Sites about "handheld" computers, those small enough to be held in one hand, and used with the other, like calculators, but still flexible enough to run many different kinds of applications, like personal computers. Technically, handhelds come in two different kinds:
- "Palmtop" computers, like the original Psion, or IBM PC110 include a small built in keyboard.
- "PDAs", "Personal Digital Assistants", such as the original Apple Newton, or the Palm or Palm Pilot or most Windows CE machines, do not, and usually are used with a pen device writing or pointing on the screen. The name comes from the fact that most of these computers are used to organize personal information, short notes, addresses, etcetera.
However many people, even some supposedly knowledgeable industry sources, do not follow this distinction, and use the terms "Palmtop" or "PDA" interchangeably, to cover all handheld computers. In the ODP, to compromise, we use the correct name, "Handheld", for the category, but list both Palmtops and PDAs under it.