Procare Blog

The ProCare Pocket Attendance Tracker has fit a special niche in the ProCare product line since its debut more than four years ago. However, due to the changing direction of technology, Pocket Attendance will no longer be available. Instead, our development team is taking a fresh look at integrating portable devices with ProCare. This evolution will allow for a more feature rich device that will be more flexible and compatible with new technologies.

There are several reasons for this change in direction:

1. A Changing Market

The first reason for this change is driven by the market for hand held PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). These separate, hand held devices are being replaced by Smartphones that combine many functions of PDAs right into your cellular phone. Also small, portable computers known as UMPCs (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers) are gaining popularity further reducing the demand for traditional PDAs.

2. PDA Compatibility

The emergence of Microsoft Vista changed the playing field making PDA compatibility an issue.

Background: The technology that let your handheld sync with your computer (known as Microsoft ActiveSync) was designed to work on Windows XP and earlier operating systems. Unfortunately, Microsoft chose to supersede ActiveSync with a new product in Vista. The new product (Windows Mobile Device Center) is not backwards compatible with ActiveSync programs. It also supports a limited number of handhelds making most older handhelds incompatible with Vista. The bottom line – it became increasingly difficult for Pocket Attendance users to get a device that would actually meet their needs.

3. Wireless Technologies

Wireless has come a long way since Pocket Attendance was first introduced. With wireless devices, changes can be recorded instantly, rather than having to place your traditional PDA in a cradle in order to sync it with your computer.

Future of Portable Attendance

The future for some sort of portable attendance device is bright. At present, however, the way in which the market will play out and the type of device that might replace the PDA / Pocket Attendance configuration is still under consideration. As the process evolves more articles will be posted to keep you up to date.

Support for Pocket Attendance Continues

Of course, we will continue to support customers who currently run Pocket Attendance Tracker on their existing handheld devices. Just keep in mind you’ll need to use it with a Windows XP computer and a traditional PDA.

Until next time, cheers!

-Phil

References: Death knell for the PDA, PDA Market in Decline, Smartphones Outsell PDAs

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me at note at phil@procaresoftware.com.