New York, Oct 28: The merger of Palm Inc. and Handspring Inc., a deal set to close on Tuesday, may mark the cruelest of crossroads for the once bubbling handheld computer market, analysts said on Monday. The truth is, the PDA as it was first envisioned -- as nothing more than a fancy digital pocket organiser -- may be nearly extinct, they added.

"The unconnected PDA, the market potential for that is completely dying," said Alex Slawsby, an analyst at research firm IDC. "Next year might be the last we see a product introduced above $100 with no wireless communications technologies built in."
Three years ago, consumers rushed to buy personal digital assistants, or PDAs, the pocket-sized gadgets which can store thousands of appointments, phone numbers and memos.

The inventions were the favorite toys of Corporate America, where executives tapping out the Palm graffiti script into pricey PDA screens would draw envious glances in elevators. Bureau Report