Personal Digital Assistants
Palm Pilots and Beyond: A
Brief Overview
David V. Bloniarz
USDA Forest Service
Northeast Center for Urban &
Community Forestry
What is a PDA?
Hand-held computer
 Store, access, and organize information
 Windows-based (Pocket PC)
 Palm operating system (Palm PDA)
 PDAs can be screen-based or keyboardbased

Common Applications

Personal Information Management
– Store and retrieve addresses and phone numbers
– Maintain a calendar
– Create to-do lists and notes

Software Applications
–
–
–
–
Databases
Word processing
Spreadsheets
E-mail & Internet access
Synchronization
Exchange information with a desktop or
laptop computer
 PDAs come with cables or docking stations
to connect them to your desktop or
notebook computer
 For wireless e-mail and Internet access
available for a fee

Screen Display
Monochrome or gray-scale
 Color 256 to 64,000 colors
 Screen size will vary among PDAs
 Larger screen means more readable space
 Active matrix – Better display
 Passive matrix – Uses less battery power

PDA Power
Permanent rechargeable batteries
 Standard alkaline batteries
 Removable rechargeable batteries
 Length of service varies on the PDA
 Recharge time may also vary depending on
the battery
 You can use the PDA while the battery is
recharging

Memory



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Typically 2MB to 64MB of built-in memory
Two MB of memory is generally sufficient to fill
address books, maintain an active calendar, take
notes, and load useful programs
More memory may be needed to store large files
like digital photos, databases, or large software
programs
You can expand memory of some PDAs with
small storage cards that can be inserted into the
PDA
PDA Software Options

Palm OS
– Palm Pilot PDA

Windows CE
– Pocket PC
Palm Pilot PDA vs. Pocket PC

Palm OS devices work best basic contact
management, the Palm OS PDAs are
generally smaller, cheaper, lighter and have
vastly better battery life

Pocket PC units have flashier color screens
and more multimedia capability, but are
more expensive and have short battery life
Palm Pilot PDA Manufacturers

Palm OS – Palm Pilot PDA
– Palm Pilot
– Sony Clie
– Handspring Visor
Pocket PC Manufacturers

Windows CE – Pocket PC
– Compaq I-Paq
– HP Jornada
For more information
USDA Forest Service,
Northeast Center for Urban & Community
Forestry
 http://www.umass.edu/urbantree
