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February 15, 2002
A Report Card on Handheld Computing (cont'd)
A Short History of a Small Device
Ed tech "old timers" will remember the mid-1980s Apple Newton, the much ballyhooed but far from perfect first-generation personal digital assistant that fit in the palm and was the first to employ the special stylus and handwriting recognition software still in use in today's models. While fascinated with the potential of such a cutting-edge portable technology, users complained the device's handwriting software often failed to recognize even very simple words, the screen was difficult to see, and the design too bulky to fit neatly into a pocket.
Although the Newton's glitches kept it from catching on in a widespread way, Apple was on the right track with the idea of a lightweight, handheld personal technology. While many educators are still adjusting to the Internet-connected desktop computers schools have made such a time and money commitment to, the popularity of graphing calculators, and now cell phones, attests to the usefulness and staying power of the personal technology device.
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| Sixth-graders from the Detroit Public Schools use their hand-held devices to plot graphs and share scientific research with each other. |
With Palm's 1996 introduction of the Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000-with their small, pocket-friendly size, increased memory, and most significantly, ability to run mini-applications called applets-handhelds took the first steps toward coming into their own for the consumer, business, and education markets. Third-party developers were soon creating a variety of useful programs-from basic office suite software to foreign language dictionaries-and the device began to stand on its own as more than simply a calendar and address book tool.
In addition to Palm's platform, the Pocket PC operating system has also emerged to define the handheld computing category. Pocket PC, built by Microsoft to dovetail with Windows, includes mini-versions of Microsoft Office programs Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet Explorer (see sidebar on page 32 for a detailed feature comparison of the two platforms). With an optional modem or wireless networking hardware, both Palm OS and Pocket PC devices can also be used for e-mail, Internet access, and instant messaging.
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