The 1st generation of PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) was released
during the early and middle parts of 1993. The most prominent members of
this device class include Apple Computer's Newton MessagePad (since
renamed the MessagePad 100), Sharp's Wizard OZ-9000, Hewlett-Packard's
HP100LX, and Casio's Z-PDA (also known as the Zoomer, co-developed by
Tandy). These machines all had substantial shortcomings, along with some
particularly intriguing features that demonstrated the enormous potential
of this new class of device. Of this first generation, probably the
Apple and HP devices have had the most success. The MessagePad, with
strong handwriting recognition capabilities, has been strong in vertical
market sales as a platform for data gathering, while the 100LX, with it's
built-in Lotus 1-2-3 and CC:Mail, has been a financial analysis tool and
an e-mail terminal. Optional pager services for both systems have sold
well.
The newest generation includes such luminaries as the improved Apple
Newton (the MessagePad 110), and the Cocktail Writepad. The MessagePad
110 has several improvements over the original version, such as an
additional 384k of user RAM (for a data total of about 480k), a folding
screen cover (offering better protection than the slip-on case), improved
pen ergonomics, longer battery life, and both deferred recognition and a
new letter-by letter recognition mode. These two changes (also available
to original MessagePad owners in the form of a ROM update) to the
handwriting engine result in tremendously improved recognition accuracy.
The Writepad, on the other hand, offers unparalleled accuracy (virtually
100% for people with neat handwriting), extreme portability, and
virtually unlimited expansion (limited only by pocket size) In addition,
the Writepad offers top-notch ergonomic design, as it is compatible with
most third-party stylii. However, The Writepad is constructed in a far
less durable fashion than the Newton, and this should be considered a
drawback.
Recognition on both systems is excellent. The Newton offers a system
with the ability to recognize entered text based on either a word-based
approach (using editable dictionaries) or a letter-by-letter method that
is the default in name entries that, while slower, is still very
capable. Newton offers, in the case of mistakes, a list of the guesses
it made, along with a pop-up keyboard with which you can enter the
correct word (if it is not in the list of alternatives). The correct
word can then be added to the dictionary. Writepad, as a default, uses a
sophisticated optical-based recognition that is covered quite well in
Gray's Anatomy and the Journal of Opthamalic Surgeons. It can recognize
text in both word and letter modes, and, with some users, can handle
reverse type.
Both PDAs use a "freeform" database model for data. Newton contains all
data in a structure called a "soup", and all words are searchable. The
Assistant function of the Newton OS allows the user to, for instance,
write "lunch with phil wed", and will correctly assume that Phil is a
person in the database named Phil, lunch is at noon, and Wed., is the
next Wednesday on the schedule. If it is 4PM on Wednesday afternoon when
you write it, Newton can correctly schedule your lunch meeting for next
week. With similar intelligence, Newton can look up numbers ("call bob",
for instance, finding the phone number and even generating the needed
touch-tones for a phone. Newton can also fax, print, and send e-mail
using these sophisticated technologies.
Writepad's database method is even better-suited to random-access
querying. Multiple "pages" of data can be stored in one of two virtual
places, a "pocket" or a "binder". Pockets offer fast, though often
rumpled retrieval, and are convenient for easy integration of your
Writepad data with information obtained through third parties (lunch
receipts, credit cards, photographs) in ad-hoc queries. The binder
storage system results in slightly slower random-access speeds, as the
data is no longer randomly placed, but much higher sequential access
speeds. This makes binder storage useful for preparing management
reports, and for accounting purposes. The most significant risk inherent
to the binder-pocket system is data loss, known as "dry-cleaning". This
is an unfortunate bug in the memory area of the recognition subsystem,
and is gradually being corrected through application of Darwinian
theory. Newton does not suffer from this particular problem, though it
it vulnerable to running out of battery power and accidentally being left
on subway cars.
Our final point of comparison is communications capacity. Newton, with
it's RS-422/LocalTalk port, can easily attach to a host computer or
AppleTalk-based network for transfer of data or printing. Newton also
includes an infrared data port (compatible with Sharp's OZ-9XXX Wizard
series), and a PCMCIA Type II slot which is capable of holding memory,
modem, and pager cards. Apple sells a low-cost external faxmodem for
Newton about the size of a cigarette pack, and Newton includes fax and
E-mail software built into ROM. The Writepad communicates via fax (by
placing the device into a slot that is supplied with virtually all fax
systems. The same slot can usually be used for backup, or a version of
the slot that is shipped with most photocopiers can be used for the same
purpose. Remote data connections are generally handled by the
optical-based recognition system, which can either synthesize speech from
the text or translate it into a directly machine-readable form with the
help of a personal computer-Writepad recognizer interface. This
interface works with all personal computers, vendor-independently.
In summary, both systems perform more than adequately, given the infant
stage of PDA development to date. Writepad, at a cost of about $0.01 per
page, is particularly well-suited to the user on a limited budget.
However, we should not expect prices to fall further, as the basic
technology has been refined to maximum efficiency over the millennia.
Newton, in it's current incarnation, is best suited to vertical markets
that can exploit its robust programming language and tools. At a cost of
about $600, Newton will put a strain on most wallets. At this point,
after about a year of Newton use, I would probably recommend the
Writepad, but I would caution users to make sure to periodically "clean
their pockets". Newton is much more difficult to accidentally forget.