Thread: Personal digital assistants (PDAs)

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are handheld devices that were originally designed as personal organizers, but became much more versatile over the years. PDAs have many uses: calculating, use as a clock and calendar, playing computer games, accessing the Internet, sending and receiving e-mail, use as a radio or stereo, video recording, recording notes, use as an address book, GPS and use as a spreadsheet. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones (smartphone), web browsers or portable media players. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi, or Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs). One of the most significant PDA characteristic is the presence of a touch screen.

The currently major PDA operating systems are:

Palm OS - owned by PalmSource
Windows Mobile (Pocket PC), (based on the Windows CE kernel) - owned by Microsoft
RIM for the BlackBerry - owned by Research In Motion
Many operating systems based on the Linux kernel - free (not owned by any company) These include:
GPE - Based on GTK+/X11
OPIE user interface/Qtopia - based on Qt/E Qtopia is developed by Trolltech, OPIE is a fork of Qtopia developed by volunteers
Symbian OS (formerly EPOC) owned by Ericsson, Motorola, Panasonic, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson


Popular consumer PDAs

Palm IIIxe PDAPsion
Amida
Acer N Series
Apple Newton
BlackBerry
hp iPAQ Pocket PC (originally Compaq iPAQ until HP merged in 2002)
hp Jornada Pocket PC (phased out/merged with iPAQ line in 2002)
Palm Pilot, Tungsten E2, LifeDrive, Treo and Zire
Sharp Wizard and Sharp Zaurus
Sony CLIÉ
High Tech Computer Corporation's series of Windows Mobile PDA/phones
Tapwave Zodiac(no longer manufactured)
AlphaSmart
Dell Axim
GMate Yopy
Fujitsu Siemens Loox
List of Palm OS Devices
Abacus PDA Watch
PocketMail (email PDA with inbuilt acoustic coupler)