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How to buy ... a PDA

Ready to get your life in order? Then a personal digital assistant could be the right gadget for you. These small, lightweight devices will get you organised, keep you in touch and entertain you too.

By PC World Staff / Tuesday, September 12 2006

Ready to get your life in order? Then a personal digital assistant could be the right gadget for you. These small, lightweight devices can keep track of your appointments, phone numbers, and all the things you have to get done. Today's PDAs can keep you amused with games, music, and video as well; some have built-in GPS receivers and cameras. Even entry-level PDAs now have colour screens, and a growing number come with built-in wireless Internet connectivity: Some offer Bluetooth (for connecting via a Bluetooth cell phone), others use Wi-Fi, and the most expensive are hybrid cell phones, capable of handling voice calls as well as data. A few new models support two or three modes of wireless connection, so you can enjoy broadband speeds at Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular hookups almost anyplace else.

The Big Picture

Formerly just handy pocket secretaries, PDAs have become ever more versatile. Modern PDAs can handle wireless email and instant messaging, digital photography, and music. Some companies even combine a PDA and a cell phone into one hybrid device.

While PDAs of one type or another have been around for about a decade, recent technological advances have made them more attractive, particularly if you want more than just an electronic version of a paper organizer.

The processors that power PDAs are faster than they used to be, so PDAs can now handle digital music and photos with ease. High-end models now sport mobile graphics processors that enable gaming and video playback without a huge sacrifice in battery life. At the other end of the price spectrum, even lower-cost units come with colour screens. The introduction of integrated mini-keyboards (also known as thumb keyboards) on many models is a welcome development for users who feel stymied by styluses and handwriting-recognition software.

The ability to communicate wirelessly enhances a PDA's overall utility. Many of the higher-end units incorporate 802.11b or the faster 802.11g Wi-Fi for accessing home or work networks or commercial hotspots. Some PDAs are equipped with Bluetooth, which can connect to desktop or laptop PCs, to peripherals (such as headsets), or to the Internet through a suitably equipped cell phone. A growing number of PDA/phone hybrid devices, such as the Palm Treo, combine a PDA with a cell phone.

Key Features

Platform: Most PDAs run on one of two major operating systems, or platforms: the Palm OS from PalmSource (now a subsidiary of the Japanese firm Access) and Microsoft's increasingly popular Windows Mobile OS. Some devices run on other platforms-- most notably Research In Motion's Blackberry--but the Palm OS and Windows Mobile dominate the great majority of the market.

Though these platforms used to be distinct, the differences have diminished--to the point where Palm now makes its Treo PDA/cell phone hybrids for both Palm OS and Windows Mobile platforms. PDAs based on early versions of the Palm OS were simpler, lower-cost devices, and these days the most inexpensive Palms are still cheaper than the lowest-end Windows Mobile PDAs. But Palm's high-end models today match the Windows Mobile offerings in such features as cameras and Internet connectivity. And while all PDAs based on Windows Mobile used to be relatively expensive across the board, today you can find models that compete directly with midrange Palms.

Windows Mobile vs. Palm OS: How you plan to use a PDA can best determine which operating system you choose. Palm OS-based devices, mostly found on PDAs from Palm, provide the simpler approach. Out of the box, Palm devices will synchronize appointments and contacts with the Palm OS's proprietary personal information manager desktop software, the Palm Desktop. Most Palm OS vendors also bundle a program that syncs your data with Microsoft Outlook. To create and edit Microsoft Office-compatible documents on a Palm OS device, you will need third-party software such as Dataviz's Documents to Go (bundled with some Palm devices) or Cutting Edge Software's Quickoffice.

Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS (the latest version is Windows Mobile 5) basically looks like a considerably shrunken version of the desktop Windows OS. It can run numerous applications simultaneously--though only one app can appear on screen at a time. Unlike the Palm OS, which shuts down one application when you open another, Windows Mobile requires you to manually close an application or it will run in the background and use up memory you might want for other purposes. Windows Mobile generally requires more memory than the Palm OS, so most Windows Mobile 5-based PDAs come with at least 64MB of ROM and an equal amount of RAM.

In terms of usability, the Windows Mobile OS is more complex than the Palm OS. But you also get pared-down versions of Microsoft Office apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint--which let you create and edit documents as you would on your desktop. When you synchronize your Windows Mobile PDA with your PC, documents on each are updated accordingly. The integrated Windows Media Player 10 in Windows Mobile 5 handles MP3, WMA, and other multimedia files; it also allows you to run content from subscription sites (such as Rhapsody) that use Microsoft's Digital Rights Management technology. A growing number of vendors are offering Windows Mobile devices. Hewlett-Packard has historically offered the greatest variety, but more competitors are emerging--particularly in the phone-PDA hybrid arena.

PDA CPUs: There was a time when nobody paid attention to PDA processors, in part because they were fairly low powered to conserve battery life, and also in part because they are embedded. In other words, you can't upgrade or replace them the way you might be able to swap out a chip on a PC motherboard. But the mobile CPU business has become more competitive, thanks in no small part to Intel's entry into the market. PDA vendors have begun to promote the chips that power their handhelds--and savvy buyers know that a powerful chip can make for snappy performance in a high-end device.

Intel's XScale ARM processors have been upping the ante in this arena. The latest processors--the PXA27x family, previously code-named Bulverde--can run at up to 624 MHz and are available either with or without integrated memory. Texas Instruments and Samsung also compete in the PDA processor market, with TI focusing primarily on connected devices.

Internal memory (RAM): Basic organizer functions (appointments, alarms, contact lists, tasks, and memos) don't require much memory. The 32MB amount that comes with the lowest-end current Palm--the $229 Z22--is adequate if these tasks are all you want to do. Third-party software such as utilities and games quickly eat up RAM,however, so look for a model with 64MB or more of RAM--or a model that accepts Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (see below)--if you plan to load lots of extra programs.

Applications on Windows Mobile devices require more memory, especially to play audio or video. The specs for today's Windows Mobile PDAs usually specify two types of internal memory: RAM and flash-based ROM. The ROM is where the PDA stores the OS and vital data such as contact information. If your batteries run down and your device loses power, the data in ROM is unaffected. RAM, on the other hand, requires power--if you lose power, you lose data in RAM. Most software runs in RAM, so the more you multitask on a Windows Mobile PDA, the more RAM you'll want. Look for a unit with at least 64MB each of ROM and RAM.

Almost all Windows Mobile devices come with external card slots. CompactFlash used to be the dominant expansion format, but SD has become more common. Some models accept both CompactFlash and SD formats. These slots can also connect to add-ons such as cameras, MP3 players, phones, or GPS receivers.