“The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.”

— Clairee Belcher (Steel Magnolias, 1989)

Imagine buying a product for one price, and then paying four times as much for add-on products so that you could use it. Then stop imagining and look at the eye-popping accessories for handheld computers, or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Warning: This article includes prices and they are only estimates.

Category: Connectivity
You can get a nice GPS for your PDA for about $200, and go Bluetooth (a very short range radio connection) for between $300 and $350. Why would a person want to use a GPS with a PDA? GPS stands for Global Positioning Satellite, and it is used for navigation. A PDA with a GPS can make a great city map. You can mount the PDA on the dash and use it to help you drive to the bank to borrow money to pay for your PDA accessories.

Once in a great while, I still have a use for my old analog modem. It still works to dial up my ISP while I'm out of town, and download e-mail. Those modems are disappearing, being replaced by Wireless Internet and WiFi. Gartner Dataquest estimates that by 2006, 60% of PDAs and 5% of cell phones will have WiFi connections. WiFi connections are wireless connection to Local Area Networks (LANs). Many people have wireless in their homes and offices, and there is a hot spot in just about every airport and coffeehouse in the U.S. You might have to pay for access to airport and coffeehouse networks, but the price of the service is reasonable compared to the price of being out of touch.

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for connecting computers, phones, and peripherals. Its use is growing rapidly. It was named for an old Viking king, and that's as close as it comes to having anything to do with blue or teeth. My cell phone has a Bluetooth feature, and I was able to find an inexpensive Bluetooth adapter that connects to my laptop's USB port. I can sync my Outlook contacts and appointments from my laptop with my cell phone. You can use the same adapter to perform the same functions with a PDA. But there is more to this Bluetooth thing than syncing calendars and address books.

Bluetooth is quickly becoming the preferred method of connection for every peripheral device. It's faster than infrared (IR), and it's almost as easy to use. Manufacturers don't have to include wires and plugs and jacks in their equipment, and customers don't have to look at a medusa-like nest of wires for their peripheral devices.

On the opposite side of the technology fence from Bluetooth are the cables. USB cables, sync cables, and power cables are not only useful, but many PDA users need extras. I don't like to carry a charger to work and set it up--I keep a second one there. I carry a charger for traveling. They also make chargers that plug into your car's cigarette lighter.

The last item in the connectivity category is the Printboy ($99)--an IR printing connection that attaches to the parallel port on any printer (as long as that printer has a parallel port).

Category: Input Devices
The most-used input device is either the stylus or the thumbpad. You can buy both as add-on devices. PDAs come with a plastic stylus, but the metal add-ons feel better in the hand. Some of them also double as a pen, so if you have your PDA in your pocket, you always have a pen, too. Who knows, your kids might decide to tell you their phone number.

I'm partial to the folding keyboards. They were $99 for the longest time, but Amazon www.amazon.com was selling them for under $20 over Memorial Day weekend. Palm makes an infrared wireless keyboard, too, but I can't get one for my old Palm Vx.

Thumb pads are tiny keyboards that have all of the letters like a typewriter. Some people can type so fast with both thumbs that it looks like they are playing a pocket video game. The words just spill out.

If you don't have a scanner for your PDA, they might not let you into the men's grill at the country club. If that happens to you, think about adding a bar code reader ($425) or a business card scanner ($200).

Category: Other
The accessorizing ladies in “Steel Magnolias” would not think of going out without a leather case. Their husbands would prefer the metal cases. But don't stop there. You can buy a portfolio for your PDA that holds notebook paper and pens and other cool stuff. I have seen people use DayTimer forms in those things—as if the planner in the PDA was not reliable enough. Most of those people were wearing a belt and suspenders.

No discussion of PDA accessories would be complete without discussing screen protectors. They are an adhesive-backed clear or matte film that you put on your PDA screen to keep from scratching it—or accidentally marking it. Think about using it on your camera phone screen, too. These things only cost a few cents each and are worth every penny.

Memory expansion cards such as secure digital, compact flash, and memory sticks are so necessary that they don't seem like accessories. You never have enough memory, and you'll buy one—or two.

All seriousness aside, here are some accessories I have never seen anyone use, but I plan to try them all. If you do slide presentations using PowerPoint, you'll want to think about the iGo Pitch ($250). It is a connector that goes between the PDA and the projector that is not included. I might not buy the MP3 upgrade kit--it's just a memory card and a set of headphones ($99). I definitely won't buy the super earplugs for music ($300). My parents would get hours of PDA pleasure from the clip-on screen magnifier ($40), which is a magnifying glass about the size of the PDA, and a clip-on attachment that holds it about four inches in front of the screen. Be the first one on your block to get one.

If you're enjoying a lot of MP3 music on your PDA and you want to listen to it on your car or home stereo, think about getting the FM Transmitter. It's not a radio. It sends your music to your radio! ($40).

Let's see, I bought a hypothetical PDA for $300, and then I spent . . . carry the one . . . about $1500 on accessories. But I'm drawing the line at the DayTimer calendar, there's no way I'm spending money on that.

What Else?
Sony announced that they will not make any new Clie models for the U.S., while they “reassess the direction” of the PDA market. They will continue to support existing products, and will continue to make new products for Japan. They expect current stock to sell for several months. The announcement states that it's simply a regrouping through the end of the year.

No matter how long they are out of the market, Sony's time-out means that Palm is suddenly Apple--the only people who make machines that run their program. Microsoft is going to benefit the most. Palm is going to look like the maker of an incompatible product, since all of the other PDA makers use Windows Mobile.

The real trend is that the PDA as we know it—for Microsoft or Palm or anyone else—is nearing the end of the line. There is a growing need for a mobile office device that communicates with home office devices—phone, GPS, and camera. No one makes such a device today. Sub notebooks are colliding with big PDAs and with wireless game machines. Something's gotta change and Sony will be involved.

At the end of the summer, look for some great back-to-school specials on Sony PDAs.

More Information
For links and more information about PDA Accessories, please see the RootsWorks site at www.rootsworks.com/pda2005.

If you want to discuss your PDA challenges, please drop by the RootsWorks Forums at www.rootsworks.com/forums. Registration is free, and I'd be interested to know what kinds of issues you are facing.

Beau Sharbrough is a product manager at Ancestry.com. His articles contain his own views and opinions and do not reflect any corporate policy or statement by the company. The RootsWorks series of articles focuses on genealogical applications for generic technologies. Stop by www.rootsworks.com/forums and discuss this or any topic related to the use of technology in family history. Tell us about your experiences. Please note that Beau cannot assist you with your individual computer and genealogy problems. Visit the RootsWorks website www.rootsworks.com for links to previous articles and Beau's lecture schedule (next stop: Boulder, Colorado, in July).

Copyright 2004, MyFamily.com.