If the merger of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq goes ahead, there is likely to be consolidation of their handheld products because of the similarity of Compaq's iPaqs and HP's Jornadas, which both run Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system. However, lifecycles for handhelds are much shorter than for other systems, and several new products are likely for both lines before they finally merge. And the choice for IT buyers is likely to grow further as more manufacturers release products.
Compaq and HP's separate ranges are expected to continue for the short term, said Ken Dulaney, vice president of mobile computing and storage at analyst firm Gartner Group. He added that users upgrade their PDAs far more often than PCs or servers. 'I think HP and Compaq will stick with both product lines for a while,' he said. 'You're looking at the fourth quarter of next year for any merged products.'
On the notebook side, analysts expect HP's products to succeed Compaq's. But in handhelds, it is still not clear which will prevail. Fran Rabuck, practice leader for mobile computing at Alliance Consulting in Philadelphia, said, 'Until now, for handhelds, the HP units have been weak and the iPaqs stronger. In that market, it looks like [Jornada] is going to end up being eliminated.'
However, HP's forthcoming Jornada handhelds using the Pocket PC 2002 operating system may give its range the advantage. Dulaney said, 'Last year, Compaq definitely had a plus. But with its Jornada [update], HP has done a good job. It's a great product, and it will stand on its own.'
New to Pocket PC 2002 are instant messaging and support for the 802.11 wireless LAN protocol. A Terminal Services Client and virtual private networking (VPN) technology are also included for the first time. Other applications include Pocket Outlook, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and Windows Media Player 8 for Pocket PC.
HP unveiled its Jornada 565 with 32MB of RAM and Jornada 568 with 64MB at the DemoMobile wireless technology conference in California earlier this month. Both handhelds have a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, CompactFlash expansion slot, a16bit TFT colour screen and a 206MHz Intel StrongArm processor.
Experts who have seen the new Jornadas say the screen quality is not quite as good as current Compaq iPaqs, but the Jornada's long battery life and expansion slot may make it more appealing to many firms.
Compaq has yet to announce plans for new handhelds, but it is expected to do so on or soon after the official launch of Pocket PC 2002 next month. Current iPaqs can be upgraded for use with the operating system, and this will be free for customers who bought after 6 September.
For Pocket PC systems, HP and Compaq are the top sellers. But Symbol Systems and Toshiba are already preparing handhelds based on Pocket PC 2002.
While the merger might lead to less choice in desktop PCs, analysts do not expect this to be the case with handhelds. 'There could be over 20 licensees of Pocket PC by the end of the year,' Dulaney said.
