Talisman Design is attempting to bring back the PDA with the PocketMage, a clamshell PDA that combines a tactile keyboard with e-paper and OLED displays in a pocket-sized device. Personal digital assistants (PDAs), such as the iconic Palm Pilot, were once an integral part of everyday life for many users, offering basic productivity functions in an era before smartphones took over. With the arrival of smartphones, these devices seemed to disappear as new technologies offered more features in a single package.
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However, just as Canon revived a nearly decade-old digital camera to appeal to point-and-shoot enthusiasts, so too is Talisman Design attempting to bring back the PDA with the PocketMage, a clamshell PDA that combines a tactile keyboard with e-paper and OLED displays in a pocket-sized device.
The PocketMage is available for pre-order via Crowd Supply, offering two different options. The first option, priced at $235, comes fully assembled, while the cheaper $185 version requires the user to build it themselves. The assembly process is simple and only requires a screwdriver, no soldering skills required, although patience is required.
Orders placed now are expected to ship no earlier than March 2027, indicating the company's careful approach to the production and distribution of the product.
At the heart of the PocketMage is an ESP32-S3, which has just 2MB of RAM and 16MB of storage, expandable with a microSD card. This hardware choice makes the PocketMage ideal for simple productivity tasks such as managing a calendar, taking notes, and using a dictionary. The device is open source, allowing users and developers to extend its capabilities through custom applications.
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Already available applications include a calculator, ebook reader and web browser, offering a wide range of functions for everyday use.
The PocketMage's main display is a 3.1-inch e-paper display with a resolution of 320x240, which eschews touch functionality in favor of a capacitive touch bar on the side that can be used for scrolling. This approach reduces power consumption and increases the device's autonomy, making it ideal for users who want a device with long battery life. Above the PDA's tiny QWERTY is a smaller 1.8-inch, 256x32px OLED display, used for functions such as menus that require a higher refresh rate than the e-paper offers.
The device also includes a basic piezo speaker, a 1,200mAh battery that lasts about a week of use between charges, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a USB-C port compatible with peripherals like a larger keyboard. These features make PocketMage not only a productivity tool but also a platform for experimenting and developing new applications. For tech enthusiasts and developers, PocketMage even includes a powered expansion port to expand its capabilities with custom hardware.
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The revival of the PDA through PocketMage shows that there is still room for niche devices in the market, especially for users looking for a simpler and more focused user experience. The device offers an alternative to smartphones, focusing on productivity without the distractions that often accompany modern devices. With the support of the open source community, PocketMage has the ability to evolve and adapt to the needs of its users, offering a unique user experience that combines the past with the future of technology.
