PDA stands for a Personal Digital Assistant, a “productivity and communications tool that is lightweight, durable, reliable, easy to use, and integrates into existing operations.” (PDA Industry Association definition). A PDA is characterised by its handheld size, mobility, ability to communicate with other units and expandable set of applications. Any PDA has a date book, to do list, address book, memo pad, calculator and an expense tracking utility.

There are two major operating systems in the U.S. PDA market, Palm OS and PocketPC (formerly known as Windows CE). Palm Computing developed the original Palm Pilot and licensed the Palm OS to other companies, including Handspring, Handera and Sony. Palm OS controls 80% of the current PDA market. PocketPC operating system was developed by Microsoft, and is used by Compaq iPAQ, Hewlett Packard and Casio. Applications for the PocketPC are increasing, but at this time the Palm OS dominates the health care PDA applications market.

If you are considering buying your first PDA, the first thing you might want to consider is the important choice of operating system--Palm or PocketPC. If everyone else in your department is using one type of OS, you should consider getting the same one for the sake of compatibility. If it is very important to you to be able to run Windows applications on your handheld you will want to consider the PocketPC. Check on the software you will want to run--some might only work with one operating system and not the other. You will probably want several health care applications on your PDA, so you will need to have adequate memory. Look for a screen that you find easy to read. Pay attention to the listed battery life of the PDA. You will want to be able to go for a full day without having to recharge the PDA, and remember that things like color displays will use more battery power. Size will be important to you if you need to slip the PDA into the inside pocket of a lab coat. Ultra slim models are available.

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