These are my own thoughts in conjunction with what I have been reading regarding HP, as well as what I have been learning about the models from various handheld enthuaist sights ... I know I just mispelled enthuiast (did I do it again?) ... forgive my spelling, it was never stressed in the 90s liberal schools of my youth (I'm in college now) I'm posting this here (and on other boards) for two reasons: 1. for those who have very little knowledge of the upcoming product cycle that HP will introduce in the fall and winter, I offer information. 2. more selfishly, I hope that the experts (of which I do not count myself one) out here on this board can offer comments as to what I have forgot to include in my summary, what has been either proven to be patently false or true that I do not claim to be such, any new developments, etc... In short, I'm hoping my summary of what I know and have heard will lead to my accquiring other information through your comments. So write away. Thanks in advance ... except if you bitch at something I said .... then you don't get my thanks, only my weeping and sadness.
I'm out.
RND
- 128MB built in RAM, 64MB built in ROM, with a future in-house (i.e. authorized and done by HP, not an independent 3rd party) upgrade to 256MB.
- Integrated 802.11b
- POSSIBLY integrated bluetooth (I don't want it, as it will add to the cost and I have never had a desire to use Bluetooth. That being said, I'll probably end up jumping into the purchasing cycle again if I pick up a bluetooth "enabled" unit).
- Processor Range Rumors run from a "measly" (I only kid) 400MHz to 800MHz; all running on a high-end Intel X-Scale chip (PXA250)
- Very strong rumors that there will be a seperate, dedicated multimedia processor.
- Suggestions that device will drop CE 3.0 w./ Pocket PC 2002 and go to Smartphone PC 2002 (even though it won't be a smartphone) or CE.Net (hopefully)
- Biometric security feature in the form of a thumbprint scanner
- SD (Smart Digital) Slot [1GB card next year baby!]
- Very strong rumors that the CF slot will be retained
- Strong built-in software lineup, including a range and feature augmented UNIVERSAL (Take note Sony) Remote Control
- Some indications that, IF the expansion sleeve is supported (equal rumor for its existence and dismissal) that few if any new expansion packs will be released. Thus, the 5xxx line will either be the unit that finally severs the iPAQ-Expansion Sleeve relationship or strongly weans iPAQ users off that relationship, in which case the intermediary releases of the 5xxx lines occuring in the summer and fall of 03' or the next completely new generation being released sometime between spring 04' and winter 04' will be sleeveless (funny!)
- There has been a variety of rumors concerning the model line offerings. The spread of the model line rumors has gone so far as to state on the on extreme that there will be a single unit for the season, the 5400, and, on the other end, that there will be 6 different units (truly different, not just memory configuration) by the summer of 03'. My best evaluation right now: it looks like we will be treated to two general model lines releases, with the high-end line surely coming before Christmas 02', and the low-end line being released sometime between October 02' and March 03' (there has been less focus on this upcoming product line then there has been on the 5xxx line, accounting for the weaker information coming out). Within the low-end line, I think you may see some features added to future releases in the spring of 03', but, in general, there will be little differentiation across the board. Do not expect to see 4 or 5 or 6 2xxx series iPaqs. I actually think users will, at least until spring, be lucky to get the standard iPAQ split of 32MB ROM/ 32MB RAM and 64MB ROM /32MB RAM.
- The 5xxx line seems a bit more diverse. It looks like either simaltaneously or near simaltaneously we will see a ?5400? and a ?5450? coming out with all the same features, exception for 1 critical difference: the 5400 will likely sport 64MB RAM/48MB ROM and the 5450 will likely sport 128MB RAM/64MB ROM. As I said earlier, this will be able to be upgraded sometime next year (not for a while, probably late summer, early fall) to 256MB. I have my doubts as to whether this upgrade capability will be offered with the lesser of the two models, as I believe the engineers over at HP will have had to have made coding mods to the underlying structure of the CE.NET or Smartphone PC2002 to get support for the 128MB/256MB upgrade.
- There will probably be additions to the high-end line, but not before March at the earliest. Expect to see things that designers wanted to toss into the initial release batch of models, but couldn't because of the mean old men in accounting (specifically GPS, Radio, and Integration into the high speed Sprint Network ... though not all features will be in the same model, especially that last one).
- Now, some rumors which, while I hope are true, have serious doubts about.
1. The implementation of a new, transreflective screen; also, in conjunction with that, the implementation of 640x480 VGA display.
I would love to see the new screen, and I think it has at least a chance of making it to market, if not in the 5400/5450, then certainly in there future cousins, ?5800/5850?. That being said: don't hold your breath. New screens are expensive, and, with the way the iPAQ are ALWAYS priced, I could see the potential for HP to "have" (i.e. be forced by greed) to push the 5450 and later the 5850 into the near $1000 price layer in order to maintain the profit margins which they have self-enforced on each of the newest iPAQ lines. I don't think the marketing analysis people will let this occur. They would rather drop some features and implement them into the 2004 model line then reach that psychological danger point of $1000 in the mind of the consumer. Even I, a huge iPAQ fan, must say that I would have trouble justifying a $1000 purchase on a handheld. We are talking the land of budget laptops and decent desktops folks. Now, imagine the average (albeit relatively monied) first-time potential iPAQ buyer: Hmmmm .... desktop, monitor, printer, or 6 inch electronic box. (Don't bash me, look at it from the viewpoint of a non "hardcore" or "edge" technology user)
2. For all those reasons and more (integration into CE.NET, product support at a time when HP is laying people off left and right, necessity to establish out-of-house contracts) I don't expect to see the VGA display. 320x320? Maybe. I think the first REASONABLE time period for a 640x480 display in an iPAQ would be at the tail-end of the 5xxx line's lifetime in the winter of 03' or spring of 04'. Prices will have gone down, other manufacturers within the core handheld segments will be considering similar launches, etc... And, to be honest, with the dawning reality of the ?6xxx? series in a matter of months by that point .... Well, you see what I'm getting at. Its probably not going to find its way into Joe iPAQ's home for quite some time. Our loss, although our pocketbooks will be much happier.
- Speaking of cost: Although it scares me to contemplate it, I have a BAD feeling that we will see the line debuting at 700-900, with rebates and post-holiday shopping bringing those prices down to a more real 600-800. Yes, I know that some websites have a rumored price point set at $650. My thoughts: that's for a bare bones 5400 in March of 2003 with a rebate or some luck on amazon.com. If you think about it logically, it makes sense. With the launch of the 2xxx models, HP will certainly feel it has covered the "low" (relatively speaking) end of the market, in direct competition with at least one of Dell's two upcoming PocketPCs. Now, looking at the middle of the product line, you may feel compelled to proclaim "But what about me, the moderate spender? Where do I go from here" Marketing 101: the mitigation of a previous price point convergence into a price scale dichotomy will send the less-financially able to the upper end of the poorman's market. In essence, HP will be expecting the middle-of-the-road user to either sit on his hands and wait for those summer 03'/fall 03' price cuts (just as those other 5xxx models are being released) or become a big fish in a small pond by going to whatever is the high-end model of the 2xxx series -- a purchase that will probably be justified by the end-user through the form of purchasning expansion room (SD card, CF card, cases, etc...) Then, HP will gouge where it knows it can get away with it: If the desperate techies, the wealthy, the business account men and women, and the generally financially prosperous were willing to drop between $650 and $800 this year, what's to say that they won't drop $900 for a Christmas reward.