I have always been a great admirer of the latest technologies and devices. A great urge to learn more about these devices and the technologies associated with them has always been present in me. These days the gadget which has completely taken over my mind is the PDA. There’s more to computing than just a PC. If you’ve ever wanted to bring your data and information with you, most people use a notebook computer for this. Bringing your most important information with you at all times is becoming easier than ever, thanks to handheld PCs. These hand held devices really fascinated me and I started to gather information about them. At first I had no clue what it was, the only thing I knew was the name itself though I had seen it in different movies but my first experience to actually hold and use it was when my uncle came to Pakistan and he had this handheld. After using it I was completely amazed by it and wanted to own it as soon as possible. Luckily, I managed to gather the money required for it. I searched the internet and looked at different PDAs and their features which helped me in making my decision. After choosing the PDA of my choice, I rushed to the market to buy it. To my great surprise and disappointment I could not find any PDAs, the dealers told me that PDAs are not available in Pakistan. I called my uncle in USA and asked him to get one for me. My first PDA was Palm M500; it was a grayscale PDA. In the future, I will be sharing interesting information with all the gadget lovers to help them know about this great toy as well as about other gadgets.

This article gives basic information about PDAs. In the upcoming articles I will write on more advanced features of palmtops and other gadgets.

PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant. The main purpose of a PDA is to act as an electronic organizer or day planner that is portable, easy to use and capable of sharing information with your PC. It’s usually supposed to be an extension of the PC, not a replacement. PDAs, also called handhelds or palm-tops have definitely evolved over the years. Not only can they manage your personal information, such as contacts, appointments, and to-do lists, today’s devices can also connect to the Internet, act as global positioning system (GPS) devices, and run multimedia software.

Types of PDAs

There are two major types:

1. Simple PDAs
2. PDAs + phone (smart phones).

The two major types of Simple PDAs are the Palm OS Handhelds, and Microsoft’s Pocket PC. Each company’s handheld is aimed at a different market, and because of this, each handheld has some different features.

Hopefully, the time you invested reading this article has paid off by increasing your knowledge of PDAs and how to decide which will be best for you. No longer will you be tied to a computer, or need to carry around a notebook computer around with you. Instead, all the information you need when you’re on the go will be in the palm of your hand. Remember, faster and more does not always equate to better. Better is only defined by how you will use the device.

The writer is an IT entrepreneur & a Computer Science graduate from Bahria University, Islamabad. Besides PDA, he has many other cool gadgets. He is CEO of Webazon & can be contacted at furqan@iwebazon.com