Danger Quietly Shows Off Third Generation Hiptop Communicator

At the 3GSM conference in France, Danger is said to be demonstrating their latest Hiptop PDA/cell phone in small, private showings. It appears this latest version is much more phone than the prior two, which is certainly good news. It seems Danger is listening to the complaints, at least partially.

Indications thus far are that Danger is moving away from a PDA that is a phone to a phone that offers some PDA functionality. This is probably a smart move, as the first two versions made for mediocre PDAs with poor mobile phone abilities. A proprietary operating system that doesn't play nice with Outlook has been the kiss of death for many in their potential market.

While Danger is trying hard to protect the new Hiptop by not allowing any pictures, The Register has posted their recollection of what it looks like:

The design will still reflect the swivel model that is currently available, but the color screen has received an upgrade, potentially putting it in line with other PDAs and high end cell phones. Danger has also added a VGA camera, at the request of mobile service carriers. The new unit should be much more slim, lending itself to improved pocketability.

Danger has not announced pricing or specific release dates other than later this year. Perhaps more information will be released at the CTIA or CeBit shows in March.