Shying away from PDAs

Worried about being seen as a flash git, or a wannabe starship captain? Don't be, says Paul Briggs.

When I got my first Palm Pilot, back in the days when US Robotics manufactured them, I thought my days of missed birthdays and general unproductivity were over. No more diaries, I hoped, just happy days of electronic synchronicity.

I am now on my fourth or fifth Palm, and sadly the productivity I crave is only just starting to materialise.

This is mainly due to the convergence of telephony into the next generation of PDA devices and, conversely, the inclusion of more data functionality into mobile phones.

But perhaps the biggest barrier to successful use of my device was a reluctance to get it out in public.

Too ashamed to admit this dark secret, I thought I was alone until I talked to a few people in the channel. I felt like I had found a local support group for shy PDA users.

Remarkably, one common shared feeling is that you might be thought of as a flash git (or something similar) if you whip out your PDA in a crowded tube train or bus. Getting them nicked was another popular concern.

When I do use my Palm on the move I find it really handy as a laptop replacement for word processing and emails.

But despite the obvious weight advantage over a laptop, I still feel I am carrying more stuff around than I need. For a long time I wished vendors would hurry up and integrate telephony and connectivity into their PDAs.

Nowadays, of course, such products exist. Because of my long history with Palm, I now use a Treo with a Palm OS. Because it has a little phone aerial it seems somehow more acceptable to use in public, even though I look like Captain James T Kirk when I flip open the lid.

It's also handy being able to sync it with my PC at home or at the office. This convergence factor could be the way to achieve more widespread adoption of such devices.