It's kind of funny at what speed some technology areas are rapidly just zooming past us. It's not unusual that a handheld pc is considered old after six months and being replaced by some other more powerful and feature rich model.
Fortunately a whole lot has happened to the handheld devices since the 80's, and the power held by a PDA 20 years ago is in no way a subject for comparison to the models of today. In fact they could not even perform the basic tasks we require by a Pocket PC of today.
The QWERTY keyboard was a breakthrough in the PDA market. All of the sudden people could recognise the regular US layout from the standard PC and get familiar with the device much faster. HP200Lx was first out to incorporate this keyboard in its design, and the result was a success.
With QWERTYS US layout incorporated in the design of the HP200LX, it was a success.
The smartphone functionality comes as a huge bonus to Pocket PC lovers, but the iPaq 500 series will not come cheap, no! The retail price range is somewhere around the same as for iPhone basic edition, $399. It will have some of the same features that other models of the iPAQ line has, quite a bit of RAM and the XScale processor to make up for the price.
Do not panic and worry about not being able to understand the technology that pushes these little marvels. It can be confusing at times and there are plenty of handheld PCs for every person's needs. If the iPAQ does not seem to be fitting your needs, then you can always turn to rival manufacturers, such as Palm for the PalmOs or you can turn to RIM's Blackberry.
Always remeber, there are plenty of options available to meet your lifestyle. The Pocket PC you need is out there for sure. Just keep in mind that technology is constantly changing and that your high end model you purchase today may be outdated within a year
