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Choosing Handhelds - Slides 1pp

A Personal Digital Assistant (pda) is a general-purpose handheld computer. A PDA is personalized; it may be customized to fit an individual's specific needs. Palmos(tm) is the established platform; pocketpc(tm), is a challenger. Linux(pdp) is the newcomer.

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Sasmito Adibowo
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80 views

Choosing Handhelds - Slides 1pp

A Personal Digital Assistant (pda) is a general-purpose handheld computer. A PDA is personalized; it may be customized to fit an individual's specific needs. Palmos(tm) is the established platform; pocketpc(tm), is a challenger. Linux(pdp) is the newcomer.

Uploaded by

Sasmito Adibowo
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Choosing Handhelds

A comparison of computing platforms for


Personal Digital Assistant applications
April 18, 2002
Sasmito Adibowo

Arcle Technologies
http://www.arcle.com
Agenda

P Introduction
P Importance of the subject
P Platform alternatives
P PIM functions compared
Introduction
What is a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) ?

P A PDA is a general-purpose handheld


computer geared toward providing
assistance services for an individual.
P A PDA is personalized; it may be customized
to fit an individual’s specific needs.
P Superset of electronic organizers.
P Typically pen-operated with a touch screen
user interface – to simplify its operations.
Introduction
Who needs a PDA?

P A student or professional with a lot of tasks to


juggle.
P A field operative/supervisor who needs to
closely coordinate the work of their
subordinates.
P A service professional (such as consultants,
doctors, insurance salespersons) who require to
carry a lot of data with them – clients, patients,
contact people, etc.
Introduction
Why a PDA?

P A PDA can hold much more information than


paper at its equivalent size.
P Able to function as a data-processing tool to
some extent; e.g., calculator, spreadsheet.
P Boots faster, and more convenient than a
notebook computer.
P More flexible, reliable, and require less
maintenance cost than a human assistant.
Importance

P Selecting a PDA may be tricky, as there are


several platforms available; each with its own
tradeoffs. Not to mention the hardware associated
with each platform.
P Different users have their own requirements and
constraints, and each accommodated differently
by the competing platforms. This results in the
segmentation of users according to the platforms.
P Software developers will need to understand this,
in order to target the development of their PDA
applications to the appropriate segment.
Platform Alternatives
The (now) major players

P PalmOS™
< The established platform
P PocketPC™
< The challenger
P Linux PDA
< The newcomer
Alternatives
PalmOS™

P Built and maintained by Palm, Inc., now a


subsidiary of 3Com.
P Specifically engineered for use in a PDA.
P Optimized for low-power, low-performance
processor.
P Architecturally bound to the Motorola 68K
processor family.
Alternatives
PalmOS™

P Control about 70% of the PDA market share*


(2001)
P Manufactures its own devices, yet licences the
OS for other hardware vendors (e.g.
Handspring, Sony, IBM).

* Rick Goetter, Kyocera


Alternatives
PocketPC™

P Built and maintained by Microsoft.


P Formerly named Windows CE.
P Some components were taken from Windows,
its desktop counterpart.
P Requires a high-performance processor.
P Independent from any specific machine
architecture.
Alternatives
PocketPC™

P More geared toward multimedia applications,


instead of the bare-bone PDA functions.
P Currently does not manufacture its own
hardware, but licences the OS to other vendors
(e.g. Compaq, HP, Casio).
Alternatives
Linux PDA

P Build and maintained by the Open Source


Community.
P Ported from the Linux kernel commonly used in
desktop and server computers.
P Not controlled by any single company nor
individual, but there are major companies that
contributes resources in its development (e.g.
Compaq – handheld.org).
Alternatives
Linux PDA

P Does not manufacture its own devices


(naturally). But some vendors are committing
exclusive use in their products (e.g. G.Mate,
Agenda, Sharp).
P Requires a high-performance processor.
P Independent to any specific machine
architecture.
P Some PocketPC devices may be customized to
use Linux instead.
Criteria for Judging Alternatives
Aspects employed to compare the platforms

P Available features, especially for Personal-


Information Management (PIM) use.
P Usablility
< Easy to learn
< Easy to operate
P Extensibility
P Special features
P Hardware retail price.
PalmOS™
What to expect
P Simple, intuitive, and consistent user interface.
P Small but effective software – most programs are sized
50K – 200K.
P Only one application may run at a time – other
applications are suspended.
P Usually feature grayscale displays; some are in color.
P Longer battery life – some models uses two AAA
batteries and lasts about two weeks under intensive
use.
P More affordable – an entry level device costs about
$150 (year 2002).
PalmOS™
Sample Device: Handspring Visor Pro
P Capacity: 16 Megabytes RAM
P Connectivity: USB/IrDA (optional serial cradle
P Screen: 160x160 pixels, 16 grayscale with
backlight
P Springboard expansion (mobile phone, GPS,
bluetooth, voice recording etc)
P Battery: 65 hours (Lithium-Ion rechargeable)
P Processor: Motorola DragonBall 33Mhz
P Retail price: $179
PocketPC™
What to expect

P Fancy, colorful, sophisticated user interface.


P More featured software – at the expense of a larger
footprint.
P Multitasking of applications
P Most devices display high resolution in color.
P Voice recording is common among devices.
P Typically uses a high performance, high-powered
processor.
P The entry level costs about $200.
PocketPC™
Sample Device: HP Jornada 545
P Capacity: 16 Megabytes RAM.
P Connectivity: USB/IrDA
P Screen: 240x320, 4K colors.
P Expansion: CompactFlash Card Type I (usually
additional memory)
P Built-in voice recording.
P Battery: 8 hours (Lithium-Ion rechargeable)
P Processor: Hitachi SH3, 133Mhz
P Retail price: $215
Linux PDA
What to expect

P A wide variety of GUIs and distributions – no single standard.


P PIM applications are not yet mature, so are the
accompanying desktop applications (if any).
P Multitasking of applications.
P Able to run standard Linux commands and shells.
P Color and monochrome displays available.
P Voice recording is common among devices.
P Also uses high performance processors.
P Developer versions costs $200-$600.
P No licence fee to pay for OS.
Linux PDA
Sample Device: Agenda VR3
P Capacity: 8 Megabytes RAM
P Connectivity: Serial/IrDA
P Screen: 160x240, 64K grayscale.
P Expansion: none.
P Built-in voice recording.
P Consumer IR port.
P Processor: NEC VR4181, 66Mhz
P Battery: 2 AAA.
P Retail price: $249
PIM Functions
PalmOS™ Scheduler

Daily View Weekly View


PIM Functions
PalmOS™ Scheduler

Monthly View Yearly View


PIM Functions
PocketPC™ Scheduler

Daily View Weekly View


PIM Functions
PocketPC™ Scheduler

Monthly View Yearly View


Read Daily News & Jokes
AvantGO™ Offline Web Browser

For PalmOS™
For PocketPC™
Linux Screenshots
Agenda™ VR3 - Tk GUI on X Windows

Launchpad To-Do Terminal


Linux Screenshots
YOPY - W Windows

Calendar Paint Program


Summary
The platforms at-a-glance

P PalmOS™
< Fast, low-cost, intuitive, but limited.
P PocketPC™
< Sophisticated, feature-packed but not
“snappy”.
P Linux PDA
< Nice for those who like to use the newest
technology.
Thank You for Coming!
Any questions?

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