Megan Fox Web & Electronic Resources Librarian fox@simmons JumpStart May 22, 2002

1. P D What?An Introduction to PDAs (personal digital assistants), Palm Pilots, and other handheld computers Megan Fox Web & Electronic Resources Librarian fox@simmons.edu JumpStart May 22, 2002

2. What are PDAs and handheld computers? • What are the advantages of a PDA? • What are PDAs most commonly used for?

3. What are PDAs and handheld computers? PDA: Personal Digital AssistantA small computer that literally fits in the palm of your hand. More limited than a desktop computer, but useful for calendars, address books, and increasingly, other applications Handheld Computer:term sometimes used interchangeably with PDA, palmtop, or pocket computer; may imply a device in between a laptop and PDA; more memory, more features The Palm m505

4. The HP Jornada 567

5. Stylus / Pen

6. On-screen Keyboard

7. Graffiti

8. Collapsible Keyboard

9. Beam Using the infrared port, can share information with other users, called beaming – no wires, no direct connections Convenient for sharing business cards or calendar events, trading applications, and more.

10. Sync Synchronization of your data from the PDA to your desktop. Compares data entered on the PDA and on the desktop and makes one new, complete record of data in both places. Most often sync through a cradle, which connects through a cable to your desktop computer. Also through a modem (dialup), an Ethernet connection, an IR port Hot Sync Button

11. Peripherals/Accessories

12. http://www.margi.com/ PDA into a projector

13. Common PDAs Palm Pilot: IIIc, V, VII, m100, m130, m515 Handspring Visor: Pro, Edge, Prism Compaq iPAQ: H3760, H3870, H3850 HP Jornada Sony Clio

14. Key Differences in Devices: Physical Characteristics • size/weight (1.4 oz to 1 lb) • grayscale/color (up to 64K colors) • Power • Memory (2 MB to 64 MB) • Battery Life (AA or rechargeable) • Cost ($99-$700) Peripherals (modem, memory, expansions cards, etc) • Operating System/Application Availability • Palm OS (considered easier; currently more applications) • Pocket PC (version of Windows; includes watered-down Office)

15. Comparisons and Recommendations • Excellent synopsis from University of Iowa’s pilot project: http://www.its.uiowa.edu/cs/sp/pda/pda-comparisons.doc • http://palmtops.about.com/library/content/aatp112201.htm • Handheld computers • Palm OS Handheld computers • PocketPC Handheld computers • http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-1087.html?tag=dir • Mix and match any list and get comparisons • http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/hardware/compare_devices.asp

17. What are the advantages of a PDA? • Mobility (On-the-go, 24/7 access) •   Simplicity (Ease of use and understanding) •   Functionality (Perform an assortment of activities) •   Organization (Keeps schedules, tasks, e-mails, documents and other forms of information consolidated and coordinated) •   Low Cost (Extremely cost-effective relative to other forms of computer technology) http://www.dmacc.org/west/handheld.htm

18. What are PDAs most commonly used for? Calendar/Date Book Address Book/Phone Book Memos/Notes To do/Lists

19. Calendar

20. Address Book

21. Memos/ To Do Lists Desktop (Palm)

22. Traditional Documents: Word, Excel, Powerpoint • InstallBuddy from BlueNomad.com (converts files to PDA readable format) • Documents To Go (word processing and spreadsheet editing, presentation viewing) • Pocket PC or Windows CE devices have mini-Office applications

23. Desktop (Palm)

25. Even PowerPoint!

26. Other Fee or Free Applications • Software warehouses: • Handango • Tucows • For example: • Brain Forest (project mapper/manager) • Due Yesterday – academic scheduler

28. PDA does not equal Wireless! Dialup modem/ISP Same as for a regular computer – about $10-20/mo Wireless modem/ISP About $60/mo Infrared to Network

30. Clarinet Systems IrDa Infraredwww.clarinetsystems.com

31. Tribeam http://www.tribeam.com

32. Web Content on a PDA Offline: Web Clipping • Coola (find content on desktop Web & “clip” it for later reading on Palm) • Avantgo (pre-selected channels of content, e.g. NYT, dumped on sync) Streaming/Browsing • Live, using a browser such as Internet Explorer or My Palm • Web Sites: Palm Friendly (WAP, WML)

35. What web content looks like on a PocketPC

36. What web content looks like on a typical Palm

37. What “PDA-friendly” content looks like on the desktop http://web.simmons.edu/~schwartz/pda http://www.simmons.edu/libraries/pdaindex.html

42. Locating Web Content for the PDA • Search Engines • Google • All the Mobile Web • Mopilot

45. http://mobile.alltheweb.com

46. http://beta.mopilot.com/

47. Providing Content for a PDA: Many Content Conversion/Service Providers, for example: NearSpace (http://www.nearspace.com/) and Town Compass (http://www.towncompass.com/) manage event lists, directories, and other handheld application; used by many academic institutions.

48. How easy is it to manage a Palm or PocketPC?

49. Desktop (Palm)

50. PocketPC - Just Another Drive Desktop (PocketPC)