Product Reviews

Since the launch of Microsoft's latest dinky computer operating system, Pocket PC 2002, a flotilla of chic, expensive and eminently nickable handheld PCs has been launched. They aim to allow users to do most of their everyday PC tasks on a device little bigger than a box of cigarettes. You can word process, work on spreadsheets, check your e-mail and even surf the Web. The first manufacturer to entrust Computer Buyer with what amounts to the digital Faberge Egg was Hewlett Packard. So, trying very hard not to drop it, I began exploring.

The Jornada will certainly turn a few heads with its clean lines and sleek, brushed-metal case. The solid lid flips open to reveal the screen, navigational pad, speaker and four programmable keys. To connect devices and pass data to and from your new toy, there's a CompactFlash Type I slot and an infra-red port too.

The TFT screen is clear and responsive - even indoors without the backlight turned up. This helped the replaceable lithium-polymer battery last a good ten hours or so.

However, connecting the 568 to a PC raised some issues. HP's drivers are not approved by Microsoft and while

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Windows 98SE merely alerts you to this issue, Windows XP puts the fear of God into anyone who continues with the installation. Ignoring the warning screens, I continued and the drivers installed problem free.

Pocket PC 2002 is impressively easy to use. Notably, the intelligent tap-and-hold function works similar to a right click in normal PC Windows. A simple idea, but it really does make moving around in programs a breeze.

Handwriting recognition is variable, though. It claims to have incorporated left-handed support, but being a southpaw, I ended up returning to the on-screen keyboard unconvinced. Palm users will feel at home here with the Graffiti-style Block Recogniser input mode.

Pocket versions of Outlook, Word and Excel are bundled along with other Pocket PC applications, including Omni-Solve, a scientific calculator, and some software for image viewing and running Java programs. Movian VPN adds support for servers (Pocket PC's Terminal Services Client only supports Windows servers), and the more immediately useful CodeWallet Pro encrypts and password-protects your important files.

While an expensive operating system and a colour screen may explain part of the whopping £500 price tag, the rest you'll have to justify by the kudos the Jornada gives you when you flip it out on the train. A business may hold that a cutting-edge image is worth shelling out for, but it will take an exceptionally deep-pocketed and image-conscious consumer to believe this is good value for money. This isn't a criticism levelled at HP - all these new Pocket PC 2002-based PDAs are guilty of 'corporate' pricing and, in comparison, the Jornada 568 is competitive.

It's a great product, but just so expensive.