Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are handheld or pocket computers capable of a wide range of functions. At their most basic level, they serve as electronic address books and to-do lists. However, the capabilities of PDAs have evolved considerably since their introduction in the late 1980s to include wireless access to phone, fax, e-mail, the Internet and other subscription-based data services. Users are able to download information (including books, games, spreadsheets, and word processing documents) from desktop computers or the Internet to their PDAs and beam text messages or business information to other PDA users. Information can also be entered directly into PDAs by using a pen-like stylus—most PDAs are able to convert handwritten characters into type—or via small, portable keyboards.

Because immediate access to information is important to both consumers and retailers, PDAs' wireless properties make them especially valuable tools in the world of e-commerce. PDAs link to the Internet by using a communication standard known as wireless application protocol (WAP), in which a special computer language allows information to be displayed on small screens via a cellular connection. According to Nua Internet Surveys, The Strategis Group predicted the number of individuals subscribing to mobile data services would climb from 5 million in 2000 to 172 million in 2007. Also according to Nua Internet Surveys, Cahners In-Stat Group predicted wireless Internet access device sales would achieve triple-digit growth from 2000 to 2004, eventually surpassing desk-top computers as the most popular means of accessing the Internet.

According to The Detroit News, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by PDA manufacturer Handspring Inc. indicated sales of handheld computers would exceed $35 million by 2003. According to Federal Computer Week, IDC projected demand for PDAs to grow at a compound annual rate of 28.8 percent between 2000 and 2005.

In the early 2000s, it became possible for consumers with credit cards to purchase goods through wireless devices. Kbkids.com, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.com were among the first retailers to begin offering shopping services to consumers in this manner. Wireless shopping portals also began to emerge, through which consumers could access products from a number of different retailers by downloading a single site onto their PDA or wireless phone.

According to InformationWeek, in the early 2000s Andersen Consulting developed prototype technology enabling PDAs and other wireless devices to function like synthetic currency. Known as Mobile Micropayments, the technology enables consumers to receive special offers from merchants in their immediate location via their wireless device. For example, a consumer who walks past a vending machine might be presented with a range of selections on the display of his or her PDA, which could be purchased immediately. Mobile Micropayments used Qpass Inc. to handle billing and payment in a manner very similar to automatic payment systems used on toll roads. The technology can be used to pay for everything from fast food to cab fares. In late 2000, Andersen Consulting expected an increasing number of devices—including printers, cash registers and vending machines—would be able to seamlessly communicate with other wireless devices in their immediate vicinity.

PDAs also are important to the corporate e-commerce sector. For example, salespeople are able to use them to access company databases for sales figures or inventory information, to conduct research, and to process orders. In Pharmaceutical Executive, Josh Weinstein, president of Torre Lazur PR Health-care Public Relations, explained: "Executives' connections to their workplaces are driven more and more by the Internet and wireless applications. Web-linked corporate e-mail seems to be the most developed, and it is common for traveling pharmaceutical executives to log on daily. More workgroup projects develop from such e-mail sessions than from the urgent voicemail messages or pages executives receive when office fires need to be extinguished."

PDAs also are valuable to securities brokers, who are able to use them in the trading process. In a Planet IT article by Talila Baron, Ron Valeggia, senior vice president and CIO of New York-based Quick & Reilly Inc., commented that the use of PDAs would increase tremendously due to their small size and convenience. Quick & Reilly's brokers already were using wireless phones to trade in mid-2000.

In 1989, Atari introduced the Atari Portfolio, one of the very first handheld computers. Apple Computer also became an early PDA pioneer when it introduced the Apple Newton in 1993. In 1996 U.S. Robotics, which eventually was acquired by 3Com, introduced its PalmPilot model, which eventually became a strong market leader. The introduction was a catalyst for the widespread adoption of PDAs by consumers. In the early 2000s, manufacturers of PDAs included Palm Inc., Handspring, Microsoft, Compaq, Symbian, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Norand, Sharp, Psion, and Sony.