Coined in 1992 by Apple’s former CEO John Sculley, personal digital assistants or PDA, have actually existed long before, in different forms however, such as the Psion and Sharp Wizard. Currently referred to as Palms, Palm Pilot or Palm Tops, all these were inspired from a Palm, Inc. PDA device.

Original PDAs include the Apple Newton and the Palm Pilot. Both had touch screens for user interaction. A detachable stylus is also provided, which is used by tapping the screens to activate buttons and reveal menus. Nowadays, business individuals have the Blackberry and Treo, which have scroll wheels and full keyboards to facilitate navigation. These also come with full-size foldable keyboards that can be plugged directly or used with a wireless interface to allow normal typing.

The latest PDAs released in the market are the Apple iPhone and MacsturSoft’s iPhone clone. The former boasts of the Multi-touch technology that means fingers can be used as inputs but the latter uses a more advanced technology.

PDA Batteries
Since all these devices are handheld or portable, they are useless without batteries of course. Different PDA models, even some of those made by the same company, have their own unique batteries. PDA batteries can either be bought from the manufacturer or from other sources.

Internal PDA batteries can be replaced without much complication as may be implied by some manufacturers. Some consumers though have resorted to other cheaper brands since they are far more affordable than those that can be purchased from the manufacturers. Some PDA battries made in China can cost more than 50% lower than those from. PDA users don’t worry too much about being tricked into buying a cheaper PDA battery because some companies or sites offer a kit with complete instructions on how to go about the replacement and a 1 year guarantee for the product.

PDA batteries also have different types. Just like any other mobile phone battery PDA batteries can either be regular type or the Lithium ion or Li-ion type. One of the most popular among portable electronic devices, a Li-ion battery for PDA is of course rechargeable and lighter compared to secondary batteries. Li-ion batteries do not suffer from memory effect, this is an effect observed in some rechargeable batteries. It means that the effect causes the batteries to hold less charge. A disadvantage of a Li-ion battery however is the fact that regardless of whether it was charged, its life span is dependent upon aging. So from date of manufacturing, the battery will start to age and therefore, a newer unit will definitely last longer than the older one.

Aside from properly charging PDA batteries another way of protecting them is using pouches or covers. A PDA cover for larger batteries for example is very ideal so that no other device or object will rub against it. Covers will also protect the batteries from unnecessary moisture and possibly, from spills of any liquid.