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Beautiful Jornada has Orange included -but misses point

It's a PDA, it's a phone, and it's also a GPRS receiver. But lovely though the new Jornada "wireless digital assistant" is to look at, it shows that designer Hewlett-Packard has still not quite grasped the essentials of wireless design in the year 2002 - it has no Bluetooth.

Hewlett-Packard introduced the "mobile-services solution" - a full-color GSM/GPRS-enabled Wireless Digital Assistant (WDA) at the 3GSM conference in Cannes.

It is not only one of the nicest PocketPC designs, but includes a trial package of HP Mobile E-Services and "a working relationship with leading mobile operator Orange to trial the WDAs" said the announcement. "This solution marks a breakthrough in HP's commitment to providing complete, ready-to-go solutions for the mobile professional."

Effectively, it's a combined GSM phone, GPRS gateway, and pocket digital assistant. It's a truly desirable design - but when it comes to using it as a phone, suddenly, it turns into an old-fashioned lump; because the only way of listening to it, is to plug in a cable and earpiece.

Insiders, pressed for an explanation for this, acknowledged that the design team had thought of this, but too late to get the feature included in the first design. "I think they were desperate to get this announcement out in the same week as Compaq announced its rather similar iPaq combined phone/PDA," said one disappointed visitor to the 3GSM show, "and there simply wasn't time to make that radical an alteration."

Not only does the lack of Bluetooth mean that this is a relatively old-fashioned phone, but also it means the Wireless Digital Assistant can only connect to other devices with wires.

That apart, the device - shipping this summer - looks to have whatever you might have wished for. "Ultra-slim and lightweight, the HP Jornada 928 WDA features an intelligent dual-screen design that lets users access phone and Pocket PC functions independently of one another," said the announcement.

The main 16-bit color reflective TFT screen works equally well indoors or in bright sunshine. But the really clever feature is a second, blue-backlit liquid crystal display (LCD), which remains visible when the protective cover is closed. This makes the WDA "quick on the draw" when the phone rings. It lets users easily view phone functions and make and receive calls without having to power-up the full Pocket PC unit – thus saving time and minimizing battery consumption.

The lack of Bluetooth isn't quite the end of the world, of course; with a CompactFlash socket, the device can be upgraded just as soon as your budget runs to the additional hardware to plug in. And features such as voice dialling may compensate for the extra bulk.

Inside, the HP Jornada 928 WDA is the first Pocket PC to adopt the OMAP710 integrated GSM/GPRS modem and application processor from Texas Instruments.

The HP Jornada 928 WDA will be shipped with a CD containing a selection of existing services – including gaming, financial, anti-virus and data-sharing applications – provided by members of the HP Mobile E-Services Bazaar. These services will be ready-to-test, allowing users to explore and experiment with the mix that suits them best before subscribing to service agreements with providers or operators.