Business on the go may benefit from PDAs

William Hungerford is a technology writer and president of Springfield-based Progressive Technology Group, which focuses on technology in everyday living.

The advent of the computer gave society one of its greatest tools (and incidentally, sometimes one of its greatest headaches). Computers have streamlined and revolutionized business. Tasks that took hours now take minutes. E-mail has made communication quicker and easier. The Internet has opened literally millions of avenues for research and information to run a business.

Most people have a computer at the office, at home and a laptop for when they're on the road, but many are missing an important and integral piece of the puzzle: the personal digital assistant.

It's a surprise that many businesses are overlooking this powerful and important tool. According to Gartner, a research and advisory firm, there were an estimated 12.1 million PDA units shipped worldwide in 2002, with 70 percent for consumer use and only 30 percent for enterprise use. These statistics show that the business community is slow to embrace the possibility of PDAs as serious business tools. This is mainly because many businesspeople don't understand the capability and possibilities of the PDA in the business environment.

What is a PDA?

When PDAs first came about in the mid 1980s, they weren't much more than electronic day runners. There was basic calculator, clock, calendar and contact manager. Since then, the PDA has evolved into a powerful, full-fledged computer. Today, a typical PDA has a 400 MHz processor, 64 megs of RAM, wireless Internet capabilities and much more.

The simple fact is that almost anything that can be done on a regular computer can be done on a PDA. Probably the most notable difference is the screen size of a PDA. Granted, the small size makes it hard to surf the Internet as easily as on a desktop computer, but there are services such as AvantGo that format your news and information to fit on your screen.

Although there are a few different PDA platforms, Palm and Pocket PC are the two main types of operating systems for PDAs. Here are some of the features of a Palm- or Pocket PC-based PDA.

Contact list Is capable of maintaining phone and address information on contacts and customers. Has the ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook.

Calendar Allows scheduling of appointments with alarm and can be viewed hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. Has the ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook.

Notepad Gives ability to type or freehand write memos and notes.

Task list Create simple to-do lists that can be simply checked off when done. Has the ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook.

E-mail Gives the ability to compose and read e-mail. An Internet connection is required (wireless or through cradle) to send or receive e-mail. Has the ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook.

Onscreen keyboard Allows typing with the tap of a stylus. An external keyboard can also be used for a true typing experience.

Handwriting recognition No need to type. Uses handwriting to input text.

Calculator.

MS office support Interact with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access and Outlook.

Multimedia Play music and watch movie clips.

Internet Surf the Internet from the PDA cradle or wirelessly.

These are just a few of the things that are possible with a PDA. Which platform, Pocket PC or Palm is the best, is open to a lot of debate. The debate won't be discussed in this article, but for reference Pocket PC is a Microsoft product (basically a miniature Windows Operating System) while the Palm Operating System is from Palm Inc.

PDAs in business

Basically all information, like e-mail, calendar, tasks and contacts, can be sent to a PDA (as long as it's connected to a computer) whenever any of that information is updated on the desktop and vice versa. Both PDA operating systems can sync (fancy term for exchanging data between the PDA and computer) dynamically without user intervention.

Used properly, PDAs can be one of the least intrusive and most productive tools for business and personal use. With a PDA, it's possible to stay organized, informed and connected all while maintaining mobility.

The other exciting aspect of mobile computing is the convergence of cell phones and PDAs. Since most business-people have embraced cell phones, it becomes almost a no-brainer to offer PDA capabilities on a cell phone. In fact, over the next few years, phone/PDA combinations will become the norm, giving a person the ability to stay organized while only carrying one piece of equipment.

PDAs used to be glorified organizers. They are now true computers with the power to do almost anything a desktop can do.