Topic 161

Personal mobile devices, for example, PDA, laptop by Vaibhav Bhandari

PDA stands for personal digital assistant. According to dictionary.com personal digital assistant is “A lightweight, handheld computer, typically employing a touch-sensitive screen rather than a keyboard, generally used for storing information such as addresses or schedules. Many PDA’s include handwriting recognition software, some support voice recognition, and some have an internal cell phone and modem to link with other computers or networks.” So basically in simple terms a PDA is a phone which has multiple features and has widely come to be known as pocket computers and palmtop computers.

Out of several features the one that makes PDA so unique is the touch screen. Touch screen is a virtual keyboard which enables a user with an easy soft click to access around the system. This feature helps the user navigate around the device faster than typing with a normal keyboard. The PDA also has a larger screen than normal cell phones which enables users to easily view websites. The PDA has a strong wireless network which helps one view websites online. Most PDA’s have Bluetooth and infra-red which also enable data to transmitted between PDA’s and laptops.

Most PDA’s also have a word processor, spreadsheet viewer and PDF file viewer. All these features make life easier and efficient for business men. All these features help a business man to access information easily on their phone. Although the screen on PDA is smaller than a normal computer monitor the information is still viewable and pays off at crucial times. The same goes with the wireless connection. Although the speed at which data is transferred into a PDA is no comparison with the speed on a computer, chatting and video conferencing from a PDA is still happen able.

In today’s world where even some teenagers have access to PDA’s gaming has also become a popular feature of PDA. The overwhelming gaming addiction has lead to downloading of several additional installing software’s. For people to download more of these software’s a certain amount of hardware is not enough. Additional hardware is required therefore in this case memory sticks play the role of additional hardware. With memory sticks people can not only download software’s and plug-ins but can also experience the joy of listening to music and watching videos.

Automobile navigation has also become a well known feature of the PDA. With the help of GPS (Global Positioning System) people can now easily access to road maps, traffic level, and dynamic routing. This feature in the PDA has been very useful to the people traveling from city to city.

PDA not only has designed to use for business and social purposes. Recently it has also been used for medical and scientific purposes. PDA has been used recently to provide aid diagnosis and drug selection. What happens is there is a drug database which helps the patient gets information on the particular drug he is taking. It has also been used as a way of communication between the doctor and the patient when the patient is not in a remote area.
In conclusion PDA has several benefits and very limited drawbacks. Some of these drawbacks are ruggedness, weather and water resistance and power considerations. Overall PDA is helpful for many business, social, scientific and educational purposes.