How Stuff Works - Personal Digital Assistants

The main purpose of a personal digital assistant (PDA) is to act as an electronic organizer or day planner that is portable, easy to use and capable of sharing information with your PC. It's supposed to be an extension of the PC, not a replacement.PDAs, also called handhelds or palmtops, have definitely evolved over the years. Not only can they manage your personal information, such as contacts, appointments, and to-do lists, today's devices can also connect to the Internet, act as global positioning system (GPS) devices, and run multimedia software. What's more, manufacturers have combined PDAs with cell phones, multimedia players and other electronic gadgetry. As its capabilities continue to grow, the standard PDA device is changing. In this article, we take a look at the PDA -- where it's been, how it is converging with other devices, and where it's headed. We'll also examine how PDAs work and give you some pointers on how to select one.

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