The first hand held computer to be launched was by Casio with its Casio PF-3000 in 1983. It was a simple digital diary. The first pocket computer to be developed was by Psion in United Kingdom in 1984. Psion Organiser I had a flat-file data base, clock and calculator. It had no operating system. This marked the beginning of the emergence of an altogether new and exciting range of hand held computers called as Personal Digital Assistants, palm tops or palm pilots. Companies such as Apple and Palm Computing were amongst the first one to join in with their own versions of handheld computers. The most well know PDA was the Palm Pilot which was launched towards the end of 1990s. In 1996, Nokia introduced the first mobile phone with PDA functionality. This was called 9000 Communicator and became a top selling PDA in the world. A new category of phones emerged, the smartphones, such as the RIM Blackberry, Nokia N-Series and Apple iPhone.

Portable gadgets have rapidly taken over from electronic devices which today look pretty clumsy and bulky. The process of miniaturization has simply shrunk them, from what sat impressively on the table, to something that you can hold in your palm. There used to be a number of devices on the table top that one had to make use for different functions whether it is audio, video, Internet, telephony and many more. Most of these were not portable also. But with the rapid advancement of technological convergence, most of these devises have become combined into one and that too into a hand held device. The portable devices include Ultra Mobile PC, portable audio player, netbooks, portable media player, portable digital assistant and smartphone.

PDAs in the market come in different models and features. These include Pharos 535e Traveler, Palm Z22, HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld, PalmOne M515 Color Handheld, Palm Tungsten E2 Handheld, Palm TX Handheld, Nokia N810 Portable Internet Tablet and many more. You can know more by looking into Palm M515 review in the Internet for instance to get details of PalmOne M515.

You can now download music and video, carry out numerous web transactions including mobile banking, online purchases and many more as well as check E-mail. The same devices are equally used for entertainment, work, learning and play.