Which device do you never leave behind when you go on a business trip? Today it might be a simple pager or mobile phone. But in the near future, you will likely depend on a much more sophisticated handheld computer to perform a wide variety of business functions. Although today's devices can make phone calls, track appointments, and send e-mail and instant messages, their capabilities have yet to warrant widespread corporate rollouts.
This year, competition for the corporate use of the portable devices some call personal digital assistants (PDAs), or handheld PCs, will be fierce. According to a recent Gartner report, big changes are coming to the handheld marketplace this year. Gartner predicts a merger of Palm and Handspring and a decline in sales for RIM's Blackberry platform.
It's clear that the Pocket PC has become a formidable competitor to the once indomitable Palm--but look for Palm to make a big push in the corporate market later this year. To see how the competition is heating up, take a look at one of the latest units from each camp--HP's Jornada 568 and Palm's i705. The Pocket PC platform, with a faster processor, more RAM, and backlit color screen, does a far better job at displaying images and offers better tools for handling multimedia content. It also comes bundled with mobile versions of Word and Excel, the two most popular desktop applications for Windows. In the enterprise, let's just say that Palm faces an uphill battle to match its success with consumers.
Consumers have flocked to the Palm platform because of its solid contact manager and a far wider range of available third-party software--and it costs a lot less than the Pocket PC. Though it lacks the speed and graphics of the Pocket PC, you can get a Palm device built into a phone, a la Handspring's intriguing Treo. You can't get a Pocket PC/phone combo yet, though Microsoft last month announced a new initiative to build such a device.
Microsoft is looking to bridge the gap in the number of available applications. It offers a Pocket PC developer program that goes head-to-head with Palm's, but Palm's longer time on the market and generally simpler environment give it a bit of an edge in development tools.
Of course, Palm and Pocket PC aren't your only choices. A host of Linux-based PDAs are trying to bring Linux's open source advantages to a mobile platform. That will keep device costs down, as manufacturers don't have to pay to license the operating system, and probably will allow you to run the same applications on your handheld as you can on your Linux desktop. (You all have Linux desktops, don't you?)
You may worry about the security of information on your handheld PC. Both Palm and Pocket PC offer plenty of security add-ins, but your best bet is not to put anything sensitive on a device that's so easily lost, or to encrypt the files. And save the money you'd spend on handheld antivirus programs--there simply aren't enough such viruses to make this software cost-effective. Besides, recovering from a PDA virus is generally as simple as resynchronizing your device after a hard reset.
How do you decide which device is right for you? It's a matter of setting your priorities. Some factors to consider:
- Price -- Pocket PC devices cost more, but you get more too.
- Desktop compatibility -- Running Windows and Microsoft Office? Pocket PC plays well with them. If you have Linux on your desktop, on the other hand, you might like a Linux PDA. And Mac users' best option may be the clean simplicity of a Palm device.
- Expandability -- Look for devices whose operating systems you can upgrade, and to which you can add more memory. Look for expansion slots for Compact Flash or Secure Digital devices, or add-on sleeves that provide expansion capabilities.
Finally, a piece of personal advice: If you plan to do much data entry, get an external keyboard for your PDA. For serious note-taking, handwriting recognition or tapping on an on-screen keyboard just doesn't cut it. Landware's GoType keyboard is my favorite for Palm devices, while the Stowaway, made by Think Outside and sold by Targus and HP, among others, is a good choice for Pocket PCs.
Which PDA and mobile platform does your organization plan to give its workers? E-mail us, or share your opinion with other readers in ZDNet Tech Update's TalkBack, below.
