Andy Sjostrom
05-14-2002, 09:26 PM
Don Sorcinelli, <a href="http://www.bostonpocketpc.com">BostonPocketPC.com</a>, just sent me the following report from the Planet PDA event that was held today:<br /><br />"As promised, I wanted to pass along any information regarding Reginald Linebarger's presentation today at Planet PDA in Boston. I would haved loved to provide everyone with some big revelation or statement regarding the future of the iPaq and Jornada. Instead, I will provide you with what little did come out of the presentation... <br /><br />Linebarger is the Director of HP iPaq Products and Access Services for North America. He was formally with Compaq (not just the technology survives). His presentation focused mainly on the current state of HP/Compaq as a whole, with very little attention given to the "emerging technologies" (see more below). What little time was focused on the HP iPaq and Jornada boiled down to - <br />The current Jornada line will be sold through the end of the year (nothing new here);<br />"Best technologies" of the Jornada will eventually make their way to the iPaq. The only examples given were - <br />1) Hot-swappable battery technology <br />2) The HP camera<br /><br />That's about it. Not much more to provide (unless you are interested in lots of overall corporate vision and numbers). I guess we will just have to see how this all plays out over time. Some additional observations from the keynote - <br />A slide depicting the "Personal Systems Group" (under which the HP iPaq falls) makes no specific reference to the PocketPC. There is, however, the category of "Emerging Technology". Hmmm - makes you think and wonder...<br /><br />Mr. Linebarger originally was with DEC (who "merged" with Compaq), then Compaq (who "merged" with HP). I would love to sit down and discuss "merger mania" with a true veteran someday. I think that this man qualifies... In a related note, Mr. Linebarger did slip a few times and reference "Compaq" instead of "the new HP". This is totally understandable, though - I probably would have been much worse...<br />Best quick joke of the presentation - when referring to the benefits of the merger for both sides, Linebarger did comment that "the merger made sense to the entire board - with one notable exception."<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your notes with us, Don! It would have been nice if Mr. Linebarger could have shared even more, but my guess is that plans are still being made and that nothing more CAN be said.