Best Handhelds & PDAs

How to Choose The Best Handhelds & PDAs for You?

Choosing the right hand-held is about finding that ideal balance between size, weight, performance, features, and price. Do not expect your hand-held device to be as robust or as capable as your full-fledged computer. A hand-held computer is one that is small enough that it can fit in a hands-free hand pocket or coat pocket. Keep yourself up-to-date, organized, and entertained using a handheld computer, also called a personal digital assistant (PDA).

A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a hand-held, mobile device used to perform personal or work-related tasks, such as scheduling, and keeping calendar and address book information at hand. A personal digital assistant is a term that refers to a small, portable, hand-held device that provides computational capabilities and storage and information retrieval capabilities for personal or business purposes, usually to help maintain scheduling, calendar, and address book information at hand. PDA, fully Personal Digital Assistant, is a hand-held organizer used for contact information, calendar management, email communications, and manipulation of documents and spreadsheets, typically interacting with a user's personal computer.

These high-powered hand-held electronic devices became pocket-sized extensions of personal computers. Not only can you do clinical work more quickly and better with your hand-held computer than you could previously, but you can also do things your colleagues who did not own hand-held computers were just unable to.

If you are comfortable with Windows, and you are expecting to try and use hand-held in most ways you use a laptop, then probably the Pocket PC operating system is best for you. Our recommendation is to use one of the products listed under "Palm-OS" above unless you are looking to add in a Pocket PC-only program.

Other manufacturers might be trying to compete more directly with Pocket PC or the Palm OS. While Pocket PC and The Palm OS dominate the hand-held market by far, other manufacturers either use their own operating systems or license from third parties.

All devices running the company operating systems are broadly similar and can run the same programs, much like all computers running Windows, no matter their maker can run the same software. Palms OS does not require much storage space to operate, and you can get the latest Palm devices with either monochrome or color screens. You can get a Palm-powered hand-held for $150 that has a monochrome screen and all the basics.

If you are more concerned about compactness and simplicity, and you have realized you are going to be using the hand-held mostly as a handheld organizer, then a PDA running the Palm OS would likely suit you best. Choosing an Operating System for Your PDA, Deciding between Palm OS devices vs. Pocket PCs was once the single most crucial decision that an individual had to make in purchasing a PDA. If you want a PDA that integrates directly with Microsoft Office applications, then check out Pocket PCs like the Casio Cassiopeia HP Iraq. If you are comfortable with a Linux OS, then check out the Sharp Taurus, and be sure that sellers list Linux as the OS on the device. Knowing the tasks you will be using your hand-held for helps you determine the size of the case, type of display, storage, OS, writing software, power supply, and other amenities you will need.