PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant. PDA phones combine the efficiency of a computer with the ease of a mobile phone. PDAs gained popularity on account of the QWERTY keyboard and PDA phones have only carried the trend forward. With the advent of the touch screen generation of the mobiles, PDAs have conveniently replaced the QWERTY with the touch screen and the stylus combo.
Push button email coupled with the personal organizer is what defines a PDA. Other optional features include reading and editing Office documents, high speed internet connection, camera and media player.
The best PDA phones for 2008 are:
1. Nokia E71:
Featuring a full QWERTY keyboard, the Nokia E71 is not just ergonomically designed but is also a remarkable piece of engineering. It is thinner (10mm), light in weight and is outstanding in looks as well. The redesigned keypad has all the frequently used symbols available at ease. It also features a 3.2 MP camera, a media player, push e-mail, internet connection and Google maps. The Nokia E71 runs on the Symbian OS. The best PDA phone for 2008.
2. RIM Blackberry Pearl 8120:
The Blackberry has traditionally been seen in the businessman’s belt, but with the launch of the Pearl, RIM has made the phone more populist. The Pearl is light in weight and unlike the earlier blackberry models is not a bulky heap of plastic. The keypad, though not a full QWERTY is jsut as efficient and uses a technology called SureText for predictive text. A 2 MP camera, media player and wi-fi make the phone a force to recon with.
3. iMate Ultimate 9502:
The ultimate, though a bit bulky, scores over the other PDA mobiles in terms of style and functionality. It features a 2.8 inch touch screen keypad but screen can be slid open to reveal a full QWERTY keypad. A fully functional GPS is another interesting feature. The camera is a good 3 MP and the sound quality is not bad. But the ultimate lacks processor speed to support all these features and can be quite sluggish sometimes.
4. Palm Treo Pro:
The palm does not rule the PDA jungle anymore but with the Treo Pro, it certainly does challenge the champions. With a peppy processor, efficient palmOS and a shiny new look, the Pro is the scores over all the previous palm versions. Standing up to its name, the PRO is definitely meant only for the business class and not for amateurs. With a host of features from GPS to wi-fi, the palm is dearer than the other PDAs.
5. HTC Touch Pro:
HTC’s pro version of the touch diamond is a sleek beast powered by a Qualcomm 528 MHz, 288MB RAM, 512MB ROM and a 64MB dedicated Graphics chip. It is also one of the few devices that feature both the touch screen and a full QWERTY keypad. As for the disadvantages, the touch pro is bulkier than the diamond and the 5 row keypad makes the fingers feel jammed. The HTC Touch Pro is a good package for the business user who does not want to spend much.
