What is a PDA?
PDA is an acronym for ‘Personal Digital Assistant’. A Personal Digital Assistant refers to any small mobile handheld device that stores information and provides computing capabilities for personal and/or business use. Functions such as browsing the internet, sending and receiving emails, reading documents and using the PDA as an address book and/or calendar are just some of the ways in which a PDA is used. Since a PDA is usually no bigger than your average calculator, it makes for an easy way to transport information. And, the ability to synchronize that data with another device such as a computer desktop, is another advantage to using a PDA. A basic PDA usually includes an address book, date book, memo pad, task list, calculator and clock. PDAs are also called handheld devices/computers, pocket computers, and palmtops.
A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a handheld computer that allows you to store, access, and organize information. Most PDAs work on either a Windows-based or a Palm operating system, they can be screen-based or keyboard-based, or both. The basic features of any PDA are a calendar, address book, task list, and memo pad. More sophisticated PDAs can run word processing, spreadsheet, money manager, games and electronic book reading programs and also provide e-mail and Internet access. Some PDAs even play stereo quality music and record voice memos. PDAs offerings are steadily expanding.
The term “personal digital assistant” or PDA is a general term for all handheld computers. There are two major types of PDAs distinguished by their operating system. The operating system is what manages all other computer operations (hardware, software, etc.). The two operating systems are either the Palm Operating Systems or the Microsoft Windows Mobile Operating System.
In this case, PDA stands forPersonalDigitalAssistant, also known asHandheld Computers, are handheld devices that were originally designed as personal organizers, but became much more versatile over the years. A basic PDA usually includes a clock, date book, address book, task list, memo pad, and a simple calculator. Newer PDAs can also be used a cell phones, pagers, web browsers and email readers. Some include radios, mp3 players, digital cameras, bar code scanners and more.
