Buying a PDA-5: Data input

You will probably need to input a fair amount of information into your PDA and there are several options for doing this.

Smaller units, like the Palm Tungsten T3, come with a stylus and touch-screen which can be used to tap commands and input data. Data input is either in the form of a virtual keyboard which you tap one letter at a time or through handwriting software which converts your writing into text.

For large amounts of data, a physical keyboard is ideal and PDAs like the Blackberry and the Palm Treo come with attached keyboards.

Since a lot of your information will be first inputted on to your PC, it’s important to synchronize your PDA with your computer. Most PDAs come with software like Palm’s Hot Sync Manager and Microsoft ActiveSync which ensure that your PDA has an up-to-date list of contacts and personal information as stored on your PC.

The actual connection will be through USB though it’s useful to have wireless connectivity through Infra-red or Bluetooth as well.

Finally, some PDAs come with voice-recording features which can be used to directly create voice memos and some models have limited voice recognition features as well.


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