Hewlett-Packard's latest handheld, the iPaq Pocket PC h2210, was unveiled last month at around the same time as the new Sony Clie made its Hong Kong debut.
Once again, the debate on which operating system and handheld hardware platform is better - Windows-powered iPaq or Palm-based Clie - erupted among the personal digital assistant enthusiasts in the territory.
Adding fuel to the debate is the transformation of the once bulky iPaq into a small and sleek handheld, much like the present crop of PDAs running Palm software. It is less boxy and more curved, with a rubber cast on its sides.
It also features dual-slot expansion for Compact Flash and Secure Digital memory cards. The dual-slot expansion allows users to store more data and play more music, and provides the flexibility to extend the capability of the iPaq with features such as a camera or wireless LAN card.
The mobile printing software included with the new iPaq enables use of the handheld's integrated Bluetooth technology for short-range wireless connections. This means that iPaq users can send documents, e-mail attachments or photos to an HP Bluetooth-enabled printer.
By running the new Windows Mobile 2003 operating system, the iPaq Pocket PC h2210 lets users play back home movies created with Windows Movie Maker 2 software or digital photo albums made with the Plus! Photo Story program.
Also included in the iPaq is the Nevo universal remote control software, which allows users to control all their audio and video equipment with a single device. The HP handheld includes 64 megabytes of random access memory and the 400-megahertz X-Scale PXA255 applications processor from Intel.