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Technology Stocks : Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mang Cheng who wrote (124)	9/16/2000 10:42:49 PM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 817

Mang, << the analysts and reporters are really confused as to what a PDA is ..... they are all not Palm-like devices >> Well what IS a (Personal Digital Assistant) PDA? I know what a PDA is to me. I happen to be a very satisfied Palm Vx user, BUT, PDA's do not have to be in the Palm form factor, however. Or do they? Was the Newton a PDA? Was the Zoomer? All of us have somewhat different functional requirements for a PDA, so have a different perception of what a PDA should be. For me, my (Palm) PDA is a desktop and laptop supplement used for frequent business travel. I never do business travel without the Palm, but leave the laptop home unless I need to make presentations, using it. << and you don't get a "wow" from your friends >> I said WOW when I first saw a gent using a Series 5 connected to a GSM Mobile at Heathrow last winter. Now, I do agree that the Series 5, is bigger than what I personally visualize as a PDA and most certainly the Series 7 gets into subnotebook class. << This sort of form-factor is usually referred to as "communicator" >> Then you can call it a "communicator". My Palm based "communicator" consists of 4 hardware components. The Palm. A CDMA mobile phone which acts as a modem, a data cable, and a GoType keyboard. The Palm, without the other 3 components ( and some essential add on software) would have virtually no utility for my personal PDA requirements. << The only real competitors to Palm are the iPaq H3600, HP Journada 540, and the Blackberry >> Mercy, Me. You must live in North America. Best you keep your eye on Symbian, and the EPOC OS, and the new Quartz platform, and yes, the first implementation of Quartz will be called a "communicator". cellular.co.za Sorta like a Palm VII or pdQ, eh. Guaranteed to get some WOWs! And it uses a much more widely deployed wireless standard than CDPD, or CDMA. Also has considerable auxiliary processing power due to the mandated SIM. I've made some boring comments about that here, if you would like to check them out: Message 14382193 Currently, I also think the Revo Plus is a very practical alternative to the Palm/Visor or Pocket PC's from HP, Casio, and Compaq, and it is priced equivalently. It is a slightly different form factor than the others, but quite compact and has plenty of WOW! if your into functional gadgetry. << But the journalists somehow called them all "PDA"s. >> Journalists must be nuts? I side with the journalists. Anyway, you are perfectly welcome to define PDA your way. I'll define it mine. It does after all stand for PERSONAL digital assistant. <g> Meantime, I'm watching Psion, Symbian, and the EPOC OS. Regards, - Eric -

To: Mang Cheng who wrote (124)	9/17/2000 10:26:18 PM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 817

Mang, Re: PDA v. WID - Symbian "Quartz" I just found a better word than "Communicator" <g> Note: WID = Wireless Information Device There is a dated but interesting article called "Quartz Overthrows PDAs", I just stumbled across here: zdnet.co.uk Excerpts: >> Whether you want to think of Quartz as a PDA that comes with phone features for free or a phone that comes with free PDA features is up to you ... Quartz, Symbian's miracle of miniaturisation, has rung the death knell for what we call the PDA. And that's not just because its Symbian parents have opted for a more sociable sounding but equally unlovely three-letter acronym wireless information device (WID). ... But the big question here is whether the killer application for such integrated phone-gadgets is simply making phone calls. Do we want one box to do the work of our separate gadgets? For many technophiles today, strapping oneself with a host of digital devices is irresistible and the more the merrier. It's the equivalent of young Dilbert lining his shirt pocket with the finest array of the world's Biros. << Good article. Worth a read. - Eric -