Tech: The Death of the PDA

If you recall, the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) used to be all the rage. On-the-go businessmen and students bought stuff like PalmPilots by the truckload back in the '90s. But take a peek in any big box electronics store, and you'll see that the traditional PDA has pretty much died off. Palm's most recent standalone PDA, for instance, is the TX - released way back in 2005. On a recent trip to Best Buy, it was relegated to a small corner in the back of the store.

In its place, people carry various smartphones, including the popular BlackBerry line of devices. But I've never been enamored of the high cost of these suckers - you either shell out a lot of money up front (often nearly enough to pay for a decent laptop), or you're stuck with a two-year plan that'll end up costing an arm and a leg. And even the best smartphone will be bulkier and more cumbersome than a dedicated cell phone.

I've been thinking a lot about getting something like a PDA, since my currrent laptop is a 15" 7-pounder that is a burden to lug around. In my dreams, someone would release a device with the following features:

- Backlit touch screen with handwriting recognition system
- Support for creation and editing of MS Office formats (.doc, .xls, etc.)
- Wifi and BlueTooth
- Small enough to fit in a large pants pocket

Any suggestions?