[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

My cell phone is a low end Nokia with an even smaller screen. But I don't care, as all I want it to do is place and receive calls. Other functions are handled by my PDA.

I am not saying your are wrong, that is your personal preference. Personally, I need a device that lets me connect to the computers I administer remotely even if no WiFi available. A smart phone is therefore a big bonus for me. Likewise, the ability to browse the Web without Wifi has been very useful from time to time. Since PDAs generally can't do that without also being cellphones, put me firmly in the smart phone camp. Besides, I perfer having one device rather than two.

It doesn't matter if Google is interested. The OS is modular and open source, and and you can use the parts that fit what you want your device to do. A hardware manufacturer could put it on a device that wasn't a cell phone. The question is whether any will.

That is true, but ultimately, I doubt we will see any new players in the PDA market. Palm is getting out of it, and the number of Windows based PDAs is a lot fewer than it was even a year ago. Without Google pushing for it, I doubt anyone will bother producing such a unit.

There might be life in the PDA market if a manufacturer actually tried to address it, instead of all rushing off to build smartphones.

I doubt it. You, I am afriad, are the exception to the rule. If they can get their phone to do everything that their PDA use to do and make phone calls as well, and also connect to the internet without wifi, well, I think they see little need to have two devices when one will do the job of both.

Also, I wouldn't say they rushed off; Smart still produces both types of devices, but their smart phones sell much better.

Whether the PDA market is dying is a different question. What is the Apple Touch? And there are still Windows Mobile based models that aren't also cellphones, like the HP 210.

I would say the Ipod Touch is a PMP with some PDA functionality. And I didn't say the PDA market was dead; just that it is dying. Smart Phones are eating up most of the market, and PMPs are eating up the rest. I imagine in a few years that phones like the Iphones will grab most of the market for everything with a screen 4" and smaller.

As I said, I already have a cell phone that does what I require. I wouldn't mind a PDA type device with a larger screen. It wouldn't fit in a shirt pocket (or a pants pocket in most cases), but I don't carry mine there now.
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Dennis

Well there are the UMPCs, which are the next step up.

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Bill