HP phases out iPaq hx4700 from AP

After nearly 1.5 years, HP's flagship PDA, the iPaq hx4700, is calling it a day. Much like its digicam counterpart’s departure from the Asia-Pacific markets, the company has announced that it will be phasing out the handheld in the region before the end of Q1, 2006.

Reprieve has been given for owners in Singapore, however. HP Singapore has assured that it will continue to support the hx4700, including the release of Windows Mobile 5.0 upgrade kits in Asian languages (Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese) within the next few months. It also confirmed that while the company is constantly monitoring market trends and consumer demands for PDA-phones, HP will continue to introduce dedicated handhelds (those without cellular functions) such as the rx1950.

Motorola adds color to PEBL

It started with the RAZR V3. Then the V3i and V3x. And now the PEBL. It seems Motorola is giving its designer handsets color makeovers, with the latest being the elegant PEBL clamshell which will soon come in palette offerings of green, pink, blue and orange.

Jim Wicks, Motorola's vice president and director of Consumer Experience Design, believes the new shades offered for the PEBL allow consumers to "directly mix and match their mobile phone style". According to the specifications given, the features for the new color PEBLs will remain the same as the original PEBL in black. Expect the multihued handsets in Asia by Q2 of 2006.

Two more BenQ-Siemens phones to head this way

Was it only January that we reported a slew of BenQ-Siemens phones heading our way?

Now two more have just been announced for the Asia market which CNET Asia had spotted at 3GSM World Congress in Spain last month (BenQ-Siemens makes HSPDA debut).

Beefing up the company's lineup will be the slim 3G-enabled S81 and MP3 player-like EF51. One gripe perhaps is the 1.3-megapixel camera that both handsets carry, in light of new range of phones now touting 3.2-megaxpixel sensors.

Otherwise, the S81 hops onboard the bandwagon of slim-built 3G phones now emerging, while the FM- and MP3-friendly EF51 comes with a flip lid which, when closed, features play, pause, fast forward and backward keys. Also underlining its music function are support features such as 3D surround sound, a six-band equalizer, Display Lyrics, and a voice-operated music selection that lets users speak the name of the song to activate it.

Both are slated to arrive in May, with the S81 available in black and silver, and the EF51 offering a choice of black or white.

Nokia unsheathes pen-based smart phone

Just when HP revealed that the traditional pen-based PDA market would evaporate (at 30 percent year-on-year) within the next four years without significant product innovation, along comes Nokia with its 6708. Wielding a stylus proudly, the handset's emergence is to meet what the Finnish company sees as a "growing demand for pen-based touch-screen smart phones with handwriting recognition capabilities".

Harking back to its first GSM phone with handwriting input, the Nokia 6108, the 6708 targets at Chinese users. Which may explain why it's the first handset in the company's staple to sport the UIQ platform, rather than Series 60, 80 or 90, since UIQ supports pen-based input which is rather important for Chinese users.

As befits a smart phone, there're advanced voice features, QuickOffice applications, XHTML/HTML browser, music player, video recorder, speakerphone, and PIM, with sufficient memory in the form of 18MB of SD-RAM and 30MB of flash built-in and SD/miniSD card support.

However, it's disappointing to find only a 1.3-megapixel camera onboard even if it does come with antishake and multishot, as well as a 65k-color screen. What's more, this Nokia is no petite performer. It's almost brick-like with a hefty 150g carry weight. No official word as yet on which Symbian version it's running on, though some sites are putting it as the older v7.0.

The triband 6708 is slated for rollout in Q2 in selected Asia-Pac markets. No local pricing was given.

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