

E-book

An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...

s, or electronic textbooks, which can be uploaded directly to a PDA, reducing the number of textbooks students must carry.

Software companies have developed PDA programs to meet the instructional needs of educational institutions, such as dictionaries, thesauri, word processing

Word processing

Word processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. It can also refer to advanced shorthand techniques, sometimes used in specialized contexts with a specially modified typewriter.-External links:...

software, encyclopedias, and digital lesson planners.

Recreational uses

PDAs may be used by music enthusiasts to play a variety of music file formats. Many PDAs include the functionality of an MP3 player.

Road rally

Road rally

A road rally is a car rally that takes place on the public road. It is a popular sport in the United Kingdom, especially Wales, and has traditionally been the core of the "grass roots" of club-based amateur motorsport. However it has declined in popularity since the 1980s and now stage rallies are...

enthusiasts can use PDAs to calculate distance, speed, and time. This information may be used for navigation, or the PDA's GPS functions can be used for navigation.

Underwater divers

Underwater diving

Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...

can use PDAs to plan breathing gas

Breathing gas

Breathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration.Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas...

mixtures and decompression schedules using software such as "V-Planner."

PDAs for people with disabilities

PDAs offer varying degrees of accessibility

Accessibility

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...

for people with differing abilities, based on the particular device and service. People with vision, hearing, mobility, or speech impairments may be able to use PDAs on a limited basis. This use may be enhanced by accessibility software (e.g., speech recognition

Speech recognition

Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...

for verbal input instead of manual input). Universal design

Universal design

Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....

is relevant to PDAs as well as other technology, and a viable solution for many user-access issues, though it has yet to be consistently integrated into the design of popular consumer PDA devices.

Popular consumer PDAs

Abacus PDA Watch
Acer N Series
Acer N Series
The Acer N Series is a series of PDA's produced by Acer. The newest models are ones from n300 series - Acer n310 and Acer n311. The Acer N Series is well known for the USB hosts in the newer models.-Models:* Acer N30...
AlphaSmart
AlphaSmart
The AlphaSmart is a brand of portable, battery powered, word-processing keyboards manufactured by NEO Direct, Inc. , currently owned by Renaissance Learning, Inc.-Background:...
Amida Simputer
Simputer
The Simputer is a self-contained, open hardware Linux-based handheld computer, first released in 2002. Developed in, and primarily distributed within India, the product was envisioned as a low-cost alternative to personal computers...
BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
Fujitsu Siemens Computers
Fujitsu Siemens Computers
Fujitsu Siemens Computers B.V. was a Japanese and German IT vendor. The company was founded in 1999 as a 50/50 joint venture between Fujitsu Limited of Japan and Siemens AG of Germany...

Pocket LOOX
Pocket LOOX
Pocket LOOX was a series of Pocket PC-based personal digital assistants and navigation systems developed by Fujitsu Siemens. It was discontinued in 2007.-Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX PDAs:...
HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...

iPAQ
IPAQ
iPAQ presently refers to a Pocket PC and personal digital assistant first unveiled by Compaq in April 2000; the name was borrowed from Compaq's earlier iPAQ Desktop Personal Computers. Since Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Compaq, the product has been marketed by HP. The devices use a Windows...
HTC Corporation (Dopod
Dopod
Dopod is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of Windows Mobile smartphones, operating in the South East Asia and Australasia. Dopod International was founded in 2004 and it is now directly owned by the Taiwanese Windows Mobile device manufacturer HTC with over 50% of shares...

, Qtek)'s series of Windows Mobile PDA/phones (HTC)
HTC, especially the HTC P3470 (a.k.a. Pharos)
I-mate
I-mate
i-mate was a company selling Windows Mobile-powered devices. The Group was launched by Jim Morrison, who began his telecoms career at sea with Cable & Wireless and was later involved in the team at O2 that designed the first O2 Xda Pocket PC phone...
Apple Inc. iPod touch
IPod touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...

, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...

smartphones under Palm OS
Palm OS
Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...

and under the successor WebOS (Pre
Palm Pre
The Palm Pre is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...

, and Pixi
Palm Pixi
The Palm Pixi and Pixi Plus are multimedia smartphones, developed by Palm, which was purchased in 2010 by HP. The device is viewed as a successor to the Palm Centro smartphone and was Palm's second webOS device, after the Palm Pre....

).
PocketMail
PocketMail
PocketMail is a very small and inexpensive mobile computer, with a built in acoustic coupler.- History :Although actually a computer, its main function is E-mail. Its main advantages are that it is simple, and that it works with any phone, even outside the United States...

(email PDA with built-in acoustic coupler
Acoustic coupler
In telecommunications, the term acoustic coupler has the following meanings:# An interface device for coupling electrical signals by acoustical means—usually into and out of a telephone instrument....

)
Royal
Samsung Moment

Discontinued PDAs

Apple Newton
Apple Newton
The MessagePad was the first series of personal digital assistant devices developed by Apple for the Newton platform in 1993. Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's MessagePad devices was done in Japan by the Sharp Corporation...
Atari Portfolio
Atari Portfolio
The Atari Portfolio is the first PC-compatible palmtop computer, and was released by Atari Corporation in 1989. The Portfolio was licenced from Distributed Information Processing based in Guildford, Surrey, UK...
Casio Pocket Viewer
Pocket viewer
Pocket Viewer was a model range of personal digital assistants developed by Casio.-Description:Pocket Viewer was a model range of PDAs from Casio. Early models used Intel x86 based processors . Later models used Hitachi processors from the SuperH family. Both models ran Casio's proprietary OS...
Dell Axim
Dell Axim
The Dell Axim family of personal digital assistants was Dell's line of Windows Mobile-powered Pocket PC Devices. The first model, the Axim X5, was introduced in 2002, while the final model, the Axim X51, was discontinued on April 9, 2007....
E-TEN
E-TEN
E-TEN Information Systems Co., Ltd. was an electronics manufacturing company based in Taiwan, specializing in sophisticated handheld devices such as smartphones....
GMate Yopy
Yopy
The Yopy was the name of a series of Personal Digital Assistants made by GMate Corporation, also used as a popular PDA Phone in Korea and based on the Linux operating system.- Overview :...
Handspring (company)
Handspring (company)
Handspring was a maker of Palm OS-based Visor- and Treo-branded personal digital assistants. It was run by Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan, the original inventors of the Palm Pilot and founders of Palm Computing, after they became unhappy with the direction in which 3Com was taking...
iPAQ
IPAQ
iPAQ presently refers to a Pocket PC and personal digital assistant first unveiled by Compaq in April 2000; the name was borrowed from Compaq's earlier iPAQ Desktop Personal Computers. Since Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Compaq, the product has been marketed by HP. The devices use a Windows...
HP Jornada Pocket PC
LifeDrive
LifeDrive
The LifeDrive was a Palm OS-based handheld personal digital assistant device that was produced by PalmOne, a former incarnation of Palm, Inc. The device was PalmOne's first and only foray into the "Mobile Manager" device category...
NEC MobilePro
MobilePro
The MobilePro is a discontinued line of personal digital assistants manufactured by NEC. Most models in the MobilePro range were handheld PCs with almost full size keyboards and a compact form placing them between being a palmtop and a subnotebook...
Osaris
Osaris
Osaris is a personal digital assistant featuring the EPOC operating system distributed by Oregon Scientific.The Osaris was released in 1999, and at the time priced at £219.99–£279.99. The Osaris contains an 18.432 MHz CL-PS7111 processor and is powered by two AA size batteries or external...

running EPOC OS distributed by Oregon Scientific
Oregon Scientific
Oregon Scientific, Inc. is a manufacturer of electronic products including radio-referenced clocks, home weather stations, public alert monitors, youth learning aids, and fitness devices. The firm was started in 1989 in Portland, Oregon, United States...
Palm (PDA)
Palm (PDA)
Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...

(Tungsten E2, TX, Treo, Zire Handheld
Zire Handheld
The Zire Series was Palm, Inc's "consumer-grade" brand of Personal Digital Assistant.-Background/Overview:The lower-end models emphasize price — Palm's original Zire model was the first PDA under $100 from a major manufacturer — and the higher-end models emphasize multimedia capacity, including...

)
Philips Nino
Philips Nino
The Philips Nino was a so-called Palm-size PC, a predecessor to the Pocket PC platform. It was a PDA-style device with a stylus-operated touch screen. The Nino 200 and Nino 300 models had a monochrome screen while the Nino 500 had a color display. The Nino featured a Voice Control Software and...
Psion
Roland PMA-5 (Personal Music Assistant)
Sharp Wizard
Sharp Wizard
The Sharp Wizard is a series of electronic organizers released by Sharp Corporation. The first model was the OZ-7000 released in 1988, making it one of the first electronic organizers to hit the market....

and Sharp Zaurus
Sharp Zaurus
The Sharp Zaurus is the name of a series of Personal Digital Assistant made by Sharp Corporation. The Zaurus was the most popular PDA during the 1990s in Japan and was based on a proprietary operating system. The first Sharp PDA to use the Linux operating system was the SL-5000D, running the...
Sony CLIÉ
CLIÉ
The Sony CLIÉ was a series of personal digital assistants running the Palm Operating System developed and marketed by Sony from 2000 to 2005. The devices introduced many new features to the PDA market, such as a jog-wheel interface, high-resolution displays, and Sony technologies like Memory Stick...
Sony Magic Link
Magic Link
The Magic Link was a personal communicator and PDA marketed by Sony from 1994, based on the General Magic's Magic Cap operating system. The "Link" part of the name refers to the device's ability to send and receive data over a modem....

with the Magic Cap
Magic Cap
Magic Cap was an object-oriented operating system for PDAs developed by General Magic. Tony Fadell was in charge of the platform. Darin Adler was an architect....

operating system
Tapwave Zodiac
Tapwave Zodiac
The Zodiac is a mobile entertainment console, launched on 5 May 2003, and released in October 2003 by Tapwave, a former private company that was based in Mountain View, California....
Toshiba e310
Toshiba e310
The Toshiba e310 was a personal digital assistant manufactured by Toshiba and first released in 2002. It ran Windows Pocket PC 2000 and featured a color 240x320 pixel touch-screen LCD, a 206MHz CPU, and 32MB of RAM. It was also equipped with a Secure Digital card slot, allowing for the expansion...

Rugged PDAs

ecom instruments
Getac
Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

(Symbol Technologies)
Intermec
Intermec
Intermec Inc. is a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of Automated identification and data capture equipment, including barcode scanners, barcode printers, mobile computers and RFID systems....
Psion Teklogix
Datalogic Mobile
Catchwell
Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....

(Hand Held Products)
Pidion
Skeye (Hoeft & Wessel AG
Hoeft & Wessel AG
Hoeft & Wessel AG, Hanover, established by the entrepreneurs Michael Hoeft and Rolf Wessel in 1978, is a German IT hardware and software specialist focusing on public transport, parking as well as retail and logistics...

)
Trimble Navigation
Handheld Group
American industrial systems (Mil-Spec, IP67)
Unitech
Two Technologies, Inc. (Ultra Rugged Handheld Computers)

Typical features

Touch screen

Memory cards

Wired connectivity

Wireless connectivity

Synchronization

Wireless synchronization

Automobile navigation

Ruggedized PDAs

Medical and scientific uses

Educational uses

Recreational uses

PDAs for people with disabilities

Popular consumer PDAs

Discontinued PDAs

Rugged PDAs

See also