What Handhelds Does HP Have Up Its Sleeve?

In the second half of 2003, HP released no less than seven new iPAQ models. It even put out more handhelds than Sony during that time period. However, with one exception, rumors have been curiously silent about the company's upcoming plans. Today, Brighthand is giving you an opportunity to sound off on what direction you think future iPAQs will take.

The models HP released in the second half of last year were some of the best iPAQs ever. For example, the h4155 (pictured at left) offered both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in a form factor barely larger than the original h1910, which had neither of these.

The company's aggressive schedule of releases and high-quality models made it the top seller of handhelds in Europe, beating out palmOne. While it's still in second place in worldwide sales, during the fourth quarter of 2003, HP more than doubled the number of handhelds it had shipped during the same quarter of the previous year.

Though HP is on a roll right now, it has to come up with new models to maintain its momentum. However, there has been surprisingly little advance information available about these, with the exception of the cellular-wireless iPAQ h6300.

I've already expressed my opinions on the features we'll see in upcoming iPAQs. I'm definitely expecting at least one model with a VGA screen, especially after Microsoft adds VGA landscape and portrait support to Windows Mobile 2004. I'm also hoping for a model with a built-in microdrive, allowing it to store gigabytes of information.

But now I want your opinions. Do you agree with my predictions? What other features do you think HP should include in upcoming models? Will we see a clamshell iPAQ?

And when do you think new iPAQs will start appearing? Both Windows Mobile 2004 and faster XScale processors are expected late this spring or early summer. Will HP wait until then to refresh its iPAQ line? Or do you think new models will be out sooner?

Sound off in our forums.

Related Links

• RumorMill™: Faster XScale Processors Coming this May
• RumorMill™: Is this the iPAQ h6300?