bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

After four generations, Hewlett-Packard has finally put together an iPAQ ideal for corporate use and packed with enough features to justify the HK$5,380 price tag.

The HP iPaq 5450 is the first handheld we have seen with both wireless local area network (WLAN) and Bluetooth connectivity, although we have reviewed Toshiba's Pocket PC e740, which comes with built-in WLAN connectivity. The Taiwanese company Mitac also manufactured a Windows CE personal digital assistant with WLAN connectivity in small volumes in 2000, for the manufacturing and garment industry.

The 802.11b standard, which is becoming better known as Wi-Fi, is quickly becoming a standard feature in laptops and handheld computers. It allows executives on the move the convenience of finding a hot spot, such as in any Pacific Coffee outlet in Hong Kong, to download and reply to their e-mails.

Wi-Fi hot spots can be found in most cities in the world now, so travelling executives should have no problems finding a Wi-Fi connection.

Bluetooth lets the iPAQ 5450 connect to enterprise resources via Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.

With both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the only wireless feature lacking in the iPAQ is GSM/GPRS.

But what really has pocket PC chatrooms abuzz are the new iPAQ's mobile-phone features. It has an antenna, a speaker and an SIM card slot behind the removable battery.

But Eva Hui, marketing manager of emerging products at HP Hong Kong's personal systems group, said: 'These are not working cellphone features. The antenna is for WLAN, the speaker is for voiceover IP and the non-functioning SIM card slot is just a mock up.

'It was a research and development decision planned for the next model to integrate GSM/GPRS. But we are unsure at this point if we will be rolling out such a product.'

Ms Hui said HP would introduce a tri-band all-in-one iPAQ with GSM/GPRS later this year. She would not say when it will be launched or whether it will have Bluetooth and WLAN features.

HP has already introduced an all-in-one device called the Jornada 928 in two markets - Britain and Singapore.

'Basically, the Jornada 928 is a pre-merger product and will be the last of the Jornada line,' said Ms Hui. 'All handhelds from HP are now iPAQs.'

She said the company had decided to launch the Jornada 928 in just two markets to test consumer and corporate response to an all-in-one device.

While the 5450's wireless features are getting most of the spotlight, in my opinion the main highlight is the built-in fingerprint security scanner.

The scanner is a small bar just beneath the iPAQ's navigation button over which the user swipes his finger to be identified. Software from third-party developer Cogent locks the device until a valid fingerprint, or optional four-digit PIN, has been entered.

Data in the device will be erased after 10 failed log-in attempts.

'The biometric feature is the most persuasive benefit,' said a senior IT manager from a local bank. 'It makes it a very appealing buy to corporations. People are constantly losing their PDAs, with critical information stored in them.'

In tests, we could easily connect to Wi-Fi hot spots, browse the Internet and check e-mail. The IPAQ can store a number of WLAN configuration profiles, letting the user roam between different wireless networks.

It also supports voiceover IP when connected to a WLAN. An optional headset allows the user to make calls. We were not able to test this feature because we did not have the headset and it did not work with standard headsets from Nokia or Ericsson.

The iPAQ 5450 is the same size and shape as previous models and can accept the same expansion jackets, including the GSM/GPRS tri-band Wireless Pack.

It has a transflective 64,000-colour display, and the removable battery pack is a good idea as using the wireless features sucks up a lot of juice. With frequent WLAN access, we were able to get about five hours' use on one charge.

The iPAQ has the latest 400-megahertz Intel XScale chip with 64 megabytes of memory and a Secure Digital card slot for more storage.

Palm-based devices have a lot of catching up to do if they want to crack the corporate market, but companies that have held back because of security concerns now have a reason in the iPAQ 5450 to deploy mobile solutions.

True, it does not solve all wireless security concerns but safeguarding data on the device provides considerable peace of mind.

Got a gadget idea? Drop Carolyn a line at carolyn@scmp.com



HP takes connectivity to new high with iPAQ 5450