1. The presentation Outline
Quick history of PDA
The Operating Systems used by the PDA
The hardware of the PDA
The Future of the PDA
The Past The Future

2. A Quick History of PDA’s
What is a PDA?
PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistance
Even though many handheld devices have been introduced since the 80’s, they are not defined as PDA’s.
PDAs were first introduced by Psion in 1984, it was called the Psion 1
Apple introduced the Newton Message Pad in 1993
Palm Pilot was introduced in 1996 by U.S. Robotic and 3Com with functioning of Stylus pen.

3. How do they look like? - Psion1 (1984) - Apple Newton (1993)
- Palm Pilot (1996)
(Early PDA) (First PDA) (The PDA)
CPU: HD6301X, .92Mhz
Ram: 2KB, (16K external)
Rom: 4KB
Software: Basic
Display: LCD 16-characters
CPU: ARM 610, 20Mhz
Ram: 640 KB
Rom: 4MB
OS: Newton 1.0
Display LCD (3360x204 pixels)
CPU: Motorola 68328, 16Mhz
Ram: 128MB Rom: 4MB
OS: Palm OS 1.0
Display: LCD( 160x160 pixels)

4. How are PDAs used? basic functions
Designed to work as a companion to the PC.
date book
address book
to do lists
short notes
calculator
Mail

5. How are PDAs used? (continue…)
advanced functions
synchronizing data with desktop
contacts, schedules and tasks
content access
sync updated content from web
real time via wireless
databases, books, journals, etc.

6. Palm OS Varieties
PDAs run on several different operating systems . The two most common are Palm OS and PocketPC (Windows-CE). Most applications have been written for the Palm OS, but the PocketPC is catching up. Other operating systems include EPOC, BlackBerry, Psion, and PocketLinux.

7. The Palm Operating System
In 1996, a product called the PalmPilot was released by US Robotics. The Palm Pilot ran on an operating system made especially for that device, called the Palm OS.
The Palm Operating System (Palm OS) is the current leader in the PDA market, accounting for 70% of the market share. The Palm Pilot (now known as just Palm), became one of the fastest growing computer platforms in history, reaching the million-sold mark faster than the IBM PC or Apple Macintosh.
Today, the Palm line has grown to include a variety of models. In addition, a number of other companies such as IBM, Qualcomm, and Symbol Technologies released their own Palm OS PDA models, with Sony's version hitting the market later this year.

8. The Windows CE Operating System
Although the Windows CE Operating System is the leader among home PCs, it holds only about 10% of the PDA market.
The latest version of Windows CE is coming back with a vengeance. They have partnerships with some key companies in the industry like, Casio, HP, and Compaq, who all manufacturer PocketPC devices.
But perhaps Microsoft's biggest ace in the hole is the coming onset of broadband wireless.
Needless to say, compatibility is going to be a major issue in the coming years. And with the world already utilizing a number of Microsoft products, PocketPCs might just slide into favor simply due to ease of portability.
Most IT departments haven't yet needed to support PDAs. But PDAs are finding a niche in the workplace. Eventually, IT will have to extend all desktop and laptop support issues to pocket devices as well — this including network access, application and data synchronization, security, and virus protection
Microsoft Windows CE is a compact operating system designed for devices like handheld computers, electronic organizers and even games machines.
Windows CE has been around for a few years now and is becoming increasingly sophisticated with new functionality added to each new release.
What does CE mean
Actually it stands for nothing. There have been many discussions on what the CE in Windows CE stands for and the official Microsoft response has been it’s just a logo. However you might assume it stands for consumer electronics or compact edition. 
Different Versions of Windows CE
To reach different markets Microsoft took the central Windows CE operating system and produced different categories like Handheld PC, Pocket PC and Auto PC. Each of these categories would add their own unique elements. Today the Pocket PC has become the more popular form of Windows CE and presents the user with a 320x240 screen. Handheld PC has become Handheld PC 2000 and is supported on a device from Hewlett Packard. Sega even licensed Windows CE for their Sega Dreamcast console. If you have ever played Sega Rally on the Dreamcast you will have seen the boot up sequence show a logo for Windows CE. 
Each machine has a different processor
When creating Windows CE Microsoft decided to have multiple processor support. The reasons for this are probably that different OEM’s favoured different processors. This meant you many have four Windows CE machines Each one using a different processor such as the following:  
ARM
MIPS
SH3
SH4
X86 
Note that on Pocket PC 2002 all machines are using the ARM processor. Finally on this point, Microsoft shipped development tools with cross compilers. This meant that you could write you code once and compile it to different processors. While this definitely worked well it was of course a lot of work to support constantly developing processor families and so Microsoft has decided to now focus on the ARM family at least on the Pocket PC form factor.
Where can I buy Microsoft Windows CE
Unlike Windows 95 you don’t go into a store and buy Windows CE. It comes with an electronic device that you buy. When Microsoft completes a version of Windows CE it ships it to all the OEM’s like Hewlett Packard and Compaq who then create new electronic devices that use it. You will see examples of the latest Windows CE machines at the end of this document.
Is Windows CE a cut down version of Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000
This is a common misconception. Windows CE was not created by taking Windows 95 and cutting it down to make a smaller operating system. Windows CE was designed from scratch to create a compact, modular operating system able to run on small devices. To read more about the development of Windows CE check out this book - Inside Windows CE (Microsoft Press) 
Why did Microsoft not just cut down Windows 95 to make Windows CE? 
We all expect our laptop and desktop computers to take a few minutes or longer to boot up. Now imagine your frustration if every time you had to switch on your television it had to spend a few minutes booting up ie. We all expect consumer devices to start immediately and would not expect having to wait a few minutes to start.
Because Microsoft could start from scratch they could produce an operating system that not only switched on and off immediately but also was able to be used for along time on what battery charge. Today we consider ourselves lucky when our laptops last for 3 hours on one battery charge. Most Windows CE machines last at least eight hours and some machines last as long as 75 hours. 
Window CE never switches off! 
When you switch off a Windows CE machine it looks like it’s switched off because the screen switches of but in fact it still running. Every single Windows CE machine has both a main battery and a backup battery. When you switch the unit off it keeps running in a low power state using the backup battery in case of main battery failure. This means that when you press the on button in effect you are just waking up the unit rather than switching it on from scratch. This also means that if you don’t use your Pocket PC for a few weeks you may drain the backup battery so remember to keep the unit on charge even if your not using it.
What can Windows CE do
On a typical Windows CE machine you can send , browse the web, do contact management and much more. It’s almost like carrying a desktop computer in your pocket. You can also write software for it in C, C++ Java and Visual Basic. Finally these machines can plug into your network. In short there are not many tasks these devices cannot do. With the release of Pocket PC 2002 these machines can have a built in terminal services client as well as VPN support.
Software Development on Windows CE
Like all Windows operating systems you can program your Windows CE machines using many languages. If you want to program in C using standard Win32 API calls you can. It’s not the fastest route to development but does produce the fastest execution time. A good book to learn to program your Windows CE in C is this - Programming Microsoft Windows CE
You can also program your Windows CE machine in C++ and Visual Basic using this tool - Microsoft Embedded Visual Tools 3.0 
It is even possible to program on Pocket PC machines using Java. One JVM is available from
However what about .net? Your coding in C# and you want to use your knowledge on Pocket PC. Now you can with the compact framework. The idea is that you can transfer code written in C# to your Pocket PC and execute the code there. Expect to have many articles about programming your Pocket PC using .net. Here is the link to order a copy of the DVD or Microsoft Visual Studio .NET - Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Release Candidate 
Can Windows CE machines be expanded
Windows CE machines have expansion slots where you can plug devices like

9. The EPOC Operating System
The third major player is EPOC, an operating system developed by London-based software developer Symbian. EPOC has three device designs: one for mobile phones, one for PDAs, and one for home PCs.
EPOC does have some major advantages. It is an extremely power-efficient operating system -- other operating systems require double to triple the size of a battery. Also, EPOC has a small memory footprint and compact code, which allows for easier customization. This potential for customization is a huge advantage over Windows CE.
Recently, Symbian announced a deal with Sony whereby the Japanese giant will use the EPOC platform and possibly a range of applications in its forthcoming line of devices, such as mobile phones. This is in addition to deals already existing with companies such as Ericsson, Motorola, and Psion.
With a good, flexible product and a support from key companies, EPOC has a lot of potential to make it in mobile market.

10. PDA HARDWARE
Regardless of the type of PDA, they all share the same major features:
Microprocessors (Main CPU and DPS)
operating system
solid-state memory
batteries
LCD display
input device - buttons in combination
with touch-screen or keyboard
input/output ports
desktop PC software

11. MICROPROCESSORS
Unlike desk and laptop PCs, PDAs use smaller, cheaper microprocessors.
There are two popular PocketPC processor types, Xscale and StrongARM. Xscale is the current technology
Most Palms will either have a Motorola Dragonball or Texas Instruments OMAP processor in it.
Modern PDAs also have DSP to enhance multimedia (mp3,digital camera etc..)
Although the microprocessor’s speed ranges from MHz they are adequate for the tasks that PDAs perform. The benefits of small size and price outweigh the cost of slow speeds.

12. MEMORY
PDAs don’t have a hard drive. Programs (address, calendar, OS, etc) are stored in a ROM chip so data remains intact even when the machine shuts down.
So when the PDAs are turned ON, all programs are instantly available without having to wait for applications to load.
When a file is changed, they’re stored automatically so you don’t need a Save command.
One megabyte of memory can store up to 4,000 addresses and 100 messages.
Also, PocketPCs take more memory space so PDAs with this operating system usually have 16 or 32 MB. In some PDA models, the amount of memory is upgradeable.

13. Input Devices
Hand-held computers typically use a miniature keyboard in combination with a touch screen.
Palm-sized computers use a stylus and touch screen exclusively in combination with a handwriting recognition program.
The screen of the palm PDA serves as an input as well as an output device. It displays information with LCD and on top of it is the touch screen which can be tapped by a pen-like stylus to launch programs.
Data can also be written on the screen by using the stylus. The letters are recognized by special software and are automatically stored in the PDAs memory.
The disadvantage of handwriting recognition software is that you have to learn a new way to write, it is slower than normal handwriting and the device's character recognition is rarely letter-perfect.

14. Input/Output Devices
PDAs can share information with desktops and laptops. If you make an appointment on your desktop computer you can transfer it to your PDA and vice-versa.
The communication between PDA and PC is referred to as data synchronization or syncing. This is done through a serial or USB port on the PDA.
In addition to communicating through a cable, many PDAs have an infrared communications port that uses infrared (IR) light to beam information to a PC or another PDA.
Some PDAs also offer wireless methods to transfer data to and from a PC/PC network through a wireless /internet service provider like those available on new models of cell phones.
Finally, some PDAs offer telephone modem accessories to transfer files to and from a PC/PC network.

15. Generic PDA

16. Dual core processors - TI-Enhanced ARM925 Microprocessor
- TMS320c55x DSP for Multimedia Enhancement
Wanda PDA

17. Tasks performed by each microprocessors

18. DSP/BIOS Bridge API The OS uses the DSP/BIOS Bridge API to:
Initiate signal processing task on the DSP
Exchange messages with DSP tasks
Stream data buffers to and from DSP tasks
Pause, resume and delete DSP tasks
Perform resources status queries

19. PDA Applications
PDA technology has been focused on providing basic administrative functionality, such as diary facilities and contact management.
The increase in PDA performance and the convergence with mobile telephony, has encouraged the extension of traditional desktop applications such as and web access becoming readily available.
Wireless technology such as Bluetooth and WiFi (802.11x standards) can provide easy ways for PDA based applications to communicate to other devices. This instantly opens a PDA application to communicate with other systems –in the immediate vicinity (using Bluetooth) or elsewhere within a building (using WiFi technology).
Mobile telephone technology is fast converging with PDA technology and this technology can provide direct access of the PDA device to the internet and internet connected applications.
The introduction of PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) means that it is possible to access the power of a desktop computer in a handheld package. Conventionally, PDA technology has been focused on providing basic administrative functionality, such as diary facilities and contact management, however the increase in PDA performance and the convergence with mobile telephony, has encouraged the extension of traditional desktop applications such as and web access becoming readily available.
Wireless technology such as Bluetooth and WiFi (802.11x standards) can provide easy ways for PDA based applications to communicate to other devices. This instantly opens a PDA application to communicate with other systems –in the immediate vicinity (using Bluetooth) or elsewhere within a building (using WiFi technology). Mobile telephone technology is fast converging with PDA technology and by integrating 2.5G GPRS technology or even 3G UMTS technology can provide direct access of the PDA device to the internet and internet connected applications.
Using the PDA platform as a base, Sequence is able to build bespoke applications that can harness this portable computing power, and deliver true mobile computer solutions to users.
Common applications include 'virtual guides', which enables the delivery of context sensitive audio and video content to a visitor while visiting a museum, or a stock control system that keeps tally of stock via the scanning of barcodes and communicates these via GPRS to head office, or a restaurant order control system that utilises wireless technology to pass orders to the kitchen, and provide central billing management.

20. Why PDA?
We are beginning to see a future where the lines between the PDA and the laptop are increasingly blurred. First it was PDAs with laptop-like capability, and now it is laptops gaining the advantages of PDAs.
Advantages of this low-powered PDA mode: virus checking and maintenance. Since the OS doesn't boot, any viruses designed for it won't run. That lets you scan and remove them before they do damage.
Booting up a laptop to check your calendar or can take a minute or longer. Not only is that often dead time, but you may actually be holding up a customer or your boss while you're struggling to get the laptop running.