Portable Devices

“Whether you realize it or not, your company is in the process of becoming a wireless enterprise.”

PC Magazine, April 2001

Wireless connectivity is becoming an essential part of the business culture. Portable devices such as PDA’s (Personal Desktop Assistant), are poised to play an integral part in ‘mobile business’. They are easy to use and are usable by both PC and Mac users.

As you grow used to the transfer of information, you will find portable devices to be invaluable. They fit in a pocket or handbag. Many of the devices have a built-in organizer that will sync with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, FileMaker Pro and other applications on the home or office computer.

Like any organizer, you will need to integrate portable devices into your routine. Use them for to-do lists, phone numbers, address book, shopping lists and scheduling. You will also find them great for storing customer contacts, appointments, just about any kind of information, and let’s not forget the games! There is an abundance of software available for these devices. PDA’s can communicate with computers, laptops and some cell phones allowing you to “hot sync” all of your important information between devices.

Price range begins at $150 for a non-connective device with 2 mb of RAM. Many of the machines have expansion slots for wireless modems,.phones, digital cameras, GPS’s and music players. They hold up to 16 mb of RAM to store thousands of records of information.

If you are thinking about investing in a portable device for either yourself or your employees, you will want a machine that will serve your needs and be around for the long term. According to a recent article in PC Magazine (www.pcmag.com), the best portable devices are any of the Palm Pilots, Handspring’s Visor, Windows CE and Pocket PC. Microsoft is coming out with a “Stinger” model later this year that also looks promising.