Smartphones Affecting PDA Sales

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/pcworld/20040427/tc_pcworld/115879' target='_blank'>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/pcworld/20040427/tc_pcworld/115879</a><br /><br /></div>"Analysts have been warning PDA vendors for several quarters that consumers and business customers have lost their taste for stand-alone PDAs that manage contacts and calendar information. Instead, high-end buyers are increasingly intrigued by new cell phones that have improved personal information management capability or smart phones that combine a cell phone with a powerful PDA operating system such as PalmSource's Palm OS or Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Linsalata says."<br /><br />What do you think? Is the recent slump in PDA sales related to the smartphones? Pocket PC Thoughts recently reported that <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27139&highlight=">Coca-Cola purchased 28,000 Pocket PC based devices</a>. Data input would be the main reason they didn't choose a smartphone solution. IMHO, there will always be a need for separate devices and this slump is only temporary.

[Citezein]

In this sense, you really want "affecting." While "effecting" can be a verb, when used as a verb it means to carry something out toward an end, which is not the sense you use it here.

[Mike Temporale]

Really? Here's the Merriam-Webster definition for Affecting (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=affecting) and Effecting (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=effecting)

I thought this usage falls under point 2 for Effecting?

[possmann]

I think there will always be a need for seperate devices based primarly on device use. If you interact alot with your device - data and all - then the PPC platform would be the way to go. Perhaps what we will see is more variety in the PPCPE devices...

[TANKERx]

Really? Here's the Merriam-Webster definition for Affecting (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=affecting) and Effecting (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=effecting)

I thought this usage falls under point 2 for Effecting?

I think I agree with Citizein in that the use of the word would seem to my untrained brain to match better Definition 5 of Affect than any of the definitions of Effect.

Not knowing where Citizein is from, I can only speculate that it is a British English thing, like Color and Colour.

PS. While I'm at it, what's the different between farther and further? ;-)

[Citezein]

I'm from the U.S. and I do not believe it is a British/American usage issue.

The primary Merriam-Webster entry for "affect" is:

to produce an effect upon: as a : to produce a material influence upon

"A material influence" is exactly the usage that is intended in the headline.

Effecting is most often used when talking about overcoming obstacles to bring about a conclusion. Smartphones are influencing PDA sales, not helping reach some conclusion regarding PDA sales.

With regard to farther vs. further, the former is usually in contexts involving literal distance, such as miles. The latter is generally used with figurative distance, such as, "I can take this plan no further."

Oddly enough, I just received a copy of Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words for my birthday yesterday. Quite handy, as it had discussion on both sets of words discussed above!

[TANKERx]

Have you read his Short History of Nearly Everything? That's quite a good one!

[Mike Temporale]

Oddly enough, I just received a copy of Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words for my birthday yesterday. Quite handy, as it had discussion on both sets of words discussed above!

I am no English major. You guys seem to have a solid understanding and as such, I have caved under the pressure (and the guy with the Troublesome Words dictionary ;) ) and changed the subject. :lol:

I think I'll add that book to my wish list...

[Mike Temporale]

Oddly enough, I just received a copy of Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words for my birthday yesterday. Quite handy, as it had discussion on both sets of words discussed above!

oh, and lets not forget :new-bday: Anyone give you a Smartphone? :lol:

[Citezein]

Oddly enough, I just received a copy of Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words for my birthday yesterday. Quite handy, as it had discussion on both sets of words discussed above!

oh, and lets not forget :new-bday: Anyone give you a Smartphone? :lol:

Thanks! I wish. I'm currently the not-so-proud owner of an old Samsung a460 running on Sprint. I was very tempted to go with the MPx200, but decided to skip the 2002 generation and wait for a new 2003 device. At this point I don't even care about the carrier. I'd love the 2003, so I can do .Net development on it. I'd also like Bluetooth, which the MPx200 lacks.

So I come visit this site and patiently wait for some sign of a new Smartphone. Here's a message I wrote to Sprint the other day:

Question:
Will Sprint be releasing any new phones based upon the Microsoft Smartphone 2003 platform? I would be very interested in purchasing a phone based on that platform and using it on the Sprint network.

Here's their non-response:

This is in response to your concern regarding the Smartphones being offered by Sprint.

We are currently offering Smartphones. These are some of the Smartphones offered by Sprint:

- Toshiba 2032
- Samsung i500
- Treo 600
- Treo 300


I love how they completely ignored the specifics of my question. I really don't want a Treo 300!

[Kris Kumar]

Hmm, we have an interesting thread..

Seems like Smartphones are going to (affect or is it effect?) the sales of the book 'Dictionary of Troublesome Words' :-)

[jspear]

It is interesting to note that the IDC report that is the basis of many of these stories notes that it specifically does not include PDA's with cell phone capabilites and all OEM deals.

This suggest that sales of Pocket PC Phone Edition devices are essentially excluded from the sales numbers.

Perhaps people are not abandoning PDA's wholesale, but abandoning stand-alone, disconnected PDA's.