Report: HP to market new smart phone to consumers

Leslie Katz | Oct 06, 2008

Aiming to push its hardware beyond the corporate world, Hewlett-Packard will release a new version of its iPaq smart phone that will also be marketed to consumers, The Wall Street Journal reports.

We don't have many details yet (iPaq App Store?), but the latest iPaq apparently will sport a touch-screen and keypad and will run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, according to sources cited by the WSJ. The phone will likely hit Europe by the end of this year, with a broader release to follow.

Though definitely better known for its laptops and desktop PCs, HP isn't new to smart phones. The company has released several models in the past, including the HP iPaq hw6945 Mobile Messenger and the HP iPaq 510 Voice Messenger (the first Windows Mobile 6 smart phone). Both were geared mainly toward businesses, and both garnered their share of favorable reviews from users.

The most recent iPaq, the HP iPaq 910c Business Messenger, launched this summer. CNET reviewed the phone and found it to be a well-stocked, messaging-centric smartphone for mobile professionals, but said it faces stiff competition from the likes of HTC, Samsung, and Motorola.

Fellow PC maker Dell, meanwhile, has been hinting of its own plans to enter the smart phone realm. And up-and-coming PC maker Acer of Taiwan said earlier this year that it has a smart phone on deck for the end of this year or early 2009.

Via CNET Crave | Pictured is the HP iPaq 912 Business Messenger

Filed under: Handhelds, Mobile Phones
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