Choosing a Handheld Computer: PDAs, MDAs, and the Alphabet Soup of Handheld Computers

Abstract

Handheld computers have exploded onto the medical scene. It’s a time of transformation, in which PDA no longer means “public display of affection,” but rather “personal digital assistant.” Already, the processing power and information storage (hundreds of megabytes!) that can fit in your pocket is astounding.As the technology advances in leaps and bounds, so too advances the promise of handheld computers to revolutionize health care. And guess what? You can turn your handheld into a sophisticated clinical tool today.The reality of a pocket “medical digital assistant,” or MDA, has arrived. In the pages that follow, you’ll learn, step by step, just how to turn your PDA into an MDA. First, though, you have to make a purchase. . . . When it comes to picking the handheld computer itself, many healthcare professionals suffer from “analysis paralysis.”The options available are vast and growing daily. In this chapter, we give you a good overview of the handheld computers available and hope we can enable you to select one to fit your clinical needs and lifestyle (yes, you can track your golf scores and grocery lists with them as well). “Handhelds,” “mobile computing,” and “portable computers” are the buzzwords of this fast-growing consumer and enterprise market. Many types of devices and computers are available that could be considered handheld computers. To simplify your selection, we concentrate on traditional handhelds; this means small, portable handheld computers that easily slip into your handbag, lab coat, or shirt pocket.