If you’re in the market for a new cellphone, you probably want a device that can do it all and that will give you all the technology you need at your fingertips. And when shopping for said device, you’ll likely come across two words quite a bit: PDA cellphones, and smartphones. Both will let you make phone calls, browse the Internet and text and type to your heart’s desire. So what are the differences between the two?
PDA stands for “personal digital assistant.” This definition means that while it’s a cellphone and will allow you to make phone calls, it’s really more of a mini-computer, allowing you to run your phone like a computer, fully equipped with an operating system, keyboards, touchscreens, and traditionally, a stylus. The Palm Pilot (which now seems absurdly outdated,) was one of the first PDA devices on the market. Calls could not be made from a Palm Pilot, as being a PDA device, that came later.
PDA devices are mini-computers first, and a phone second. And as with the Palm Pilot, the first PDAs didn’t have any phone capabilities at all. Even though they can make and receive phone calls today, PDA cellphones are purchased and used more for their computing abilities than their phone abilities. This concept however, is becoming less and less common and consumers want to have it all, with no one priority more important than the other. This is why, even though in the past PDAs were larger, more powerful devices, today they’re becoming smaller and more compact to look very much like a smartphone, with just as many phone capabilities.
A smartphone is just that – a phone that is also packed with features that allow it be “smarter,” and to do more. Unlike PDAs, smartphones are a phone first, and a computing device second. Because of this, smartphones generally don’t have as much computing power, and they may have software that limits the user’s ability to view things such as spreadsheets and word processing documents.
However, just like PDAs are evolving with the times and to meet consumer demand, so are smartphones. Just as PDAs are becoming more compact, and more equipped with telephone capabilities, smartphones are also coming equipped with much more powerful computing capabilities, and operating systems that allow for much more to be done with them.
Neither the future of PDA cellphones or smartphones is at risk of becoming obsolete in the consumer world; and the possibilities of what can be done with both is just starting to be discovered. But, as the world changes and consumers start to want even more out of even smaller devices, the world of PDAs and smartphones is inevitably going to merge, with both styles of phones taking on the characteristics of the other. Because of this, it’s likely that someday soon the terms “PDA cellphone” and “smartphone” will be able to be used interchangeably.