
The PDA returns to CES, because everything old is new again - LearnerHerzog
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/07/the-pda-returns-to-ces-because-everything-old-is-new-again/
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bdcravens
> Back before “PDA” was merely shorthand for kissing someone a crowded
> commuter train, we carried personal digital assistants. It was a dark age,
> when our mobile devices still sported physical keyboards.

Except for the fact that the most popular PDA of the 90's, the Palm Pilot,
most commonly had no keyboard.

~~~
j45
A derivative, the Treo had a keyboard.

Bluetooth keyboards and docking station keyboards were available for the palm
pilot.

Hp iPaqs also had keyboards available.

Sharp also had a Zaurus device.

Nokia had the N800 communicator device too.

~~~
bdcravens
Of course, in the same sense that there have been Android phones that had
keyboards, and Blackberry devices with keyboards were still in wide
circulation only a few years ago.

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mmjaa
I'm _very_ happy that devices such as this, and my current favourite - the GPD
Pocket - are making a return to the market. Having a full-fledged Linux
workstation with multitouch, 'retina'-class display, and still fit in my
pocket .. this is truly awesome. And if it weren't for the massive (>$1000)
investment in software on my iPads, I'd just ditch iOS completely and move
100% to the GPD Pocket for all my touch-interface needs.

This represents an opportunity - iPad-class devices, without any of the walled
garden. I'm far more excited about writing apps for Linux now that those apps
can take advantage of hardware features such as the GPD Pocket .. now if only
there were more competition with the same physical qualities.

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ccozan
Waiting for this one [1].

[1] [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keyboard-mod-a-
physical-k...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keyboard-mod-a-physical-
keyboard-for-the-moto-z#/)

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j45
If there was an honest external keyboard case for a pixel or iPhone... Might
not be too far off.

~~~
majewsky
Except for the price point. And the "boot into Linux" part. The latter alone
might compel me to purchase this device, if it means that the drivers are all
(or at least mostly) upstream.

~~~
nikanj
My prediction is: you get the same driver quality as you get with bottom-of-
the barrel Android. Based on the fact that the device is mostly built from
those parts.

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toabi
In German, PDA also is a common abbreviation for
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidural_administration#Epidur...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidural_administration#Epidural_analgesia_during_childbirth)
— which with the current state of IT/tech. might also be a good idea ;)

