What are the main differences between a Mobile and a PDA?

PDA,Blackberry or Smartphone???

• I am looking into purchasing a pda, blackberry or smartphone and would like an educated answer on the differences of all three. Thanks Guys

• Answer:

  Hello; This is one of those questions that I am sure will be answered differently by different people. However, for me, the basic difference between a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a Smartphone is the inclusion of phone, web and email functionality in the Smartphone. Both PDA’s and Smartphones offer you a calendar function and a contacts database, and the ability to synch with your computer. A PDA may allow you to sync your email so that you can read it and draft replies while off-line, but you will need to synch with your computer before you are able to send your email. Both usually give you the ability to view, and depending on the operating system and 3rd party applications installed, edit some Microsoft Office documents. Both can offer you WiFi, Bluetooth and Infrared connectivity, but it is all very dependant on the make and model and there is no standard configuration. When you move into the Smartphone category, you get all of the above, plus you now have the ability to use your device as a cell phone and depending on the device and the data plan with your carrier, you can browse the Internet and access your email in real time. To be clear, BlackBerry’s very much fall into the Smartphone category. Many people feel that the term Smartphone is reserved for devices that run the Windows Mobile (WM) OS, however, this is really not an accurate stance anymore as Smartphones from various companies use varying operating systems – Sony and Nokia utilize the Symbian OS, Palm uses both the Palm and WM OS, HTC and Motorola (for the Q) uses WM and RIM uses it’s own proprietary OS for their BlackBerry Smartphones. For me, the way to go is with a BlackBerry. I must admit I am bit of a fanboy and have used at least 6 different models over the years. I have also used devices that use Symbian and WM – I still prefer BlackBerry for ease of use and stability – not to mention the rock-solid end to end data security. Hope this helps and good luck with whatever you decide to go with!