One of the first devices to combine mobile phone
technology with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking is the
centrepiece of Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) new line-up of iPaq
PDAs.
The iPaq h6315 was developed in partnership with T-Mobile USA
and allows users to make phone calls over T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS
network. It can switch between those wide-area network technologies
and the Lan connections provided by Wi-Fi chips, and also use
wireless peripherals equipped with Bluetooth technology, said John
Dayan, senior director of HP's handheld and wireless business.
Most analysts feel that the growth opportunities for PDA
suppliers lie in converged devices such as the h6315 that allow
users to run applications and communicate with the outside world on
a single device, instead of forcing users to carry a PDA for
applications and information management in addition to a mobile
phone.
PalmOne's Treo 600 was one of the first of these converged
devices to catch on with a mass market, and the h6315 takes the
capabilities of that device a step further with the ability to
connect to 802.11b wireless networks.
This device is meant for business customers who are constantly
moving between different operating environments, Dayan said. Its
suggested retail price of $599 (£325) is competitive with the Treo
600.
The h6315 comes with Texas Instruments' OMAP1510 applications
processor. It features 64 Mbytes of SDRAM, 64 Mbytes of flash
memory, a 3.5in transflective TFT (thin film transistor) display
and an SDIO (Secure Digital I/O) expansion slot.
HP has also announced four other iPaqs. The hx4700 will be one
of HP's more powerful PDAs, with a 624MHz XScale applications
processor from Intel and a 4in VGA (640 pixels by 480 pixels)
display, said Eric Kilponen, director of product marketing for HP's
handheld product business. The company envisions the $649 hx4700 as
a mobile application development platform, he said.
The h6315 and hx4700 are two of HP's most impressive devices to
date, said Todd Kort, principal analyst with Gartner. "I expect
they'll both do very well, given their price points," he said.
But HP missed out with its three other new PDAs, according to
Kort. The new rz1700 and rx3000 series PDAs are a step backwards
for HP in terms of industrial design, an extremely important factor
among PDA consumers, he said.
The rz1700 is designed to replace the h1900 series of iPaqs,
which is HP's current low-end PDA series, Kilponen said. HP was
unable to provide specifications at the moment, but it will cost
$279, Kilponen said.
The rx3700 is designed as a multimedia handheld that downplays
the information management capabilities that PDAs are generally
known for, Kilponen said. It comes with built-in Wi-Fi technology,
Bluetooth and a 1.2-megapixel camera for $499, he said. HP will
also release the rx3115 later this year, but pricing and
specifications were not available for that unit.
Dell should be able to gain some market share among these
low-end PDAs with its new Axim X30 PDA, Kort said. Dell is not
known for industrial design, but its PDAs are very similar to the
new HP models and cost significantly less, he said.
"[HP was] a step ahead of Dell, now they are similar with a
generic design. Therefore it will be easier for people to look at
the Dell and HP specifications and say Dell is giving them a better
deal," Kort said.
The h6315 will be available exclusively through T-Mobile in late
August. The other three new models will become available during the
third quarter, HP said.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News Service