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Tuesday November 24, 2009 12:27 AM AEST
Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > Group Tests > Palmtop Paradise

Palmtop Paradise

by Staff Writers  on Jan 1, 1900
Tags: Palmtop | Paradise
While PDAs began their life as the same kind of techno-curiosities that mobile phones once were, their popularity is now rocketing.

In researching this Labs it struck us that nothing cou
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In researching this Labs it struck us that nothing could be further from the truth than a generic label such as personal digital assistant. Personal? We had the Labs staff take the units and use them as they should be used - eating, sleeping, and travelling with them - and the consensus is that theres nothing personal about them. And were not saying they need a junky, fluoro plastic panel or two to say this is me; no, rather were talking about doing what we want with them, to have them work the way we want them to as individuals.

Handheld computers? Well, take a look at some of the latest mobile communication devices. We are just scratching the surface when you consider the functionality built into some of the more fanciful creations from the likes of Philips, Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola. They boast some of the most sophisticated programmable digital logic, yet ask anyone on the street and theyll tell you its a phone and a computer is something that sits on a desk.

The close relationship between communication-centric handheld devices and data-centric handheld devices is no coincidence though, and the distinction will become further diversified and blurred as time marches on.
Weve taken a look at eleven devices for this Labs feature. To qualify they had to be handheld (obviously), with an operating system to match. No other qualification needed to be spelt out. Keyboards, sound, colour displays and expansion capabilities were optional. No awards for guessing the traditional PC Authority Benchmarks are totally inapplicable here considering the marked diversity in OSes.

Along the way weve also put the IBM Microdrive reviewed in PC Authority last month (page 97) to practical use, as well as a LAN card from 3Com in a CF form factor. Theres also a look at two Windows CE tablet devices: handheld but bulkier than most PDAs.

For anyone who has ever found themselves on a street corner cursing the lack of their desktop computer, take the time to look at our appraisal of the latest and coolest toys in computing.

Labs Editor David Lin
Contributors Tim Dean, Valens Quinn, Simon Tsang, Stephen Teh, Justine Stewart-Crompton
This article appeared in the June, 2000 issue of PC Authority.


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