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Remember that scene in the 1996 hit movie "Jerry Maguire," where, at his bachelor party, the title character (Tom Cruise), watches a video of his fiancé (Kelly Preston) torching his "little black book"?

Fast forward eight years: In the soon-to-be-released movie "Little Black Book," lead character Stacy Holt (Brittany Murphy) --frustrated by her boyfriend's, refusal to discuss his past relationships-- delves into his "little black book" for answers. Only this time the book is a palmOne Tungsten C handheld.

Jerry Maguire's flammable, paper and ink black book, has been replaced by one made of plastic, metal, and glass, filled with bits and bytes.

In fact, this up-to-date black book, with its 64 MB of RAM and 400MHz processor, is nearly as powerful as the computer Jerry Maguire would have had on his desktop in 1996. Not only does it hold addresses and phone numbers, it can also play movies and music, wirelessly access the Web, securely send and receive e-mail, tell time, and perform hundreds of other functions. The handheld is indeed more powerful than the book--at least a little black one.

Like the 1998 movie "You've Got Mail," which focused on the role of e-mail in the development of a relationship between boy and girl (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan), "Little Black Book" heralds the arrival of a technology into the mainstream.

People who have never used a handheld before want to get in on the action to find out what all the fuss is about. That is why some of the hottest selling PDA models over the last couple of years, such as palmOne's original $99 Zire and Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ h1900 series, are entry-level products. (see Sidebar: The Price is Right).

The producers of "Little Black Book" are banking on the Tungsten C to lure patrons to the theatres. Why even the movie poster (see top image) shows the lead character picking her boyfriend's handheld out of his pocket.

Peruse the film's website and you'll find a variety of palmOne handhelds heavily featured. Product placements in films are often used to defray costs, helping studio's earn back the huge budgets most major motion pictures engender. For the first time I'm aware of, a PDA is being used in a film's advertising, as a product placement and as a co-star. In this case, playing the role of the gossipy friend.

So will the Tungsten C drive throngs of PDA buffs to the theatres? Will these people make a difference to the film's bottom line? Who knows. One thing is certain though, palmOne is in an enviable position. HP's iPAQs may have made it into space (see iPAQs Soar into Space). The Tungsten C has made it into the movies.