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Buyers' Guide to PDAs

For simplicity look to a Palm OS-based device, and for a Windows look and feel go with a Pocket PC model.

Michael S. Lasky

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While PDAs of one type or another have been around for about a decade, the technological advances now being incorporated into them have made these devices even more attractive, particularly if you want something more than just an electronic version of a paper organizer.

Increasingly speedy processors are suddenly bringing the much-hyped "instant information at the touch of a button" cliché a lot closer to reality. Sharper, more energy-efficient color screens that equal high-end notebooks in image quality are becoming more widely available.

The ability to communicate wirelessly enhances PDAs' overall utility, making them useful for instant e-mail, instant messaging, and even phone calls. Though many PDAs today can browse the Internet, the transmission speed has been so glacial as to make this feature virtually unusable. But devices scheduled to appear starting in late 2002 will have integrated 802.11b wireless networking and high-speed third-generation (3G) support.

PC World Spotlight on PDAs (chart)

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