PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS
PDA (personal digital assistant) is a term for any small mobile hand-held device that provides computing and information storage and retrieval capabilities for personal or business use, often for keeping schedule calendars and address book information handy. The term handheld is a synonym.
Most PDAs have a small keyboard. Some PDAs have an electronically
sensitive pad on which handwritng can be received.
Typical uses include schedule and address book storage and retrieval
and note-entering.
Increasingly, PDAs are combined with telephones and paging systems.
The current major PDA operating systems are:
Windows Mobile® - owned by Microsoft®
Palm™ OS - owned by ACCESS®
BlackBerry® OS - owned by Research In Motion®
Symbian™ OS - owned by Symbian Ltd®
iPhone® OS - owned by Apple®
Android™ OS - owned by
Open Handset Alliance™
OQO announced a model 02 at the
Consumer Electronics Show
in January 2007. It is Windows Vista compatible.
Its systems possess the functionality of a tablet PC in a form-factor slightly
larger than a PDA. According to Guinness World Records, the "OQO" is the smallest
full-powered, full-featured personal computer.
The term "personal data assistant" was first used on January 7, 1992 by Apple Computer CEO John Sculley at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, referring to the Apple Newton.
