Email and Web browsing

• At its most basic, users expect that a PDA or smartphone will be able to handle email and navigate the Internet. How well and how seamlessly a PDA phone manages these two tasks can go a long way towards separating a true PDA phone from a lower end handset that is simply "handy" but not able to match the functionality of a smartphone.
  
  

The Operating System

• A PDA phone's operating system, or OS, is the engine that drives the smartphone and decides how many and what type of applications the phone can handle. In a manner of speaking, a strong operating system is what makes a smartphone "smart."
  
  

Handling Data

• A PDA phone with a true smartphone operating system is able to make wireless data connections in order to transmit information. A true smartphone can receive and send this data over the Internet.
  
  

Real PDA phones Love the Web.

• A PDA phone will have a strong web browser that is able to manage data from websites in a smooth manner, offering a web-surfing experience not unlike that of being home on a desk top computer.
  
  

Working With Contact Lists

• The available size and functionality of a PDA phone's contact list also separates it from regular phones. PDA phones will hold a vast number of contacts, but will also be able to use those contacts in different applications, such as email and text messaging.
  
  

Adding Third-Party Applications

• Third-party developers--companies other than the one that originally built and programmed the PDA phone--spend time writing software applications to let a PDA phone do things such as creating and reading spreadsheets or tracking and calculating mileage for business reimbursement.
  
  

PDA phones as Media Players

• Beyond handling business applications and contacts, PDA smartphones also manage music, pictures and video with a level of ease beyond that of regular phones.