Census handheld computers finally work

The Census Bureau had initially scrapped all plans to use expensive handheld computers for the 2010 decennial census because the devices experienced transmission problems and froze during tests. But those plans have changed. In fact, handheld computers were used in the first phase of the census--verifying every address in the United States--and performed well.

James Christy, director of the bureau's Los Angeles regional office, said the computers enabled workers to verify addresses quickly and
accurately Christy said. The devices also allowed managers to monitor workers' productivity in near real time, and that information, in turn, allowed them to make more effective decisions on how to deploy workers.

Nonetheless, officials do not plan to reverse their decision to scrap plans to use the devices for the critical follow-up visits to people who do not return census questionnaires via mail.

For more on the census:
- see this Federal Computer Week article