An electronic organizer (or electric organizer) is a small calculator-sized computer, often with an built-in diary application and other functions such as an address book and calendar, replacing paper-based personal organizers. Typically, it has a small alphanumeric keypad and an LCD screen of one, two, or three lines.
They were very popular especially with businessmen during the 1990s, but because of the advent of palmtop PCs in the 1990s, personal digital assistants in the 2000s, and smartphones in the 2010s, all of which have a larger set of features, electronic organizers are mostly seen today for research purposes. One of the leading research topics being the study of how electronics can help people with mental disabilities use this type of equipment to aid their daily life. Electronic organizers have more recently been used to support people with Alzheimer's disease to have a visual representation of a schedule.
The electronic diary or organizer was first patented by Indian businessman Satyanarayan Pitroda in 1975.
Casio digital diaries were produced by Casio in the early and mid 1990s, but have since been entirely superseded by mobile phones and PDAs.
While Casio was a major role player in the field of electronic organizers there were many different ideas, patent requests, and manufacturers of electronic organizers. Rolodex, widely known for their index card holders in the 1980s, Sharp Electronics, mostly known for their printers and audio visual equipment, and lastly Royal electronics were all large contributors to the electronic organizer in its heyday.