14. Conclusion: A Luxury PDA For The Ambitious Business User

HP's iPAQ hx4700 is certainly not a bargain. Customers are asked to cough up a whole US$650 for the unit, which may be a little too much for the average Joe.

But business users won't be put off by the steep price. The PDA comes replete with an excellent and complete hardware configuration, as well as a very sturdy, durable and smart magnesium-alloy case. In addition, the iPAQ hx4700 scores very well in performance benchmarks and has the longest battery life of any currently-available Windows pocket PC with VGA TFT display, which can be extended further with a high-capacity battery. High-security corporate data is also in good hands thanks to the standard security software, HP Protect Tools.

Granted, the competition has the Axim X50v , which offers much the same for much less money (US$450). But the X50v isn't able to match the security features and housing quality offered by HP's contender.

The Mypal A730w from Asus even has an onboard 1.3-megapixel digital camera for just US$560. That said, the battery life of the pocket PC from Taiwan is not worth considering, and mobile devices with integrated digital cameras are now grounds for dismissal in some R&D departments.

The only thing that remains to be seen is whether pocket PCs will be able to hold their own given the current trend of growing competition posed by smart phones and cheap notebooks.