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When a Plain PDA Is Best

James A. Martin

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Feature: When a Plain PDA Is Best

Things aren't looking good for the traditional PDA.

Sony has stopped selling its Clie line of Palm OS-compatible handhelds. Toshiba has exited the Pocket PC market outside Japan. In 2004, shipments of traditional PDAs--those without wireless phone capabilities--declined for the third consecutive year, according to IDC (which, like PC World, is a part of International Data Group).

What's up with that? Put simply, smart phones and hybrid devices--which combine the functions of both cell phones and PDAs--are wooing users away from traditional handhelds.

But don't give up on our old friend just yet. Here are four reasons why PDAs are better traveling companions than hybrid PDA-phones.

Bigger Screen

Because a hybrid device needs to be compact, like a regular mobile phone, its display can be considerably smaller than a PDA's. For instance, the PalmOne Treo 650's color screen is 320 by 320 pixels, compared to the 640-by-480-pixel screen of Hewlett Packard's IPaq Hx4705.

In real terms, this means viewing just about anything--contact information, photos, multimedia content, GPS maps--is better on most PDAs than on most hybrid devices or smart phones. The larger screen makes PDAs, in my opinion, significantly more useful. For example, you could keep photos of a new product stored on an HP IPaq Hx4705, then easily show the photos to a prospective client. On a Treo 650 or other hybrid device, your picture wouldn't have nearly as much impact.

Better Notebook Alternative

Need to create or edit Microsoft Office documents on the run? A PDA is much better at this than your average hybrid device.

Windows Mobile PDAs come with pocket versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet Explorer. Many Palm OS PDAs include Dataviz's Documents To Go, which provides compatibility with many Microsoft Office file types. When outfitted with a full-sized, external keyboard, a PDA can become a miniature notebook, to some degree. You can work on your Office documents just about anywhere; I've edited articles in a doctor's waiting room, for instance.

Admittedly, the Treo 650 and other hybrid devices let you create and edit Office files, too. But a PDA's larger screen makes working with spreadsheets and other Office files far more feasible.

Also, unlike most PDAs, many hybrid devices don't let you add a full-sized, external keyboard. Would you like to type more than a few words on a smart phone's tiny keys? I didn't think so.

For more about PDAs as notebook alternatives, read my July 2004 column.

More Memory, More Applications

Some current PDAs offer more than twice the user-available memory of their hybrid competitors. For example, the PalmOne Tungsten T5 has 215MB of user-available memory, compared to 23MB for the company's Treo 650.

So what, you ask? The more internal memory in your gadget, the more space there is for essential PDA applications like Vindigo for current entertainment and restaurant info; AvantGo for news, entertainment, and more; Zagat To Go restaurant guides; and The Leonard Maltin Movie & Video Guide for movie reviews.

Sure, you can store such apps on flash memory cards, and many hybrid devices have flash memory card readers. But apps run slower on flash memory cards than when stored in internal memory. And making sure you've got the right card, at the right time, can be a pain.

More Advanced Features

Some PDAs simply have much more advanced features than their hybrid counterparts.

For example, Dell's Axim X50v Pocket PC includes a dedicated graphics processor (the Intel 2700, with 16MB of graphics memory) for smooth game playing and video viewing. The X50v is also notable for its expandability, being one of the few Pocket PCs today with both Secure Digital and CompactFlash card slots. If a hybrid device exists in the U.S. market offering either of these features, I don't know about it.

Adding It All Up

I'm not oblivious to the charms of a hybrid PDA-phone, mind you. Having wireless e-mail, Web browsing, and PDA functionality in one gadget is extremely compelling. For more on the pros and cons of PDAs and smart phones or hybrids, read my August 2004 column.

And frankly, I believe the traditional PDA's days are numbered. As components become smaller and cheaper to produce, handheld devices will be able to do even more than they can today. It's only a matter of time before there's an Apple IPod-like device that's also a camera, video player, cell phone, and PDA.

But for now, there's still plenty of life left in the PDA. Enjoy it while you can.

Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

Gadget News: Archos's PDA/Portable Video Player

And you thought the PDA was dying? Here's a sign of life: the new Archos PMA400. Along with being a Linux-based PDA, the 30GB hard drive-based gadget also records directly from TV and lets you view the programs on its 3.5-inch touch screen. The $800 price might send you into The Twilight Zone, however.

Gadget Tips: How to Pick the Right Portable Video Player

Can't decide which portable video player you want? First, try to determine where most of your content will come from. If the answer is your TV, you'd be better off with a PVP that can connect directly to a video source such as a TV or cable box. If you're more likely to download videos off the Internet, then consider a Portable Media Center, which is designed to sync video content with a Microsoft Windows Media Center PC or a Windows XP PC with a TV tuner. For more tips on picking a PVP, read "The Big Picture on Small-Screen Players."

Wireless News: Will You Yahoo on a BlackBerry?

Soon, BlackBerrys will come with Yahoo's Messenger software preinstalled for full-color, graphical IM chats, says BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. Yahoo has already installed its IM software on devices that work with AT&T Wireless Services (now Cingular) and T-Mobile USA. For more details, read "Yahoo Messenger Bites Into BlackBerry."

Gadget News: Smaller Secure Digital Cards on the Way

Think flash-memory cards are just too cumbersome? You're in luck: SanDisk's new TransFlash card, designed for cell phones and other portable gadgets, is even smaller than MiniSD cards. Measuring 0.6 inches by 0.4 inches by 0.04 inches, the card (technically called a MicroSD) looks even smaller than a cell-phone SIM card. Cards are available in 64MB and 128MB capacities. SanDisk expects some 50 handsets will accommodate the TransFlash by year end. The MicroSD format, as of this writing, is expected to be finalized this spring by the SD Card Association.

Gadget News: Nokia Drops Price of N-Gage

The base price of Nokia's N-Gage QD wireless gaming device is now $100 (if you prepay for wireless service), compared to its previous price of $200. Games now cost between $15 and $25, where they once cost $25 to $35. Read "Nokia Slashes N-Gage Price."

Notebook First Look: Apple's G4 PowerBook

Apple's latest notebook, the G4 PowerBook, includes lots of enhancements--though none are particularly extraordinary, says PC World reviewer Narasu Rebbapragada. Among the improvements that Narasu tested in our $2299 unit: a slightly faster PowerPC G4 processor, hard drive, graphics chip, and optical drive; the new Sudden Motion Sensor, designed to protect the hard drive (and your data) in the event of a "sudden motion," such as a fall; and Trackpad Scrolling, which lets you horizontally pan and vertically scroll through documents and Web pages.

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.