HP to make a smartphone?

[Guest mr_end]

It looks like HP plan to do smart phones as PDA market plateaus.

At its far-reaching mobility event this week, HP revealed its intention to bring to market at least one smart phone this year.

Details were sketchy. The computing giant - which has been at the forefront of PDA sales for some time - wouldn't confirm any such device will be based on the most likely software platform, Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system. Microsoft has been a key HP partner in PDAs, PCs and servers for years.

Nor was there any word on branding and manufacturing of any device.

"It will carry the HP brand," said Ted Clark, senior VP and GM for mobile computing within HP's Imaging and Personal Systems division. "But we are not saying there will be no co-brand."

Source and Read More Here:- Silicon

[Guest pearlous]

Here's a link to a forbes article on the HP Smartphone. Not much more information....

http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/wir...yahoo&referrer=

[Guest benjymous]

Isn't it likely to just be a rebranded HTC phone (i.e. yet another Typhoon), as HP and HTC already have a strong relationship? (what with the iPaqs being made by HTC)

[Guest kyrkesmith]

I think Compaq made more effort when it came to the PDA market, and hence iPaqs were superior to Jordanas, and were the brand that got kept post-merger. I've now got a HP iPaq (rx3715), and it's still a good machine.

When the first Smartphones came out, I think people looked for HP/Compaq to release one, and it was felt that that was what was needed to make Smarphone take off. Now, I'd suggest that maybe it's one of the major handset manufactures (Nokia, Motorola etc.) that needs to fully embrace Windows Mobile for takeup to move to a new level.