The Big Picture (2)

The Big Picture
Formerly just handy pocket secretaries, PDAs have become ever more versatile. Modern PDAs can handle wireless e-mail and instant messaging, digital photography, music, and even video. Increasingly, businesspeople who spend a lot of time on the road are replacing standard cell phones with PDA-phone hybrids such as a Palm Treo, a RIM BlackBerry, or a Windows Mobile-based model. (If you're interested in such a device, be sure to read "How to Buy a Cell Phone" as well.)

While PDAs of one type or another have been around for about a decade, technological advances have made them more versatile at the high end and more affordable at the low end. And these days, all PDAs, regardless of price, are thin, lightweight, and generally small enough to fit easily into a pocket.

The processors that power PDAs are faster than they used to be, so PDAs can now handle digital music and photos with ease. High-end models now sport mobile graphics processors that enable gaming and video playback without a huge sacrifice in battery life. At the other end of the price spectrum, even lower-cost units come with color screens. And a growing number of mid- and high-range units sport integrated mini-keyboards (also known as thumb keyboards), a welcome development for users who want to use their PDAs for e-mail or messaging and feel slowed down by styluses and handwriting-recognition software.

The ability to communicate wirelessly enhances a PDA's overall utility. Many of the midrange units incorporate 802.11b or the faster 802.11g Wi-Fi for accessing home or work networks or commercial hotspots. Even more PDAs are equipped with Bluetooth, which can connect to desktop or laptop PCs, to peripherals (such as headsets or printers), or to the Internet through a suitably equipped cell phone. One of the latest trends in PDAs is the inclusion of integrated GPS receivers and software that allows the handheld to double as a navigation device, either in a car or when you're walking around an unfamiliar city.

information http://tech.msn.com/products/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2746114