skyrocketguy
Newbie
I really want to build my own Android pda, but is this possible? Can you even get the parts?
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Is it possible to build an Android pda?
- Thread starter skyrocketguy
- Start date
chanchan05
The Doctor
Uh, any Android phone or device is already a PDA, they can already do everything a PDA can and more.
zuben el genub
Extreme Android User
Mine is. Almost everything I had on Palm is on the Android.
Sure you can get the parts. Probably not at RadioShack though, they might be able to sell you some expensive resistors and maybe a light-bulb or two. Best place would be Seg Electronics Market, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Home constructing your Android PDA might be another matter however
nickdalzell
Extreme Android User
Don't they make Android powered phones with physical keyboards similar to a BlackBerry? That seems as close as you're gonna get
Sure they do. Samsung's got a handful of models with keyboards. So do other brands.
PDAs are soooo 20th century!
But then there are also people who like to build steam-driven cars and insist on reinventing the wheel...
Just add cellphone functionality, brings a PDA into the 21st century quite nicely. Or you could have a large touch-screen PDA and call it a "tablet" instead.
Just add cellphone functionality, brings a PDA into the 21st century quite nicely. Or you could have a large touch-screen PDA and call it a "tablet" instead.
Yep, that's what I've got: a 'phablet'. The Samsung Galaxy Note!
It's exactly like a PDA! Only it is also a mobile phone, it's got 10 times more processing power, 100 times more storage, a full color HD screen, and instead of a keyboard it's got a touch sensitive pen AND I can dictate everything instead of having to type!
Oh, and I run roughly 300 apps on it...
I.o.w. exactly like a PDA...
nickdalzell
Extreme Android User
Buy a stylus and then you got a PDA. Or put an android smartphone inside an old Newton case.
Bob Maxey
Android Expert
When you say that you want to build your own PDA, what does that mean, exactly? I'll say no, you cannot.
For one thing, the PCB is a big issue. Most are multi-layer affairs and just making one of those would be a monumental task. Then you need parts and if you could purchase the required parts, how is your engineering experience?
So I'll ask you, what exactly do you want to do?
My phone is already a PDA. All smart phones are, actually.
zuben el genub
Extreme Android User
Maybe he wants the accessories that PDA had. Sony and Palm both had keyboards. In fact, Palm had a full size keyboard that folded up and you docked the PDA into it. The UX-50 was a clamshell with a keyboard. I've seen keyboards and keypads.
Sony had a thumbboard, and a game board with a 4 way rocker on it.
PDAs weren't carrier specific. Most used wifi. You could also (at your peril) mess with just about anything but the extreme basics. Almost every office program also could sync with the PDA. ACT, Adobe PDF, Office, Quicken even Wordperfect if you used the older Office extensions. Just plug the PDA into the cradle, pick out what you wanted to sync, hit the button and done.
Sony had a thumbboard, and a game board with a 4 way rocker on it.
PDAs weren't carrier specific. Most used wifi. You could also (at your peril) mess with just about anything but the extreme basics. Almost every office program also could sync with the PDA. ACT, Adobe PDF, Office, Quicken even Wordperfect if you used the older Office extensions. Just plug the PDA into the cradle, pick out what you wanted to sync, hit the button and done.
It's a new world. Today's smartphone is not an extension of your PC but a PC in and of itself. They are designed to function without needing to connect to a PC but instead the cloud where data can reside to be accessed by PC, phone, tablet, or whatever eles or where ever else you may like.
It is time to put away the conventions of Palm and embrace the new. Google has designed Android to work optimally with its own services. So just use a browser to edit your info and it will almost instataneously be reflected on your phone.
It is time to put away the conventions of Palm and embrace the new. Google has designed Android to work optimally with its own services. So just use a browser to edit your info and it will almost instataneously be reflected on your phone.