Farewell to PDAs, Hello to Smart Phones

Roland Piquepaille writes "Is it time to get rid of your PDA? Apparently yes, according to General Motors, writes Ephraim Schwartz in InfoWorld.The subtitle of this story is pretty clear: "GPS, Java, and push-to-talk give smart phones a clear edge over PDAs." "General Motors announced last week that it will partner with wireless carrier Nextel to use Nextel?s Motorola cell phones with data capabilities to market a field-force management application to its commercial truck fleet customers." GM chose these cell phones because people feel more comfortable with, but also because they can run sophisticated applications. And of course, because they are cheaper than handhelds, both to purchase and to maintain. Check this column for a summary and references."

Comments

Darth Vader's PDA

[the darn]

"a field-force management application" But what I really want is a force-field management application...

Not quite right...

[splerdu]

Look at the phones now... it's not that phones are getting the advantage over PDAs, it's that the distinction between a phone and a PDA is slowly disappearing.

I've had the chance to play with some of the new offerings from Sony-Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung and honestly they are barely different from a small Palm.

Is it really time?

[SN74S181]

Is it time to get rid of your PDA? Apparently yes, according to General Motors

Definitely no, according to anybody who wants to partition their personal data into a private space unconnected to snoops, spies, and busybodies.

I prefer to be the only bridge between some information and the outside world. So I say 'no thank you' to the notion that everything on my PDA should be connected in real time to a telephone/digital network every time I make a phone call.

Nope. Not interested.

I'll keep my pda

[Matey-O]

as long as
I plan on
seeing my
====>next

information
in chunks
greater than
====>next

16kb at a
time!

My problem with current cell phone/PDA combos

[JaredOfEuropa]

There are already a few phones out there that combine a regular cell phone and the functionality of a PDA. While I like the idea of carrying one device instead of two, I hate every signle one of these phone PDA's that I have tried. Why? Mainly because the PDA functions aren't very good. I guess that phone companies are lousy at making PDA's, and they seem to focus on phone-related functionality.

Here's what I would do if I were them: start with a really good PDA, much like the current line of PDA's from the well-known brands. That means you have Java, you could add GPS and whatever, you already have an address and phone book, and a means to enter phone numbers and SMS messages easily. To add phone functionality, all you need is a GSM/GPRS module, and perhaps a mike and loudspeaker.

Another thing: PDA's are fully programmable. Here's a tip for mobile data providers, we don't need proprietary mobile data applications, we just need data transport. Once we have that and our programmable PDA's, we can build our own apps. We don't have or want to rely on silly protocols such as SMS or MMS either: just let us send regular emails, perhaps with an attachment.

In other words, try making a cell phone out of an organiser, not the other way around.

May not always want a phone

[Gemini]

"Sir, please put away your phone while you are on this flight!"

"But, it's my organizer..."

"Sorry, it's a phone. Put it away."

Reasons why NOT to combine the two

[xigxag]

1) Combo will either be too big for an ideal phone or too small for an ideal pda.

2) PDAs should have long battery life. But they don't when part of a power-guzzling cellphone.

3) Can't talk and tap at the same time. Unless you've brought along the earpiece attachment. But then there you go carrying two objects again.

4) PDA/cellphones usually seem to be less expandable or a few OS versions behind the latest solo PDAs.

5) In the US, switching to a different wireless carrier means switching to a different phone. With a combo unit, you'd have to switch to a different PDA too.