What is a PDA? What is its function and function?
PDA is the abbreviation of Personal Digital Assistant, which literally means "Personal Digital Assistant". This handheld device integrates many functions, such as computing, telephone, fax and network. It can not only be used to manage personal information (such as address book, plans, etc. ), but more importantly, you can surf the Internet, send and receive emails, send faxes and even use them as mobile phones. More importantly, these functions can be realized wirelessly. Of course, not every PDA has all the above functions; Even if there is, it may not be realized because of the lack of corresponding services. But it can be predicted that the development trend of PDA is the integration of computing, communication, network, storage, entertainment, e-commerce and other functions.
PDA is generally not equipped with a keyboard, and uses handwriting input or voice input. The operating systems used by PDA mainly include Palm OS, Windows CE and EPOC. The origin of PDA can be traced back to Newton message board introduced by Apple in 1993. Soon after, some manufacturers introduced similar products. At present, the price of PDA is still high, but experts believe that it will eventually enter the "homes of ordinary people" and become a real "personal digital assistant". The above is a generalized PDA.
At present, there is a narrow understanding of PDA. In a narrow sense, PDA can be called electronic organizer. Its function is relatively simple, mainly managing personal information, such as address book, notes and memos, schedules, notes, calculators, recordings and dictionaries. Moreover, these functions are all solidified, and new functions cannot be added according to the requirements of users. PDA in a broad sense mainly refers to palmtop computers, and of course it also includes other small digital devices with similar functions. The word PDA also has different interpretations. In a narrow sense, PDA has no keyboard, and uses handwriting input, voice input or soft keyboard input. Pocket computers in a broad sense include both those without keyboards and those with keyboards. However, in the China market, almost all PDA's don't have keyboards.
Classification of PDA:
In fact, PDA should be subdivided into four categories: electronic dictionary, PDA, PDA device and personal communication assistant. The latter two are gradually merged together due to the development of technology and market.
electronic dictionary
Among all PDA products, this is the simplest one. Its main function is to provide Chinese-English translation, telephone number storage, English word reading and other functions. Its characteristic is that all programs are solidified in memory, so the storage capacity is limited, the function is simple, and it is not extensible. But these products also have their incomparable advantages. For example, they are highly targeted and provide needed functions, such as games, calculations and notes. In addition, it also has the characteristics of small volume and simple operation. The representatives of this kind of electronic dictionaries are Autotoll, celebrities, literary stars and so on. Of course, some new electronic dictionaries now also provide the function of communication. You can exchange data with computers and similar products through additional connection kits. There are also some electronic organizer in the market, focusing on records and daily business management. These products often have a large storage capacity, but the essence is the same as that of electronic dictionaries. Their programs are all solidified on memory chips, and they are also not extensible. The typical representative of this kind of products is our familiar business communication.
palm-top
Usually, the digital world will only call this PDA, which also represents the true meaning of PDA. Because it has almost all the functions of a general home computer. The biggest feature of PDA is that it has its own operating system, which is generally solidified in ROM. Most of the storage devices used are expensive IC flash memory, and the capacity is generally around 16 MB. PDA generally has no keyboard, and uses handwriting and soft keyboard input methods. At the same time, it is equipped with standard serial port, infrared access mode and built-in modem, which is convenient for personal computers to connect to the Internet. The biggest difference between PDA and previous products is the expansibility of its application. Based on their respective operating systems, anyone can use programming languages to develop corresponding applications. You can also install and uninstall it on your PDA at will. Because of its complete functions and complicated operation, it is not suitable for junior users who don't know much about computers.
In the PDA part, it will be divided into Palm and PocketPC according to the different operating systems. Palm adopts Palm OS system and is developed by Palm Company. PocketPC adopts WinCE series system developed by Microsoft. Because of the differences in performance and system, there are still considerable differences between the two entities.
Handheld computer equipment
The English name of handheld computer equipment is HPC, which means handheld PC. This is a product between notebook computer and PDA. Why do you say that? Because it has an operating system commonly used in PDA, but it is equipped with a small keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of a traditional notebook computer. Its function is more powerful than PDA, but its size and weight have also increased, so its portable performance is worse than PDA.
Personal communication assistant machine
Personal communication assistant is the most fashionable one among many products. Its concept is to combine some functions of PDA with mobile phones and pagers. The biggest feature of this product is to abandon the general telephone line and adopt the wireless data receiving method, which makes the product more adaptable. Although the early products were designed with mobile phones as the starting point, their business functions were obviously not as good as ordinary palmtop computers, only equivalent to ordinary electronic organizer. At present, the products developed based on WinCE system and Palm are collectively called smart phones, which have the same or higher functions as PDA, as well as communication functions and wireless data exchange, representing the development direction of PDA in the future.
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Reveal the most popular functions of PDA
IT023.COM (Computer Online)
Avantgo's mobile life survey in 2004 pointed out that when it comes to the functions of PDA devices, some technologies that have been implemented on PDA in the early days are still very popular! However, when asked to name all the functions that a "dream model" should have, the respondents' answers are very surprising! Let's take a look at the results of this survey!
In the survey that just ended in September, a total of 3,260 AvantGo users participated in the interview through PDA and smart phone. Among them, 85% of PPC users and 82% of Palm users are very satisfied with the current system, and even if they change models, they will not change the operating system.
In addition to some common functions of ordinary PDA, most users want their devices to have a storage space the size of an iPod (Apple MP3) to store music and other content. Other functions users want include: email, GPS navigation, making phone calls, small body, bigger screen and so on. Surprisingly, eight out of ten users said they would not change the operating system-that is to say, most PDA users have high brand loyalty.
The survey also revealed the functions that 12 "dream models" should have! include
1, calendar/schedule
2. Synchronization with the computer is simple and quick.
3. Long battery life
4. E-mail/SMS sending
5.Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth
6, the fuselage is light and compact
7, MP3 playback
8. Telephone
9. Wide screen
10, GPS navigation
1 1, 2G storage capacity
12, digital camera
Calendar/Calendar is the most popular feature! 94% of the respondents think this is a necessary function. Surprisingly, MP3 playback (77%) is more popular than telephone function (76%). In addition, 65% of the respondents think that PDA must have a GPS navigation system, while 64% and 63% of users think that large storage space and digital cameras are very important.
AvantGo provides iAnywhere services to millions of users. Therefore, it has a very important position in the industry, because it can hold convincing large-scale surveys and provide some very valuable business information to peers, such as the most popular models and brands of PDA and smart phones.
In this survey, there is a lot of information that manufacturers should carefully taste:
Two-thirds of the respondents said that they planned to buy an ordinary PDA instead of a PDA with telephone function.
365,438+0% people said that they want to buy a device with both PDA and mobile phone functions, while only 3% people are willing to switch to Symbian smartphones and 4.5% people are willing to use RIM BlackBerry devices.
50% of the respondents are using Palm operating system, 40% are using PPC system, and 10% are using other systems.
More than three-quarters (77%) of the respondents' PDA was purchased by themselves, 13% was given away, and only 9% of the respondents' PDA came from their employers.
70% of the respondents have downloaded four or more softwares, and 34% have downloaded 10 or more softwares.
Among the respondents who downloaded PDA and smartphone software, 65,438+05% spent more than $65,438+000 a year, 38% spent more than $50 and 58% spent more than $25.
Up to 3 1% users spend money to download some software related to residence or travel, which can provide specific information, such as event news, restaurants, movies, etc.
AvantGo executives said that the survey results seem to be contrary to some rumors in the industry. For example, the popularity of PDA is declining, and now people have begun to give up the early development platform Palm and use PPC or Symbian instead. In addition, some software that can provide specific location information seems to be the direction of the next wave of equipment function development.