Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have come a long way from their humble beginnings as Filofax replacements. There is now great diversity in the type and cost of devices, and PDAs are being used by businesses as well as consumers.
The three main platforms are Palm, Windows CE from Microsoft and Epoc from Psion/Symbian. The backers of these platforms have each begun to develop their own sets of strengths, tied to long-term strategies.
Despite Palm's long-standing dominance in the PDA market and Microsoft's problems with usability on early Windows CE devices, there are now signs that the balance is beginning to shift in favour of Microsoft, particularly at a corporate level. The high cost of CE-based Pocket PC and Handheld PC devices has proved more of a barrier in the consumer market, however. But Palm has been slower to develop both the functionality and underlying chip architecture needed to make its devices more flexible, and has suffered competition from Handspring, which makes its own Palm-compatible devices.
Symbian's decision to focus primarily on wireless clients, and smartphones in particular, has meant that it has a much lower profile in the PDA market, particularly for business users.
Incorporating PDAs into an enterprise IT strategy requires them to be manageable in the same way as a laptop or desktop machine. This implies support for data integrity and device security, as well as connectivity. In this area, Windows CE is ahead of Palm at present, although the recent introduction of the Palm OS 4.0 may help. The new operating system includes support for Secure Digital (SD) memory and I/O slots, which add much-needed expansion capabilities to Palm's new m500 and m505 devices.
All three platforms are focusing heavily on wireless communications for future devices. This emphasis is well placed: research by analyst firm IDC found that 56 percent of 600 people surveyed want machines that combine mobile phone and PDA functionality, compared to 29 percent who favoured keeping the two functions separate.
Microsoft, Symbian and Palm have all spread their interests widely, developing solutions for integrated and add-on wireless modules for PDAs, as well as forming strategic relationships with phone companies. Microsoft recently announced Stinger, a smartphone platform, and Symbian's focus on smartphone technology is long-standing. Although Palm is also working in this area, its involvement has been much more low-key to date.
The introduction of GPRS mobile communications will bring more opportunities for the PDA market, as continual access to data and services will expand the range of applications for the devices.
However, GPRS will also bring challenges in terms of security and manageability, both for consumers and enterprises. This will also make extensibility and flexibility of the devices more important, which in turn will demand greater processing power, especially to perform tasks such as encryption.
Despite its low current market share, Microsoft's Windows CE is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities, as its devices have greater processing power. Symbian's focus on smartphone development may take it away from the traditional PDA market, although early Symbian projects such as the Nokia 9210 Communicator still incorporate compelling functionality. The future for Palm is unclear, and success will depend on the company's ability to incorporate further functionality and greater processing power into its devices.
