The PDA / Pocket PC

The concept of the Personal Digital Assistant (PDAs) first took shape in the early 1990's, and these devices, which began as simple phone books and day planners, has evolved into handheld computers capable of audio/video playback, Internet browsing and wireless connectivity. People who like to travel light can now replace multiple devices with a single PDA, and they won't miss a beat.

So what do you look for in a Pocket PC? What features can you expect?

Connectivity is an important aspect of any PDA - you will need to transfer your data between a computer and the PDA device, synchronise address books and email accounts. Look for Infra red, blue tooth, Wi-Fi wireless, desktop cradles or simply a cable depending on your needs.
Sound is also a good thing to have on a PDA, voice recorder or MP3 playback.

Video - most Pocket PCs have a screen size of no larger than 240x320 pixels. Compared to the now standard 1024x768 pixels on a monitor, it is much smaller and more difficult to read, but it is fine for day to day note-taking and appointment viewing. Pocket PCs with Microsoft operating systems also come with fully functional excel and word version on them.

Pocket PCs are great as a vehicle's GPS (Global positioning systems), and with the added feature of audio, you will be directed to your destination in no time at all.

You can also watch cut down version of video clips on a PDA, with plenty of software on the Internet to help you make miniature backups of your home videos and DVDs that you prefer to watch on the move, be it on a plane or a bus.

Games - There are plenty of games for the Pocket PCs - such as Tomb raider.

Palm or Pocket PC?
The question is what software will you run on your Palm or Pocket PC? Both of these versions offer a good range of quality applications for their products, and Palm OS 5.1 currently holds the sales lead worldwide. The windows version of the Pocket PC has fewer compatibility issues, but as it is more resource hungry, the Pocket PC seems to run more sluggish than the Palm version, although it has many more applications and games on offer.

Where is my hard drive?
Pocket PCs are built around solid state memory modules, or ROM and RAM modules.

The ROM is Read only and contains the basic system and operating instructions for the Pocket PC to work. These instructions are "built-in" and have been put there by the factory. A certain amount of the ROM (as Flash RAM or NAND ROM) is dedicated to storing your files, in case the battery goes flat. ROM is "permanent" memory and stores data, even when the battery is flat.

The RAM is read and write, and this memory gets wiped clean when your battery is removed or goes flat, depending if there is some other form of power backup on the Pocket PC. The more RAM on a Pocket PC, the more applications and files can be stored on that Pocket PC.

Some Pocket PCs also come with SD, CF or Sony memory stick memory slots for your own removable flash memory drives, and can even be used to retrieve pictures from your digital camera.