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Enhancing Personal Productivity with PDAsKarl Barksdale
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iiiI N T R O D U C T I O N
Instant Message
SUBJECT: PDAs and Smart Phones
You’ve probably noticed that computers are getting smaller. But don’t let their smallsize fool you. Small, handheld PDA-style computers are more powerful than ever.
PDA is short for Personal Digital Assistant. That is a fancy name for a type of tinyhandheld computer. Recently, many PDA features have also been added to cell phones.The combination of PDA features and phones created a new family of devices calledsmart phones. PDAs and smart phones are perfect for managing certain types ofinformation:
Contacts or Address List: Keep track of phone numbers and addresses of friends,family members, and professional colleagues
Calendar or Date Book: Keep track of appointments, meetings, and importantevents
Task or To Do List: Keep track of everything you need to do and organizeyour time
Financial and personal information: Keep track of your money and personal information
As important as all those features are, PDAs and smart phones are capable of doing muchmore. For instance, some have cameras in them. Most send e-mail and allow you tosearch the Internet. Others have pocket versions of word processing and spreadsheetsoftware. Some have speech recognition capabilities. You can say,“Call Aunt Mary,” andher number will be dialed automatically. Many PDAs will let you use handwritingrecognition instead of a keyboard to input information. A PDA or smart phone caneven work as an alarm clock!
When you think about it, cell phones and PDAs are among the most numerous andpopular computers in the world. And companies are doing more each year to makethese handheld devices more like larger computers. Perhaps someday, a small PDA/smartphone may be the only computer you’ll need!
In this text, you will follow the efforts of Kaoru Takase, who is learning all about smartphones and PDAs while working for an electronics company. At the end of the book,you may be asking the same question she’s been asking: “How did I ever get alongwithout a PDA?”
iv C O N T E N T S
Enhancing Personal Productivity with PDAs
What You Should Know About: Smart Phones for Pros on the Go! 2
Lesson 1 Up and Going 3What You Should Know About: SPOT Technology 5
Lesson 2 Input Tools 18What You Should Know About: Very Cool Keyboards for PDAs 19What You Should Know About: Voice Recognition on a PDA 25
Lesson 3 Basic Personal Productivity Tools Part 1 36What You Should Know About: Setting Priorities 46
Lesson 4 Basic Personal Productivity Tools Part 2 51
Lesson 5 Synchronizing Your PDA; Using Online, Financial, E-mail, and Other Applications 71What You Should Know About: Upgrading to a New PDA 80
Contents
CONTENTS
1E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
O B J E C T I V E S I n t h i s b o o k y o u w i l l :
Kaoru Takase works at Corporate View, a simulated (not real) Colorado-based company.Kaoru was recently promoted to the position of Product Marketing Manager in thecompany’s TeleView division. She wants to make the best impression possible. Beforestarting her new job, she visited an electronics store and purchased a PDA (PersonalDigital Assistant).A PDA is a handheld mobile computing device. Kaoru believes aPDA will be useful in keeping track of meetings, contacts, and activities with which shewill become involved. Little does she know that her PDA will become an essential busi-ness productivity tool. Lately she’s been asking the question,“How did I ever get alongwithout a PDA?”
Like Kaoru, it’s time for you to embrace these exciting digital communicationDigiTools.
1. Study PDA operating systems.
2. Input data with Graffiti, Graffiti 2, natural handwriting, or onscreen keyboards.
3. Review alternative input methods such as speech recognition or special keyboards.
4. Learn to take notes or memos.
5. Create contact or address lists.
6. Update calendars or date books.
7. Create task or to do lists.
8. Make mathematical and financial calculations with either the calculator, an expenseprogram, or a spreadsheet.
9. Learn about multimedia on PDAs.
10. Learn to share information by beaming, synchronizing, downloading, or uploading.
Enhancing Personal Productivity with
PDAs
2 E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
Workplace productivity depends on the careful management of time. Schedules,phone conversations, e-mail, contacts, to do lists, expenses, notes, and other businessdata are critical. PDAs are perfectly suited to manage this kind of data. For this reason,many professionals carry their PDAs wherever they go. However, busy professionalsalso need to carry their portable phones.This means carrying two handheld devices.To help lighten the load, PDAs and phones were merged into a single DigiTool—thesmart phone.Combining PDA and phone features is a natural merger.The advantages are obvious.
For example, if you have a contact’s phone number in your PDA, wouldn’t it be conven-ient to have it on your cell phone too? Then you can place a call without having to lookup a number on your PDA first.
Today, phones have gone way beyond two-way voice conversations.They can sendmovies, pictures, live images, and text messages.They also can be used as walkie-talkies.These “smart” phones keep getting smarter.According to Michael J. Miller of PCMagazine ( July 2003),“Intel predicts that by the end of the decade there will be . . . 2.5billion phones with more processing power than today’s PCs.”With that much power inhand, in the future, when people talk about their PDAs they’ll probably be talking abouttheir phones! These phones will also be speech-recognition capable. If you need to takenotes or send an e-mail message, you can input your information by talking instead ofby entering characters letter by letter, as is done today. Some of the things that you canexpect from the newest generation of smart phones include:
• Contact lists with phone numbers, addresses, and full contact information
• Synchronization with a desktop PC
• Calendar features
• Web access
• Text messaging
• Digital pictures
• Music files played as ring tones
• Games
• Downloadable business applications such as expense software
• Built-in cameras
• Multimedia messaging using animations, photos, or music
• Walkie-talkie features
WHAT YOUSHOULD
KNOW ABOUTSmart Phones for
the Pros on the Go!
Michael J. Miller. PC Magazine Web site.“Rejecting the Tech Doomsayers.” 20 May 2004.http://www.virtualdevices.net/.
3E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
L E S S O N
O B J E C T I V E S I n t h i s l e s s o n y o u w i l l :
1. Explore various models of PDAs.
2. Learn about the two most popular PDA operating systems.
3. Discover how to set up a PDA for first-time use.
4. Access, investigate, open, and close programs with hard buttons, soft buttons, and icons.
5. Learn about the four major applications accessed by hard buttons.
6. Discover and catalog additional applications found on a PDA.
7. Use the scroll buttons.
8. Compare and contrast PDAs with PCs.
UP AND GOING
Kaoru Takase wants to improve her job performance.As a newly-hired ProductMarketing Manager for Corporate View, she knows she must stay on top of her game.One of the tools that can help her stay organized is her PDA.
PDAs are powerful DigiTools, or digital communications devices. PDAs are called bya variety of names: Palms, Palm Pilots, handheld computers, iPAQs, or Pocket PCs.Thedifferent names reflect the many different PDA makers and the models they offer.
To learn more about these small DigiTools, Kaoru visits a nearby electronics storeand asks many questions about which model of PDA will best meet her needs. Shequickly learns that there are two main operating systems for PDAs: Palm OS andWindows Mobile for Pocket PC.
What You ShouldKnow About
Smart Phones forthe Pros on the Go!
continued
Figure 1Many professionals carry their smart phoneswherever they go.
4 E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
O P E R A T I N G S Y S T E M S F O R P D A SAn operating system (OS) is the essential software that allows a PDA to work. PalmOS, created by PalmSource, first caught people’s imagination in 1996.Visit www.palmsource.com to learn more about this OS. Windows Mobile for Pocket PC is a productof Microsoft Corp.This OS also became popular in the late 1990s.Visit www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/ to learn more about this OS.While there are other operating sys-tems available, Palm OS and Windows Mobile for Pocket PC are the most widely accepted.
With both operating systems, a pen-like stylus isused to input information into the miniaturecomputer inside. PDAs are small, mobile, and liter-ally fit in the palm of your hand. PDA capabilitieshave even been added to smart cell phones andwristwatches. Some smart phones and PDAs alsohave built-in digital cameras and video recorders.
PDAs are much less powerful than desktop, lap-top, or Tablet PCs.They have slower processorsand less available memory than PCs. Still, thesesmall, mobile devices can do some amazing things.PDAs continue to become more powerful.Whoknows? A few years from now, a tiny PDA may beas powerful as today’s Tablet PCs, laptops, or desk-top computers!
Figure 2PDAs are powerful DigiTools.
Figure 3A stylus is an input device for a PDA.
DigiTip A stylus is a digital pen-like input device.
You may soon decide to carry your PDA around your wrist or on your keychain.Thanks to Microsoft’s Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT), people can use aSPOT enabled wristwatch, radio, alarm clock, keychain, or other small DigiTool toreceive their:
• News
• Sports schedules and scores
• Traffic reports
• Stock quotes
• Weather
• Personal schedule and calendar
• Personal reminders
• Games
• Television guides
With SPOT DigiTools you can receive the mostaccurate information wherever you are at the exacttime you need it. For instance, SPOT devices canautomatically go online to reset their time to theexact millisecond.They can also notify their users ofimportant meetings with unique chimes and alarms.
A subscription service for SPOT devices, likeMSN Direct, will constantly monitor, upload, andupdate all of your personal SPOT information usingwireless technologies.
5E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
WHAT YOUSHOULD
KNOW ABOUTSPOT Technology
Figure 4Microsoft offers asubscription service for SPOT devices.
G E T T I N G T O K N O W T H E B U T T O N SAs you examine a PDA, you will notice all sorts of buttons and icons. PDAs generallyhave hard buttons and soft buttons or icons for programs. Hard buttons are physicalbuttons on the PDA that you can press to start the PDA or launch programs. Soft but-tons or icons appear on the PDA screen.They are also used to launch programs. Severaltypes of buttons are marked in Figure 5 for Pocket PC and Figure 6 for Palm OSdevices.
6 E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
When you first turn on a brand-new PDA, you will need to complete some basic setupsteps.You will calibrate your stylus, set the date and time, and adjust your time zoneoptions. If you are the very first person to use the PDA, turn it on and follow the initialsetup instructions exactly.
The first step is to tap the stylus on several targets that appear on the screen.Thesetargets will adjust your digitizer settings.A digitizer is a device that converts data into adigital format that can be input, stored, and displayed by a computer.The digitizer rec-
Figure 5Pocket PC PDA
Start menu
Program icons
Menu
Hard buttons
Figure 6Palm PDA
Soft buttons
Hard buttons
A C T I V I T Y 1 COMPLETE SETUP
7E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
ognizes where you touch the screen with your stylus. Read and follow the steps foryour PDA’s operating system.
Pocket PCNote: If initial settings have already been set on your PDA, read this activity for back-ground information.Then do Activity 2 to begin working with your Pocket PC.
1. Turn on your Pocket PC.Wait a few seconds for it to startup.Tap your stylus in themiddle of the screen to let your PDA know you are ready to begin.
Figure 7Align the stylus on a PocketPC by tapping the screen.
2. If your PDA has not been used before or has been reset for your use, you will needto align the screen.Tap a series of targets accurately with your stylus, as shown in Figure7.
3. Continue following the instructions on the screen and make changes as necessary.(Note: Pay attention to special features as they are explained, such as cutting and past-ing, new software updates, and possible uses of your PDA.)
Figure 8Changing Settings on a Pocket PC
DigiTip To make adjustments, like changing the time zone option, tap the down arrow to display a list.
8 E N H A N C I N G P E R S O N A L P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H P D A S
Palm OSNote: If initial settings have already been set on your PDA, read this activity for back-ground information. Go to the next activity to begin working with your PDA.
1. Turn on your PDA.
2. If your PDA has not been used before or has been reset for your use, you will needto align the stylus to the screen.Tap the target accurately with your stylus, as shown inFigure 9.You can also access the target screen at any time to align your stylus.To do so,tap the Preferences icon.Then choose Digitizer.
Figure 9Align the stylus on a PalmPDA by tapping the screen.
3. Continue to follow the instructions on the screen.To make changes, tap on the boxesnext to the headings to reveal the change options. For example, tap the text box next toLocation or Time Zone. (The options will vary depending on the version of PalmOS that your PDA uses.) See Figure 10 for two examples.
4. Tap on a correct option for your time zone and then tap OK.
Figure 10Change Time Zone Settings
