Gadgets and Gizmos

HP practically invented the Pocket PC, and although this is its first stab at a PDA/phone, you know that support is going to be second to none. With a quad-band antenna, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and infrared, it’s as well connected as the Xda IIs. Three dedicated LEDs show the status of each connection, and bundled software makes phone and data set-up a cinch. Nice touches such as large volume keys along the side are a welcome addition.

It looks like a box with a stick-on antenna. The keyboard is a useless clip-on affair that makes the device even uglier than before and should be left in its bubble wrap. There’s no camera and performance is sluggish, with a seriously underpowered processor - though this does help to push the battery life up. A decent enough package, and reasonable value SIM-free, but it feels like a rushed effort and falls well behind the Xda in terms of both design and performance.