Personal Digital Assistants

What is it? 4 Small basic handheld programmable computer ~ 3x5x3/4" in size, light weight (4-8 oz), battery operated. 4 Screen resolution = 160x160 pixels, more on new models. 4 Prices range from ~ $125 - $ OS includes Calendar (Date Book), Address Book, To-Do List, Memo Pad & Calculator functions. 4 Palm Pilot 1st really successful model. 4 Came into it's own with the Palm III series. 4 Thousands of programs available from mfgr's & 3rd parties (usually cheap $5 - $30, specialized programs can be much more).

Why? 4 Small, convenient, easy to use, easy to update and edit (using graffiti or a built-in keyboard). 4 More convenient than a “DayTimer” Notebook. 4 Internet Connection via Modem, Wireless or PC Conduit.

Who Uses One? 4 Anybody who has a need for the basic apps. 4 Real estate agents, insurance agents, Dr's, nurses, med students, salesmen, military, engineers, students, teachers, administrators, IT professionals, travelers, writers, lawyers, law enforcement, etc. 4 Inventory, kitchen, e-books, sports. 4 In short, anyone who has a need to carry information in a convenient form that’s easy to use, small, lightweight and easy to update.

E-Books

Manufacturers 4 Palm Pilot st really successful device (1996) 4 Palm III and clones - IBM, Symbol, QualComm, TRG (1998) 4 Handspring - Licensed Palm OS and added “SpringBoard” slot. (1999) 4 HP/Compaq - Uses “Pocket PC” Windows OS 4 Sharp - Uses LINUX OS (2002) 4 Sony 4 Toshiba 4 RIM 4 Others

Operating System 4 Palm OS - 3.x, 4.x, 5.x - Works well and efficiently with small handheld devices. 4 Pocket PC Windows CE - Resource and power hungry. 4 Embedded LINUX OS - Unix operating system.

Power 4 AAA Batteries weeks depending on usage. 4 Rechargeable Batteries weeks. 4 Cradle recharge for rechargeable models. 4 Battery Life - Palm 2-6 weeks, Windows <= 1 week.

Hot Syncing - PDA PC 4 PC HotSync via: 4 Serial cradle. 4 USB cradle (much faster) 4 IR 4 Beaming - PDA PDA, can transfer programs and files over short distances.

Features 4 Gray Scale/Color. 4 Memory (0.5, 1, 2, 8, 16, 64 MB). 4 Resolution (160x160, 320x240 pixels). 4 Programmable buttons 4 Expansion - Memory/Accessories. 4 Thumb boards - on some newer models.

Expansion Accessories 4 Memory/Backup Modules 4 Digital Camera 4 GPS 4 Cell Phone 4 FAX 4 Modem 4 Games 4 Rechargers 4 Sync cables 4 Carrying Cases 4 Stylus 4 Keyboards

Standard Applications 4 Calendar (DateBook) 4 Address Book 4 To-Do List 4 Memo Notepad (4k limit) 4 Expenses 4 Calculator 4 Graffiti 4 Mail 4 Preferences 4 Security 4 Sync 4 CityTime 4 Games

Freeware Applications 4 AvantGo - News & Info prog, requires internet connection 4 HandyShopper - DataBase 4 BigClock - Clock/Timer 4 EasyCalc - Programmable Calculator 4 DateWheel - Date Calculator 4 Currency - Currency Converter 4 Progect - Outliner 4 RiseSet - Sun/Moon Rise/Set 4 Diddle - Sketching Program

Shareware Applications 4 CplxCalPro - Programmable graphing calculator 4 FireViewer - Image Viewer 4 Launch'em - File Organizer/Launcher 4 Planetarium 4 Mapopolis - Map Program 4 SmartDoc - Doc Reader 4 TealPaint - Paint Program 4 PocketC - Programming Language 4 HotPaw Basic - Programming Language

Commercial Applications 4 Backup Buddy - Backs up everything to PC 4 WordSmith - Text Editor 4 MiniCalc - SpreadSheet 4 HanDBase - DataBase 4 MobileDB - DataBase 4 ThinkDB - DataBase 4 TealInfo - DataBase

Hacks - OS Extensions 4 Xmaster/ HackMaster - Hack interface program, needed to manage and run hacks (OS Extensions) 4 AsciiHack 4 SymbolHack 4 MultiClipHack 4 SwitchHack 4 PopUpNames 4 Phlegm Hack 4 Many Others Available

PC Desktop Palm Software 4 Desktop Software Does: 4 Calendar 4 Address Book 4 Memo NotePad 4 To-Do 4 Expenses 4 Some Palm apps have special “sync conduits”. 4 Palm OS  Emulator runs on PC and allows you to try programs without first installing on your PDA.

Software Sources 4 Manufacturers - (Palm, Handspring, etc) 4 PalmGear Handango PalmOpenSource VersionTracker FreeWarePalm Memoware E-Books & Reference Materialhttp://

Other Resources 4 Palm Handspring Sharp PalmInfoCenter PalmZone PalmBoulevard PDAStreet PalmLoyal PalmTipSheet ZDNetShopper html&cobrand=29 - Palm device comparison pageshttp://zdnetshopper.cnet.com/shopping/ html&cobrand=29

What’s Next? 4 Always on, always connected, multipurpose palm size device that does palm-like apps, cell phone, pager, text messaging, , digital camera, gps, mp3 player, web browser, etc & costs <= $

Personal Digital Assistants Presented by Josh Cockey August 8th, 2002