HP’s new iPAQ - the rx4000

The latest Windows Mobile Pocket PC from HP - not the standard Business man’s companion looking device we expect from the iPAQ range, but what lurks beneath the Sony Ericsson-esque physique? Bear in mind that this is a “pre-announcement”, so the specs are not definitive. As expected it’s based on Windows Mobile 5.0 OS, and boasts Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and is VoIP enabled (although separate software is required). You can view your programs on the 2.8″ touchscreen in either portrait or landscape mode so you can watch videos, look at photos and play games, orientating the screen to “maximise your viewing pleasure”.

With the press image above, and the title of “Mobile Media Companion” you’d think that entertainment was high on the list of features, but I had to go looking to discover that the media applications were (duh duh duuhhhhh) Windows Media player. Apparently the menus and quick launch keys etc will all be entertainment orientated, and according to my Google Translation of the Chinese web page it will have a 400Mhz processor which would make it a whole lot more interesting.

Storage capacity is less clear, with references ranging from 64MB RAM and 128MB ROM right up to 1GB ROM. There are most likely to be several versions of the product, let’s just hope that the UK version is 1GB. It won’t have phone capabilities so we can expect it to lie at the lower end of the market with a reported RRP of $299, but then again it does have full Office applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

I’m currently harrassing everyone I can to get a fuller description and a UK price point - and as always, I’ll tell you about it here first. Until then, if you find out anymore about it, post and let me know.