I got to test drive the new HP iPAQ Pocket PC h5450 recently. This beauty has Intel's PXA250 (400 MHz) processor and comes with 64 MB RAM and 48 MB ROM (20 MB of which is accessible to the user). Its beautiful 64K color transflective TFT screen is the brightest display available on any Pocket PC. And the built-in SDIO card slot lets you add storage memory or I/O devices. Finally, there are a variety of integrated wireless features, including Bluetooth, 802.11 Wi-Fi, and consumer infrared functionality.

Aware of Dell's entry into the market, HP introduced the $300 h1910 Pocket PC described below. But wisely, they also decided to play to their strong suit and continue to innovate in the high-end Pocket PC market. Toshiba beat them off the line with the e740, a 400 MHz device with SD and CF card slots and built-in 802.11b wireless capability. I was impressed with the e740 and wrote about it in the November 2002 issue of Pocket PC magazine (www.PocketPCmag.com/Nov02/e740.asp). In its day—3 months ago—the Toshiba e740 was at the head of the pack.

However, HP refused to stand still and the h5450 has retaken the pole position with a feature/benefit mix that can't be beat—for now! I had the opportunity to be one of the very first to put a pre-production unit of the h5450 through its paces.

"hp" logo replaces "Compaq"

The first thing I noticed about the h5450 was the new HP branding. Gone is the Compaq logo, replaced on this and all future iPAQs with the lower case "hp" logo. While this change really doesn't affect the performance of the iPAQ, it does bear witness to the fact the Compaq, the company that captured the Pocket PC high ground with the original iPAQ H3600, is finally gone.

There are some obvious physical changes in the device compared to previous versions of the iPAQ. The black plastic "hat" on the top of the device is thinner and covers more of the top. And it now houses three extra LED indicator lights, one each for the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transceivers, the third is unused; but I would venture to say it will be used in the future for WAN radio. The screen, application launch buttons, and navigation pad have been repositioned to make room for the unique biometric fingerprint reader.

Finally—a user-replaceable battery!

Whether it was deserved or not, Compaq took heat from users and reviewers over the lack of a user-replaceable battery in previous versions of the iPAQ. The good news is that all the devices in the h5400 series will come with a user-replaceable lithium-polymer rechargeable battery. In addition, HP plans to offer a high-capacity 2,500 mAh replaceable battery as an option.

All 5400 series iPAQ will have a user-replaceable battery.

The h5450 also comes with what HP calls a backup battery. It is built into the device and not accessible by the user. However, the backup battery has only enough juice to power the Pocket PC for a few minutes while you change main batteries. Don't expect it to keep your RAM data alive if the main battery runs out.

Built-in wireless capability

The h5450 is not the first iPAQ to come with built-in Bluetooth capability. However, the software used to control this integrated radio has taken on a huge leap forward on the h5450. The Bluetooth Manager utility has been enhanced to support the following functions and tasks:

• Exchanging contacts, calendar items, and tasks with other Bluetooth-equipped Pocket PCs
• Exchanging electronic business cards
• Transferring files
• Accessing dial-up networks
• Synchronizing data with a Bluetooth-equipped computer
• Partnering with a cell phone
• Connecting to serial ports
• Connecting to a Bluetooth LAN
• Interfacing with a Bluetooth headset
• Printing to a Bluetooth printer
• Creating a personal area network to chat, play games, etc.

The functions that Bluetooth supports are called "Services." I was pretty excited to see some of these new services and the newly added Bluetooth Connection Wizard. I thought I would try the service for a Bluetooth headset. I have the new Jabra BT200 headset which I love to use with my Sony/Ericsson T68i mobile phone. The Connection Wizard worked like a charm, taking me, step-by-step, through the process of setting up the Bluetooth connection to the headset. The Wizard is an immense improvement over the setup process required on the Bluetooth-enabled h3970/3870 iPAQ Pocket PCs. Another bonus touch in the Bluetooth software is a feature called "Profiles." You can set up profiles for the different Bluetooth devices you wish to connect to, and use the Bluetooth Browser screen in the Connection Wizard to switch among them quickly and easily.

The HP iPAQ H5450's enhanced Bluetooth Manager utility makes it easy to exchange Pocket Outlook data, transfer files, partner with a cell phone, browse files on a remote device, and more.

You can set up profiles for the different Bluetooth devices you wish to connect to, and use the Bluetooth Browser to switch between them quickly and easily.

The h5450 also comes with built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b Wireless LAN), which should prove to be a popular feature for mobile enterprise users. The software setup for the 802.11 radio is done using the h5450's Wireless Profile function, similar to the Bluetooth Profiles feature described above. The Profile Wizard walks you through the set up process. Having profiles in both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi makes it easy to switch between wireless networks and connections when you're traveling.

Added security with a built-in biometric fingerprint reader

The biometric fingerprint reader is the most unique feature of the h5450. When activated and programmed with the owner's fingerprint, only the owner of the device can access data on the Pocket PC. The fingerprint reader is located immediately below the navigation pad at the bottom of the face of the iPAQ. To accommodate it, HP reduced the navigation pad from the inch-wide ellipse found on the h3800 and 3900 series to a 1/2-inch diameter button. The smaller button works fine but it may make some gamers a little unhappy since the size is significantly smaller than before.

A brief training period is required, in which you "teach" the software to recognize your fingerprint.

I attended a security breakout session at the MS Fusion show earlier this year where we were asked if we secured our PDAs with a password. A very small minority of us did. The we were also asked if we kept confidential or personal information on our PDAs and the majority of us did. The lesson: 128-bit encryption isn't enough. The security features have to be easy to use.

I believe the fingerprint reader will make the h5450 a huge winner with enterprise users. It's very accurate and easy to use. A brief training period is required, in which you "teach" the software to recognize your fingerprint. You must also activate it, as you would with regular password protection. Then, every time you turn on your iPAQ, you are prompted to swipe your finger slowly across the reader. The system recognizes your fingerprint and then opens the iPAQ to the screen you were last working on before either you turned it off or it timed out and went into secure mode. If it doesn't recognize your fingerprint, a "No Match!" is declared and the system stays locked down. It's not only functional but it's, well, a lot of FUN to use.

In addition to fingerprint capability, the h5450 also has the simple and "strong alphanumeric" password protection found on previous versions of the iPAQ. You can configure the fingerprint security to be used with or without these features. For example, I setup my h5450 to be "PIN or fingerprint" and to be enabled automatically if the device had been unused for 15 minutes.

The fingerprint reader software performed without a hitch. I was able to set up the program and go through its training exercises with ease. I recorded several of my fingerprints for testing and the security worked flawlessly.

Microphone, speaker, and vibrating alarm

The built-in speaker is still located under the dark plastic hat on the top of the iPAQ. The quality and volume of the sound, which are iPAQ hallmarks, are not significantly affected. However, the iPAQ Audio settings utility has changed. You can only modify the bass settings and not the treble, which probably reflects the change in the speaker. There is a new option in the Audio settings utility that lets you enable the Power Saving Mode, which turns the built-in audio amplifier off when not in use. The location of the built-in microphone on the new iPAQ is different from previous models. It is now located on the bottom of the face, to the left side of the fingerprint reader. There are actually two microphone openings, one on the front and one on the bottom.

Another new feature in the h5450 is a speaker volume control. The voice record button on the upper left edge of the device is now a rocker button. Press on the plus sign to increase volume and on the minus to decrease and eventually mute it. Press and hold down in the middle of the button to activate the voice record feature.

The voice record button now lets you increase or decrease the speaker volume.

The headset jack has been relocated to the bottom left corner of the device because the Wi-Fi antenna is where the jack used to be. Unfortunately, this new location makes the h5450 incompatible with many existing cases. The jack has been redesigned to provide not only stereo output, but audio input via a microphone. With the introduction of VoiceOver IP and recording applications for the Pocket PC, as well as a number of voice recognition applications, the ability to use a higher-quality external microphone will come in handy.

The final new hardware feature I'd like to mention is the built-in vibrating alarm! It's a great way to remind you of an appointment without bothering everyone else, but I am not sure what impact this feature has on battery life. The vibrator on the pre-production version of the h5450 worked well. I had no problem feeling an alarm when the device was in my pants pocket. However I found it more difficult to sense when the Pocket PC was hanging off my belt in a PDAMotion Leather Slider II case.

Variety of built-in and user-installable software

Add-on software has always been one of HP's strong suites. Of course, the h5450 comes with the Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 operating system and applications built in and ready to go. The applications include Pocket Outlook, Pocket Office, and a number of other built-in and user-installable applications from Microsoft. A complete description of these applications is on Pocket PC magazine's Web site (www.PocketPCmag.com/bg2003/MS_software.asp).

Also built into the h5450 are a number of HP utilities, including:

• IPAQ File Store—Lets you access a portion of flash ROM to store data and install programs
• IPAQ Task Manager—Lets you open and close programs quickly
• IPAQ Backup—Lets you back up data to, and restore it from, a storage card
• IPAQ Image Viewer—Lets you view graphics files on the iPAQ
• IPAQ Audio—Allows for Bass Boost and Power Saving mode.
• Nevo Universal Remote Control— Lets you control TVs, VCRs, DVD players, and other audio/visual (A/V) devices from the H5450
• Variety of additional utilities—Let you adjust standby settings and power conservation modes, run self tests, and more. Expansion Pack and power status utilities also included.

Included on CD with the h5450 are a wide variety of user-installable applications, as well as links to other programs. Some of these are full working versions and others are trial demos. A list of these programs is available in the Spec Sheet at the end of this article.

Recommended accessories

HP will offer a variety of accessories for the h5400 series iPAQs. And the 5400s can use existing Expansion Packs and other accessories. A list of the optional accessories is in the Spec Sheet at the end of this article.

However, due to some design changes, including the Wi-Fi antenna and the new placement of hardware buttons and the microphone/headphone jack, cases and some other accessories will have to be redesigned. I don't like the vinyl cases that come with most Pocket PCs, preferring instead a "play-through" leather case that I can clip onto my belt. The very popular EBCases (www.ebcases.com) and Vaja cases (www.vajacases.com) that work fine on the h3800/H3900 series will not work well on a h5450. The screen and buttons are no longer centered, and you can't use the all-important fingerprint reader. These two companies will probably introduce versions of their popular cases for the h5450. Until they do, I found that the PDAmotion Leather Slider II (www.pdamotion.com) CF Expansion and Leather Flip Cover works perfectly as is!

Protecting the Pocket PC display from wear and tear is important, and I highly recommend using thin plastic "screen protectors." Several companies market these, but I recommend WriteSHIELDs, available from www.pocketPCtechs.com. These screen protectors are easy to install, have an anti-glare coating that reduces reflection, and last for several months.

A powerful, versatile Pocket PC for enterprise and small business users

Of course, nothing is perfect in this world and the HP iPAQ h5450 is no exception. Although the h5450 does have a commercial-grade infrared port with greater range, it still transmits data at 115.2 Kbps. The Razor Zayo A600 reviewed on page 19 incorporates the faster 4 MB per second IR port. HP probably should have put a faster IR port in the h5450. Also, I feel compelled to mention again the misnamed "backup battery" built into the device. I think it may cause some heartache, especially to users familiar with other Pocket PCs, where "backup battery" means an emergency power source that can keep RAM data alive for days if the main battery fails. Enough said about that.

In spite of these minor suggestions, I think HP pulled out the stops with this one. The iPAQ h5450 is a great solution for enterprise and small business users alike. The combination of 802.11 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless, an SDIO slot, its ability to accept some of the existing Expansion Packs, and its absolutely stunning transflective 65K color screen will help to make the h5450 a winner in the high-end Pocket PC arena. And the addition of the integrated biometric fingerprint reader for added security just raised the bar for developers of enterprise Pocket PCs. This is the first of the new h5400 series iPAQ Pocket PCs, and the product line will only get better as future models incorporate WAN voice and data features. For both the security-minded business user and the savvy individual looking for the top of line in an integrated wireless package, the new HP iPAQ h5450 Pocket PC fits the bill.