A PDA Handhelds Website
PDA Guide
Who uses PDA handhelds?
PDAs can help technicians making service calls, sales
representatives calling on clients or parents keeping
up with children's schedules of doctor's appointments
or after-school activities. In addition to the basic
functions, there are thousands of specialty programs
available for PDAs, including maps, sports statistics
software, decision-making software, etc. Here are just
a few examples of specialty uses for PDAs. These give
you clues to the PDA's versatility.
Health Professionals
Many health professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists)
need to keep track of patient information (medications,
treatments). Often, there are not enough computer terminals
in the clinic or even at the bedside. In addition, many
health professionals need access to information about
pharmaceuticals (pharmacopeias, Physician's Desk Reference,
Clinician's Pocket Reference), emergency room procedures
and other medical or nursing procedures. Instead of
carrying manuals with procedures or references or index
cards with patient information in their pockets, doctors
and nurses can put the information on a PDA. They can
note patient information at the bedside in the PDA for
later upload into a PC. They can download drug and procedural
reference materials into a PDA for consulting at bedside.
They can have programmed drug dosage calculators in
their PDAs.
Amateur Astronomers
The equipment that an amateur astronomer takes out in
the field when observing is sometimes daunting. Not
only does it include the telescope, telescope mount,
eyepieces and cold weather gear, but also includes star
charts, field guides and notebooks. Some astronomers
have to carry a laptop to drive their computer-guided
telescopes. So many of these loose items get scattered
across an observer's table and are easily misplaced
in the dark. If an amateur astronomer had a PDA, he
or she could download a planetarium program into the
PDA, which could serve as star chart and field guide.
Then, they could take observation notes on the PDA and
later upload them into a PC. The PDA could replace a
laptop and drive the computer-guided telescope to the
desired celestial coordinates. All of these functions
could be done with one PDA instead of several other
items.
Truck Drivers
Truck drivers on the road must frequently communicate
with their companies and their homes. They consult e-mail
and keep track of expenses, shipping records, maps and
schedules. Many drivers use laptop computers in their
trucks to take care of these tasks. However, laptops
have relatively short battery life and are bulky. PDA
models and software available now can do many of these
functions, from personal information management to mapping
and wireless e-mail.
