Full Form of PDA
Personal Digital Assistant
PDA Full Form is Personal Digital Assistant. PDA is a small handheld device that is capable of combining telephone/fax, computing, networking and other Internet features. A PDA is multi- functional which can be used as a fax sender, a cell phone device, a personal organizer and a web browser. Most often people call it the ‘handheld computer’ or ‘palmtop’ or ‘pocket computer’. Unlike those mini and portable computers, PDAs are pen-based and use a stylus to key in the texts or inputs. They even have handwriting feature and react to voice inputs with the help of voice recognition technology. Apple Computer was the first to offer PDAs in the form of Newton Message Pad in the year 1993. Soon other manufacturers followed the idea to offer similar products. However, the range of Palm Pilot PDAs was most popular.
PDA, is essentially a mobile device whose function is to act as personal information manager. The term is derived from a software called Personal Desktop Assistant which provides a user of a computer system with recommendations or quick references to contacts and to other lists. The use of PDA was rife before the rise of smartphones and ever since the 2010s period, their application has reduced. Still, there are newer and more advanced versions of PDAs coming up in the market, attempting to secure a substantial consumer base. Modern PDAs provide connection to the Internet. A PDA is equipped with an electronic visual display, which enables it to include models possessing audio capabilities such as a media player, web browser, and other features that make it usable as a mobile phone. Now, PDAs are equipped with touch screens.
In the year 1984, the first ever PDA was released in the market. The name of the PDA was the Organizer, which was developed by Psion. In the year 1991, PDAs with full keyboards began to emerge. However, the term PDA was used for the first time by the then Chief Executive Officer (abbreviated as CEO) of the Apple Computer, John Sculley during the Consumer Electronics Show that happened in Nevada. In the year 1994, the IBM released the PDA equipped with mobile functionality named the IBM Simon. IBM Simon is often considered as the world’s first smartphone. Subsequently in the year 1996, Nokia came up with a PDA, 9000 Communicator, which went on to become the best-selling PDA in the world. Ever since then, more and more models of PDAs captured the market and at one of the points of time, it became one of the most successful utility devices in the world only to meet its decline with the advent of smartphones in near future.