PDA

The first PDA I remember using was the early Palm Pilot. They could store meeting information, some short notes, had a calculator, address book, calendar, and a clock. Pretty basic. They were just one notch above the tape recorder and compared to the Black Berry, fairly barbaric.
With Bluetooth capabilities, Wifi, and IrDA, the Internet is accessible from virtually anywhere with the new portables. Gone is the stylus (still available) replaced by the touchscreens and very small keyboards, and the need to carry a brick cell phone.
Several options have been added to the PDA to adapt to car use as well. They have GPS (Global Positioning System) capabilities which are being installed in new cars and systems that can be added to the older cars. I personally enjoy having one when I travel out of town. I can't read a road map and drive unlike some of our out-of-town visitors.
The medical field is also benefiting from the new technology. The access to reference materials and patient chart updates have enabled some medical professionals to diagnose conditions and prescribe the most up-to-date drug treatments within minutes. Physicians can also dock their PDA and download an entire days worth of notes on patient visits, communicate with other physicians, or update their clinical database.
Updates for your PDA are as simple as downloading them from the Internet just as you would for your desktop PC. Many options for memory stick upgrades can be purchased as well as small keyboards. Newer models even have USB ports to connect directly to your desktop without needing a docking station.
The new touchscreens are even starting to incorporate the keyboards into the displays, but they are still new and have some accuracy issues. There are also some touchscreens that use translators attempting word recognitions for faster entry, but again they face accuracy issues. Given time, these will be standard features in the future.