Blackberry is most known for its email capabilities, but has now begun to emulate the style of the Palm Treo. It is manufactured by Research in Motion (RIM) located in Canada. They also provide the email service. It is probably the best device for email purposes. It is also preferred by many large corporations and government for these capabilities.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a communication technology used by computers, mobile phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) using a short-range wireless connection. It aims to simplify synchronization between Internet devices. Bluetooth wireless signals are transmitted over short distances, typically up to 30 feet at less than 1 Mbps.
CAN-SPAM ACT
Email marketing is a great tool for any sales professional. However, before sending an e-blast your your entire contact database, consider the ramifications. This includes complying with the CAN-SPAM ACT, a U.S. regulation. The aim is to cut down on email spam.
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access or CDMA is a type of digital transmission used by mobile phones. The other popular type is GSM.
Contact Management System
Sales professionals store contacts in a Contact Management System. This is simply a database that allows you to create records with contact information. Outlook is a basic contact management system. ACT! and Goldmine offer significantly more functions for follow up and tracking.
GSM
Global System for Mobile communication or GSM is a European standard for mobile communication. The other popular type is CDMA.
Operating System
Every computer utilizes some type of operating system in order to run properly. This is true of personal computers, PDA and even a standard cell phone. PDAs rely on three popular operating systems including the Palm OS, Blackberry OS and Windows Mobile OS.
Opportunity Pipeline
Sales professionals track prospects for sales using an oppotunity pipeline. This can be as simple as using a sheet of paper or bulletin board, but can also be tracked using software.
Palm
Palm One makes Palm PDA devices. Palm has a long history of making successful PDAs. It introduced the first Palm Pilot over ten years ago (1994). The best-seling Palm Treo is both a PDA and smartphone.
Palm Pilot
The Palm Pilot was the first successful PDA. Apple actually introduced the Netwon several years prior, but it was a little ahead of its time. It was a little too big and clunky, but popularized handwriing recognition on a PDA.
PDA
A Personal Digital Assistant or PDA is a productivity tool. It is a contact management tool allowing you to store your calendar, contacts, tasks and memos. Newer smartphone models allow you to send and receive email, send text messages and surf the internet.
Pocket PC
The Pocket PC is a PDA which runs Microsoft's operating system for PDAs. Microsoft has since changed the name of its operating system to Windows Mobile to reflect its close connection to the Windows PC operating system.
Prospect
A prospect in sales terms is a prospective customer. Its someone who has an interest in your product or service.
Smartphone
A smartphone is typically a PDA that has phone functionality. There are smartphone models such as the Symbian which has PDA-like functions but were designed strictly to be a phone.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a wireless communication standard. Using a wireless card, you can connect a PC, laptop or PDA to the internet through a wireless hotspot.
Windows CE
Window CE was Microsoft's first attempt at creating an operating system for PDAs. That OS has now evolved into Windows Mobile.
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is the popular operating system for PDAs from Microsoft. This operating system is used in the HP iPaq and the Dell Axim.
