Eyewittness sighting of the iPAQ 5450

[Jason Dunn]

This is one of those completely unsubstantiated rumours, but for those of you who don't venture into the forums and stick to the front page, someone named <i>Strong887</i> has apparently seen one of the new 5000 series iPAQs:<br /><br />"I am currently at a Cisco IP Telephony conference in Penn Plaza, NYC and one of the presenters had a HP Ipaq 5450 Pocket PC. It is using the same screen as my 3975 (compared them side by side). Notable is the built in 802.11b with a VERY small antenna (smaller than the one in the picture). It has a removeable battery and the earphone jack is on the bottom of the casing. Supposedly, this model supports a headset connection (speaker and mic) in that plug. A h.323 softphone application was being demoed on it by a company called IP Blue. I verified the asset <br />information as an HP5450."<br /><br />Psst...drop the zero, and what do you get? HP 545, the first Pocket PC HP ever made. Hmm...

[Sslixtis]

Ok, so you got pictures right?!? :lol:

[mookie123]

What I think,

1. the D-pad button double as biometic input.
2. The picture is so ugly, It can't be fake. lol.

[splintercell]

What I think,

1. the D-pad button double as biometic input.
2. The picture is so ugly, It can't be fake. lol.

The joypad seems above the biometric input area, so I doubt it doubles as it as well. Also, the jopad may be so small and leaves so much free space (as many have remarked in the other thread), because some models may not have the biometric input area, but share the joypad. The higher-end models may simply need all that free space.

[strong887]

I didn't get any pictures, but it looks just like the one posted, except the antenna is a small nub and it is silkscreened with an HP name.

[brntcrsp]

...
Psst...drop the zero, and what do you get? HP 545, the first Pocket PC HP ever made. Hmm...

So does that mean the higher end version will be the HP5650? or the 5680?

[mja8105]

i've also seen one of these as well... but the one in the pictures does not have the biometric scanner on it. there must be different skews...

i have trouble believing there is a device that can beat the XDA/t-mobile at the price it's at though, MHO.

[sponge]

And the Jornada 545 was a shame to the PocketPC name, SH3, and 256 colour bit screen and all :P

[heov]

Actually, it wasn't a shame, it didn't have "256 color bit", it had a 12 bit screen, 4096 colors, same as an iPaq then. Though HP could have done better, it was a nice device as it had CF on board, made of metal, flip cover, more elegant and professional design, jog whell, etc. NOW, it's a crappy device compared to the knewer ones, but when it came out, it didn't "bust"...

[Dr. DVS 1]

I thought that telephony conference was on the SIXTEENTH (http://cisco.com/pcgi-bin/sreg2/register/regdetail.pl?SEMINAR_ID=3997&SEMINAR_TYPE=T&LANGUAGE_ID=E&SESSION_ID=&PAGE_NO=SEMINARLIST&USER_TYPE=&CITY_ID=&STATE_ID=&SOLUTION_ID=&FROM_DATE=&TO_DATE=&KEYWORD=&COUNTRY_ID=US). Ah well must be one of those less-well known things. I hate going downtown on the "D" train anyway. Always a mess. :D

[ThomasC22]

OK, I have to say, Compaq/HP must just hate gamers, that is the only explaination I can come up with for this...

and am I the only one who thinks this thing is ugly?

Here's hoping the iPaq 2200 is worth looking at.

[jim s]

Actually, it wasn't a shame, it didn't have "256 color bit", it had a 12 bit screen, 4096 colors, same as an iPaq then. Though HP could have done better, it was a nice device as it had CF on board, made of metal, flip cover, more elegant and professional design, jog whell, etc. NOW, it's a crappy device compared to the knewer ones, but when it came out, it didn't "bust"...

Heh! I still use one of these crappy devices every day - still waiting for a 'knewer' device that does what mine won't.

[Pony99CA]

OK, I have to say, Compaq/HP must just hate gamers, that is the only explaination I can come up with for this...
If you mean the directional pad is too small, I agree. I actually like the style of the new pad, but wish it were bigger. I don't like the asymmetric directional pad of my iPAQ 3870, and preferred the shape of the one on my old 3650.

Steve

[Jason Dunn]

And the Jornada 545 was a shame to the PocketPC name, SH3, and 256 colour bit screen and all :P

Hey man, the HP 545 was IT 8) - it was THE Pocket PC for quite a while. Remember that in 2000 it wasn't until Christmas that you could even GET an iPAQ. The HP was ready and in the channel... :D

[ThomasC22]

Hey man, the HP 545 was IT 8) - it was THE Pocket PC for quite a while. Remember that in 2000 it wasn't until Christmas that you could even GET an iPAQ. The HP was ready and in the channel... :D

and had a SCREEN COVER! Something other companies still don't seem to get. (OH, and it was "16 bit color" at the time :wink: )

[Paul P]

Does it make sense for HP to have a prototype this early? Does it mean that they worked on the prototype while still putting finishes touches on the 3900 series and whipped something up in several months? I didn't expect to hear anything from HP for at least several months. I was hoping more time would be invested into the next generation of iPaqs.

[ThomasC22]

Does it make sense for HP to have a prototype this early? Does it mean that they worked on the prototype while still putting finishes touches on the 3900 series and whipped something up in several months? I didn't expect to hear anything from HP for at least several months. I was hoping more time would be invested into the next generation of iPaqs.

A few things to consider:

(A) It wasn't like there was much to the 3900 series. A better screen, thats pretty much it.

(B) Much of the 5000 series is just technology taken from the Jornada 920 which was very similar to an iPaq anyway (same screen, processor, etc..) Notice this iPaq has a removable battery JUST LIKE the jornada. I'm thinking it's the 920 in a new shell.

(C) There appears to be several different iPaq teams at this point, one working on wireless, one working on stock iPaqs, and one working on a thin competitor to the e310 so it isn't unrealistic that one of these teams finished shortly after another.

[entropy1980]

And the Jornada 545 was a shame to the PocketPC name, SH3, and 256 colour bit screen and all :P

Hey man, the HP 545 was IT 8) - it was THE Pocket PC for quite a while. Remember that in 2000 it wasn't until Christmas that you could even GET an iPAQ. The HP was ready and in the channel... :D

Hey I got my Ipaq in August 2000.... :D Jornada's get a bad rap... they had the best body casing .... metal that thing was a tank I wish they would still do that, now some PPC's feel so flimsy! I felt my Jornada could take some abuse.

[Rob Alexander]

:lol: Oh come on, guys. This is so obviously a hoax. The photos are doctored composites of existing items. The biometric pad doesn't show because there is none out there yet to have spliced into the image. The model number is suspicious. It's so godawful ugly that no one from the old HP or Compaq teams could ever have come up with this. The guy who claims to have seen one made that claim in his first ever post to this forum and doesn't use a real name. :splat: And the images are not consistent with what he reports. I know it's a slow news time, but is there really any point in discussing the merits of a nonexistant device?

[jdhill]

It's a slow news day. When there's not a lot of real news to report, we can always make some up !!! :wink: :wink: :wink:

[ahpeq]

My turn my turn!

imagine this : O2 + e740 = ultimate killer pocket PC!

[ahpeq]

My turn my turn!

There'll be 3 different model...

1: standard with no wireless
2: BlueTooth model
3: High End with no BlueTooth but with
a: GSM/GPRS
b: biometric finger scanner
c: WiFi built in
d: GPS built in (Yes! GPS!)

I've seen a set of photos from a very very trustable source and the unit that appear on Brighthand is not entirely fake. that photograph could be model no 2.

The sets of photographs I saw is the high end with the finger scanner is located under the joypad (not on it). the rest looks the same .

all unit will have 39xx screen, extra graphic processor (unconfirm), same form factor with sync connector ala 39/38xx series, and REMOVEABLE battery ala Jornada! no CF, SDIO

the sim card for GSM/GPRS is located under the battery. makin phone call ala O2 ( your cheek on the screen ). no confirmation on OS. (phone edition ?)

expected release date : posibbly Xmas (high end) and end of OCT for low end.

[bdeli]

Seems like we will soon get some pictures of the iPAQ 6000 series... :lol:

[bbarker]

Much of the 5000 series is just technology taken from the Jornada 920 which was very similar to an iPaq anyway (same screen, processor, etc..) Notice this iPaq has a removable battery JUST LIKE the jornada. I'm thinking it's the 920 in a new shell.
It just seems backwards to me...putting Jornada technology into a that awkward iPaq form factor. Jornadas have always looked more professional, been easier to hold and use (side scroll button and such), had cleaner and more compact expansion, and had a flip-up screen cover.

iPaqs and Jornadas were running neck-and-neck in technological advances, so HP really should be combining the technologies into something called an iPaq and with a body that maybe looks a little like an iPaq (for marketing purposes). But it should be slimmer, with a screen cover and a feel more like a Jornada. And it should lose the iPaq's bulky sled expansion scheme.

In other words... Call it an iPaq

Make it feel like a Jornada

Make it kinda look like a cross between a Jornada and an iPaq...So the market thinks it's getting a next-generation iPaq.

[Ravenswing]

I'd be rather dissapointed if this was the real iPAQ 5000. I was planning on that being my next device, and this strikes me as being too early to be interesting.

Oh, and why all the fuss about biometric thumb scanners. You can fool them 95% of the time with no skill required at all. If we rely of those things for security we might as well put our bank details on a web page to look at!

[mv]

Actually, it wasn't a shame, it didn't have "256 color bit", it had a 12 bit screen, 4096 colors, same as an iPaq then. Though HP could have done better, it was a nice device as it had CF on board, made of metal, flip cover, more elegant and professional design, jog whell, etc. NOW, it's a crappy device compared to the knewer ones, but when it came out, it didn't "bust"...

Heh! I still use one of these crappy devices every day - still waiting for a 'knewer' device that does what mine won't.

Me too. My 548 is still usefull, and im waiting to choose beetween the next generation of pocket pc´s and palms...

[Jonathon Watkins]

Hi again there MV - Nice avatar. :wink: There's a few us us here from "The Website formerly run by Wes Salmon" as well.

I think these photos are fake too. They certainly should be - that thing is ugly. I want a CF slot too much to ever get a shiny slippery slotless device like this.

[Pony99CA]

I think these photos are fake too. They certainly should be - that thing is ugly. I want a CF slot too much to ever get a shiny slippery slotless device like this.
"Slotless"? It doesn't have an SD slot? :?:

Steve

[Jonathon Watkins]

I think these photos are fake too. They certainly should be - that thing is ugly. I want a CF slot too much to ever get a shiny slippery slotless device like this.
"Slotless"? It doesn't have an SD slot? :?:
OK - it has a SD slit - but it does not have the more important CF slot! :wink: (And the alliteration would not have worked as well without another s.:D)