Yamaha PSRS900 61-Key Arranger Workstation Keyboard

Although the palmtop computer, also known as the PDA(personal digital assistant) has been with us since the early 80s, it is only in the last few years that they have become a popular mass market product. The reason for this has been the convergence of mobile phone and computer technology, exemplified by products such as the Blackberry and the Nokia N97, which are basically small, internet capable multimedia PCs that can also be used as mobile phones.

The first PDA, although it was not termed as such at the time, was the Casio PF3000, released in 1983. Although this might have looked like a pocket calculator that had gotten too big for its boots, it was in fact a direct replacement for the paper based organiser, and was an immediate hit with busy people everywhere. More digital organisers followed from firms such as Psion and GO, and by the end of the eighties, the bulging Filofax was an increasingly rare sight.

The term PDA was first used by Apple to describe their new digital organiser, the Newton, in 1992. The marketing hype described it as The Computer of the Future, which in some ways it was, as it did away with the keyboard to make way for a large touch sensitive screen and a small plastic stylus.

The concept was well ahead of its time, and huge sales were expected. Unfortunately for Apple, and even more so for those who bought one of these items, the handwriting recognition was somewhat less than reliable, making the entry of even simple information via this method something of a hit or miss affair. They did make subsequent revisions to the design which improved matters somewhat, but the negative publicity surrounding the initial models meant that the Newton was never destined to be a commercial success.

The first combined PDA and mobile phone, the Nokia 9000 Communicator, was launched in 1996, and went on to become the biggest selling PDA ever made, although modern equivalents such as the Nokia N series and the RIM Blackberry are fast catching up.

The PDA of today uses a variety of input devices such as trackballs, scroll wheels, thumb keyboards and touch screens. They also have a memory card slot for storing and retrieving information, and can use all manner of wireless communications technologies including Bluetooth, WiFi, and Mobile telephony.

One of the most useful things that a modern PDA can do is called synchronisation. In a nutshell, synchronisation is the instant sharing and updating of information between two devices, such as PC and a PDA or mobile phone. This ensures that you have up to date information, such as contact details and calendar entries on both devices, and that you have a back up of this valuable data should something happen to either machine.

Modern PDAs can do virtually everything a PC can do, such as run office software, surf the web, play video and audio files and act as satellite navigation systems, and new applications are being developed all the time. Not bad for a technology that is less than thirty years old!

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