Either HP heard me or there's some serious contradictions floating around

No, I don't really believe HP was listening to my rant from earlier and made some quick concessions, but PC World has come in with a much better round up of all the upcoming devices and it sounds like they got it straight from the (HP) horse's mouth.

Both the 610 and the 910 are Windows Mobile 6 smart phones with 3-megapixel cameras, powerful 520-MHz Marvell (formerly Intel) XScale processors ...

Enterprise Mobility Suite provides device management features for enterprise customers; and the company's iPaq Device Connect software lets you easily use these phones as wireless modems for notebook PCs. HP also offers a robust-looking Voice Commander application for hands-free voice calls and e-mail checking.

Here are the punchlines for me:

Unlocked for use with any GSM carrier, the two IPaq models will sell for around $600 each, according to HP.

I am taking back everything I said about them before (again). I don't mind eating crow when it's on the menu. HP, please let me know when you are ready to take my money for the 910.

Still, the company is coming out with their PDA line anyway, but at a much more realistic reasonable price.

The iPaq 210 Enterprise Handheld (part of the 200 series) features an oversize (4-inch-diagonal) 640-by-480-pixel-resolution screen, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and several hardware connectors (including mini-USB) that allow it to work with peripherals such as bar-code scanners. It can also be used as a voice-over-IP handset.

Company officials estimated the iPaq 210's future street price as $400 to $450.

...

The iPaq 100 Series Classic Handheld is a plain-vanilla Windows Mobile 6 PDA for people who just want a skinny (0.5-inch) organizer that supports basic data connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

HP expects this relatively bare-bones model to go for something in the neighborhood of $200.

Now these prices are much better (so are the pictures). I am more firmly convinced HP is truly getting back in the game to compete with the prices and devices that reflect a strategy to regain leadership.

Comments

[Contributing Writer, Aaron J. Walker]

These HP iPAQ specs keep getting better and better. From Mobility Site about the 910:

"This is the mobile email experience you’ve wanted. The “QWERTY” keyboard makes text entry fast and efficient. Scroll elegantly through your emails with the track wheel. View and print attachments from a variety of applications. And when you’re driving, listen to your email read aloud and reply without typing a word."

This is the iPAQ that used to rule the Pocket PC genre before being upended by Dell and the Axim line.

Sad part is, I've got to wait until November
:(