Rival ilaunches one in the i for HP

This week's iPod and iPhone announcements overshadowed the refresh of a far older product range with the same distinctive small-i prefix – and one that over the years has probably outsold the Apple devices.

HP launched five new iPaqs in New York on the same day as the Apple launch, but without the help of that company's celebrity salesman Steve Jobs they failed to get the same blanket coverage in the newspapers and on TV.

Neil Dagger, UK business manager of HP's iPaq and wireless-devices personal-systems group, said: "HP planned this launch long before we knew of the Apple event."

The new top-of-the-range £339 (ex Vat)iPaq 910 has a Blackberry-style keyboard, a 2.5in screen, and a quad-band 3G phone in addition to the usual organiser functions. It also offers satnav using Google maps, with cellular location where the GPS signal is weak.

The iPaq 614 offers similar features at the same price, but has a phone-style keyboard and 2.8in rectangular display. There is a 3 megapixel camera option on both models.

The £212 ex Vat iPaq 314, called the Travel Companion, is a straight satnav device, with a 4.8in screen, that comes with maps of Western Europe.

The HP iPaq 214, described as an enterprise handheld, is a more traditional Windows Mobile 6.0 PDA, lacking cellular links and GPS but supporting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It has a 4in screen. Prices start at £212 ex Vat.

Finally, the entry-level iPaq 114 (£170 ex Vat) has similar features to the 214 but has a 3.5in screen. See here for full details of these products,

HP also launch a range of energy-efficient business desktop PCs, including the ultra-slim dc7800 measuring 2.6in by 9.9in by 10in.

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