As much as I do not like the idea, it seems that PDAs and phones are quickly becoming more less the same. Therefore, ‘which PDA is better’ will not really matter very much pretty soon.

One of the things that I like best about the different PDA platforms is the arguments that each of the camps have about why their PDA is better than another’s and who’s is closer to the personal computer experience. As I wander about the boards, I sometimes laugh because (many times) we get angry at PDAs not doing what we don’t like our desktops to do. But that gave me some insight on mobile computing and how close it is becoming to the real vision for computing for all: a platform where information is anywhere and can be accessed anytime by [nearly] anyone.

So why do I think that PDAs are closing the gap on that idea? It’s simple really. PDAs have gone from the niche device of digital organizer, capable of holding tidbits of information and having few means of communicating with the outside world. And have become mobile terminals capable of empowering students in classrooms, little devices undoing the leashes to corporate desks, and giving the power of information back into the hands of the consumer. We see now PDAs have basically been mutated into every platform of computing: mobile video players, MP3 and other audio players, smartphones, and even TabletPCs. It’s safe to say, as a paradigm within computing, PDAs have been the reason that we have wanted a computer all along. And the speed of their development on so many different fronts has really given new meaning to mobility. [Read the rest]