Buying Your First Handheld Computer

Introduction – what are handheld computers?
Handheld computers are small computers, designed as an even more portable version of a laptop computer. They are small enough to be used in the palm of your hand. Unlike laptops, most do not have a keyboard. They instead use a touch sensitive screen for input, and include a plastic pen (a “stylus”) for use on the screen. You can choose between tapping an on-screen keyboard or using handwriting recognition. Most also have a tablet design instead of clamshell. The typical PDA design have a centrally mounted screen covering most of the front, with a few buttons and a directional pad below.

What can a handheld computer do for you?

• Personal Information Management (PIM). This is one of the greatest selling point of handhelds, consisting of a calendar, contacts, and a To-Do lists. This is more useful than one may think. I did not use any kind of paper based PIM before I got my first PDA, but now I wouldn’t survive without them.
• Word processing . There’s basic word processors bundled with most handhelds, so you can write and read documents and spreadsheets. I use this to take notes in school among other things.
• Multimedia . With a memory card (purchased separately) you can play music and video. A Secure Digital card (the most common format) of 256 or 512 MB will set you back up to about $50, but then you will not need to carry your dedicated MP3 player. Note that hard-drive based memory for handheld computers is very limited. Only one product from a major manufacturer come with a built in hard-drive (4 GB), and MicroDrives (hard-drive based memory cards) are limited to 4 GB and the majority of handhelds are unable to use them.
• Portable gaming . If you commute to work or school this can save you from boredom. The games run from the simple (card and board games) to the more advanced, like strategy games and shooters. The more advanced titles tend to cost between $10 to $30 while the simpler can be found free. You can also emulate older game systems, like Nintendo Entertainment System or the PlayStation 1 for some retro gaming.
• Wireless Internet . If your handheld have wireless you can bring it to a cafe and sit there and surf, or use your Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone as a modem. Note that there may be additional costs for this kind of wireless. Some cafes let customers surf for free, but some charge you.
• GPS navigation . Some handhelds come with GPS built-in. Others may buy GPS units for use with handheld computers, like a Bluetooth GPS unit.
• Day to day aid . Uses like managing a grocery list, or your workout schedule. Or why not read an ebook on your PDA instead of carrying a heavy book when traveling?

There are of course countless uses, but these are the major reasons people buy handhelds.
Sadly, the handheld also has some flaws:

• Jack of all trades, but master of none . The handheld computer can do many things, but do few of them as good as a specialized system. For example, a MP3 player can have up to 60 GB of music while most handhelds are limited to about 4 GB (and that comes at a high cost).
• Cost . While a PDA is often more versatile than other gadgets, this can be offset by its high cost. Prices range from about $150 up to $600. If you do not need the versatility the handheld computer offers, then it would probably be cheaper to buy a specialized system (like a Sony Playstation Portable or Nintendo DS if you only want to play games on the road).
• Battery . The limit of all portable electronics. You will need to keep your PDA charged to be able to use it. This was especially important in the past, since you would lose all your data if your battery ran completely empty, but handheld designers are now moving away from this design. Note that you shouldn’t be afraid to buy handhelds of the current generation or older because of this though. They have safety buffers where it will automatically shut itself off to preserve power. I have never even been close to losing my data, and even if I did it automatically creates a backup whenever I connect it to my desktop computer.

Deciding which handheld to buy
There are many different brands and types. You should carefully consider what features you need, and features you would like to have but are not critical. You should also decide what you don’t want and how much you are willing to spend. It is easy to be seduced by a long list of features, but if you will never use them it is just wasted money.

Operating Systems
The operating system is the most basic level of software. They control things like the system clock, and allow the handheld to install third party programs for that operating system.
There are two major operating systems for handheld computers: PalmSource Palm OS and Microsoft Windows Mobile.
Unless you need a special piece of software that is available to only one of the platforms, I would recommend ignoring what operating system it uses. Most programs have an equivalent in the other operating system, and the handhelds are therefore more limited by their hardware than software. Some say Microsoft Windows Mobile may be easier to understand for the beginner since it has the same interface as most desktop computers, but they are both intuitive and simple to use (click an icon of a program to start it).
Note that you can not run programs written for your desktop computer on your handheld.

Features
Here follows a selection of features:

Processing power : The CPU of your handheld determines how fast it can perform its tasks. The most common processor is manufactured by Intel and has speeds between 312 MHz and 624 MHz. Simple text editing and such can be used by even the slowest processor. Games, watching videos, and database management benefit from a faster processor.
Memory : The memory is where you store your programs and data. Handhelds do not come with hard-drives, so memory is much more limited. The general PDA will have about 64 MB of memory. If you need more (if you want to use it as a MP3 player, for example) you have to buy memory cards (see next feature).
Storage card slots : To expand the memory you can buy memory cards. These vary in size from about 64 MB to 4 GB, but 256 MB to 1 GB are more commonly bought (anything higher in capacity has a steep cost). The most common format is Secure Digital, which is available in most handhelds. The second most common is Compact Flash, which is cheaper per MB but are larger in size and therefore require larger devices. Some slots will enable you to use cards with other uses than memory (but you can still use them for memory). The most common is SDIO (SecureDigital Input/Output) and CFII (Compact Flash type 2). With these you can add accessories like cameras or forms of wireless you don’t have.
Wireless : Wireless technology will enable you to connect to your desktop computer or another PDA or cell phone without the use of wires (hence the name). There are two main types, Bluetooth and WLAN. WLAN has longer range and higher rate of data transfer, but it consumes battery power faster. Bluetooth is much more common on cell phones, and you can often use a Bluetooth phone as a modem for your PDA.
Other wireless : Global Positioning System (GPS) can help find your way to your destination. There are only a few handhelds with GPS built in. Cellular phone wireless: some PDAs come with a built in cell phone. Then you don’t need to carry your regular phone with you. Both of these technologies are very power-hungry, so you will need a good battery. Both also raise the price of the unit significantly.
Keyboard : Some handhelds have a full QWERTY keyboard built into the device. These will enable you to type much faster than stylus-based input.
Screen : If you want to watch videos or surf the Internet then a high-resolution screen will greatly improve your enjoyment. Larger screens are also nicer to look at, but make the device larger too. Screens vary in size from about three inches to four. Standard resolution on modern handhelds with the Palm operating system: 320 by 480 pixels. Standard resolution on Windows Mobile handhelds: 240 by 320 pixels, with the more expensive models having 480 by 640 pixels.
Battery : How long your battery lasts depends heavily on your usage patterns. If you only use your device to check your contacts now and then you will easily last a week on a single charge, maybe even a month. If you play a lot of games or listen to music then you can expect a battery life of maybe three to five hours on an average handheld. Most modern handhelds have replacable batteries, so you can buy a spare for camping trips and the like (or buy a car charger).

Ending notes
Personally I would not survive without my PDA. It is, however, a niche market. Nonetheless, I greatly recommend buying one. My PDA serves me as an MP3 player, graphing calculator, portable gaming system, and much, much more. Purchased separately they would have cost twice as much as I paid for my PDA, not to mention the hassle of carrying them all the time. A great buy.