PDA history

A pocket calculator is not usually considered a PDA because it offers only one type of function, numerical calculation, and does not allow for the input of alphanumeric information (words as well as numbers). Its original ancestor—still alive and well—was the pocket calculator, which first appeared in 1971.

One of the first calculator watches was the Calcron (1975), which had a nine-digit display.

The first units combining calculator and calendar-time-piece functions with text display appeared in 1976.

These devices were a far cry from today’s PDA. Possibly the first device to merit the term PDA was the Toshiba LC-836MN or Memo Note 30, released in 1978.

The British company Psion created a hand-held computer called the Organiser in 1984.

Behind the scenes, Apple had been developing an early PDA prototype, Knowledge Navigator, since 1986.

In 1989, Atari introduced the Atari Portfolio, one of the very first handheld computers.

The second release of the Organiser in 1991 was more like the forerunner of the Personal Digital Assistant, even though it wasn’t called that at the time.

That pretty much sums up the story of the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) — a hand-held computer that first appeared in 1992, only to disappear fifteen years later.

In 1993 Apple Inc. released the Newton MessagePad, for which John Sculley, then Apple’s chief executive officer, coined the term PDA. Although an improvement in some areas, the Newton’s handwriting recognition was only 85 percent effective, resulting in ridicule and poor sales.

Users of the Datalink (1994), a collaboration between Timex and Microsoft, entered information on their personal computers, such as phone numbers, which were then transmitted to the watch wirelessly, using light pulses.

In 1996 Palm, Inc., released the first Palm Pilot PDAs, which quickly became the model for other companies to follow.

The first PDA from Palm, the PalmPilot introduced in 1997, set the standard for others to follow.

In 1998 Microsoft Corporation produced Windows CE, a stripped-down version of its Windows OS (operating system), for use on mobile devices such as PDAs.

Samsung’s SPH-WP10 (1999) was the first watch phone; its battery lasted for 90 minutes of calling time.

Morrison, Kara G. "Handheld Computers are, well, Handy." The Detroit News, April 29, 2000.

"Strategis Group: Mobile Data to Take Off in the United States" NUA Internet Surveys, January 30, 2001.

According to The Detroit News, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by PDA manufacturer Handspring Inc. indicated sales of handheld computers would exceed $35 million by 2003.

Wiggins III, Richard H., M.D. 2004. “Personal Digital Assistants,” National Library of Medicine, Feb.

A few legal experts have warned that employees who form such “technology addictions” may sue their employers, although as of late 2006 no such lawsuits had yet been filed.

January 2007 could be regarded as the time when the PDA truly became a technology relic.

Palm’s reaction to the iPhone was predictable: By the end of 2008, the company announced it would stop developing PDAs.

In 2009, Palm instead introduced a WebOS operating system and Palm Pre, its own smartphone.

HP ultimately ditched the Palm product name and by 2014 had gotten rid of Palm altogether.

2018. “Palm’s progress: The rise, fall — and rebirth — of a legendary brand,” Fast Company, Oct.

PDA Asia Pacific was founded in 2019 in Singapore so that PDA can better provide education and technical resources to pharmaceutical manufacturing professionals in the Asia Pacific region.

The PDA Strategic Plan covers PDA’s proposed direction until 2020.