How personal digital assistants rate

By COLIN MOORE

The PDA market is mainly split into two big players - devices using the Windows CE operating system, a Microsoft product, and Palm, which has its own operating system.

With such programmes as Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, Windows CE is immediately compatible with standard Windows programmes.

I have a handheld PDA powered by CE version 2. Its small keyboard suits my four-fingered typing, and it has a built-in modem so I can e-mail stories from it, access the web and synchronise with my PC when I get home.

Various software programs let me play computer games or install the street maps of major cities. If I can't recharge the batteries, two double AAs will do. It sounds great but because the software is embedded and can't be updated I can't access new programs.

Along came the Palm, with a palm-sized PDA that will fit in your pocket and has many of the features of a home PC, and revolutionised the market.

It lets you send e-mail and access the web by modem or by infra-red link to a mobile telephone; attach it to a fold-up, almost full-sized, keyboard to input text; and install programs for games, maps and guides to restaurants around the world.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft has rebuilt Windows CE, with version 3 able to do everything that the Palm operating system can do and much more.

Microsoft claims the Palm OS is limited because it was initially designed to run a personal organiser, whereas CE 3 was designed as a fully fledged computer operating system. It is used in a wide range of embedded computer systems, such as in traffic lights or the lifts on multistorey buildings. That may be a reason why it has been criticised as slower and more battery-hungry than Palm.

One application of Windows CE 3.0 is to run Pocket PC, a generic name given to palm-sized hardware devices made by several manufacturers that use the Windows CE system.

There are some significant differences in the Pocket PCs on the market. The HP Jornada Pocket PC is slim, has a flip-top lid and comes closest to the Palm in looks and the ease of one-handed controls.

The Cassiopeia E-125 is bulkier and heavier and the controls are not as user friendly, but it does have a brighter screen.

Xircom has produced a PDA that is about the size of a credit card and can hold material downloaded from the net, but it has limited functions.

The biggest problem with the units, however, is the cost, which at around $1500 with the various attachments, makes carrying a PC in your pocket an expensive travel accessory. The HP Jornada 545 Pocket PC with 18MB of memory costs $1394. The 548 with 32MB of memory costs $1517. A foldaway Targus keyboard costs about $200. A telephone modem that fits into the compact card slot costs more again. The Cassiopeia E-125 costs $1799.

Some in the industry claim the technology for embedded software devices is advancing so rapidly that PDAs will soon cost no more than a mobile phone. If that comes to pass I suspect that PDAs will be as common as cellphones, particularly if they give mobile access to e-mail and the net.

For a comprehensive review of PDAs and comparison between those powered by Palm and Windows CE, there is a huge website at The PDA market is mainly split into two big players - devices using the Windows CE operating system, a Microsoft product, and Palm, which has its own operating system.

With such programmes as Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, Windows CE is immediately compatible with standard Windows programmes.

I have a handheld PDA powered by CE version 2. Its small keyboard suits my four-fingered typing, and it has a built-in modem so I can e-mail stories from it, access the web and synchronise with my PC when I get home.

Various software programs let me play computer games or install the street maps of major cities. If I can't recharge the batteries, two double AAs will do. It sounds great but because the software is embedded and can't be updated I can't access new programs.

Along came the Palm, with a palm-sized PDA that will fit in your pocket and has many of the features of a home PC, and revolutionised the market.

It lets you send e-mail and access the web by modem or by infra-red link to a mobile telephone; attach it to a fold-up, almost full-sized, keyboard to input text; and install programs for games, maps and guides to restaurants around the world.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft has rebuilt Windows CE, with version 3 able to do everything that the Palm operating system can do and much more.

Microsoft claims the Palm OS is limited because it was initially designed to run a personal organiser, whereas CE 3 was designed as a fully fledged computer operating system. It is used in a wide range of embedded computer systems, such as in traffic lights or the lifts on multistorey buildings. That may be a reason why it has been criticised as slower and more battery-hungry than Palm.

One application of Windows CE 3.0 is to run Pocket PC, a generic name given to palm-sized hardware devices made by several manufacturers that use the Windows CE system.

There are some significant differences in the Pocket PCs on the market. The HP Jornada Pocket PC is slim, has a flip-top lid and comes closest to the Palm in looks and the ease of one-handed controls.

The Cassiopeia E-125 is bulkier and heavier and the controls are not as user friendly, but it does have a brighter screen.

Xircom has produced a PDA that is about the size of a credit card and can hold material downloaded from the net, but it has limited functions.

The biggest problem with the units, however, is the cost, which at around $1500 with the various attachments, makes carrying a PC in your pocket an expensive travel accessory. The HP Jornada 545 Pocket PC with 18MB of memory costs $1394. The 548 with 32MB of memory costs $1517. A foldaway Targus keyboard costs about $200. A telephone modem that fits into the compact card slot costs more again. The Cassiopeia E-125 costs $1799.

Some in the industry claim the technology for embedded software devices is advancing so rapidly that PDAs will soon cost no more than a mobile phone. If that comes to pass I suspect that PDAs will be as common as cellphones, particularly if they give mobile access to e-mail and the net.

For a comprehensive review of PDAs and comparison between those powered by Palm and Windows CE, there is a huge website.