A few years ago, the big debate was Palm vs. Pocket PC. Now it seems like the debate has become Smartphone or traditional PDA. For many PDA traditionalists, a converged device takes away from the simplicity and functionality of a PDA. For others, a converged device seems like a no-brainer. Why carry multiple devices when you can carry one device and still meet all of your mobile computing needs? Our friends over at Pocket PC Thoughts have an article entitled Smartphone? PDA? Which Way Do I Go? The article, written by Anthony Caruana, opens the discussion and gives a few points to consider when trying to decide which device is best for you. While this article discusses a wide range of issues, it misses a few of the important ones like battery life and what type of wireless you really need (GPRS/GSM, 802.11b, or even Bluetooth). Still, the article opens the discussion, which is the important part. On with the article:

Back in 1996, an upstart company developed a new piece of hardware called the Palm 1000. While the idea of a miniaturized computer was not new (think Star Trek), the fact that someone had actually been able to make one and design an operating system that could work within the limitations of such small hardware was a huge leap forward. It was one of those revolutionary events that hits an industry every few years.

Since then, things have come a long way. A competing platform, built around an operating system called Windows CE emerged and a platform war, reminiscent of Apple vs. IBM was launched. The good thing about that war was that it gave rise to a rapid evolution that saw a number of different devices emerge. Some have come and gone while others are still evolving.

One of those developing platforms is the smartphone. Now, for the purpose of this piece, I'm going to define a smartphone as a device that offers connection to a telephone network, is able to be carried easily, lets you do more than just make phone calls and provides access to a data network. I know that this definition is broad but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that for a smartphone to be smart it needs to me more than a phone. However I'm not going to define what that "more" is. Also, the operating system is not important. That means that for me a smartphone is not just a device that runs Windows Mobile (or its antecedents). It might be running Linux, Symbian, Palm OS or some other operating system.

Likewise, when I talk about PDAs I'm going to remain operating system agnostic. Although the two most prominent platforms, Palm and Pocket PC/Windows Mobile, are different in many ways, for the purpose of this discussion they aren't that different. I'd suggest that they deliver much of the same functionality, albeit in different ways.

Finally, if you're reading this to get the answer to which is better, a PDA or a smartphone, then you can stop reading now. I'm not going to engage in that debate. Hopefully, by the end of this article you'll understand why I simply can't.

The Case for PDAs
The modern PDA is a bit of a marvel. Packed into a unit weighing less than 200 grams we get a fast processor, a substantial stash of memory, a bright colour screen, and a plethora of different expansion and connectivity options. Typically, the devices are around 4" by 3" and have several programmable buttons to invoke applications.

[Smartphone? PDA? Which Way Do I Go?, continued]