Friday, June 27, 2003
iPAQ Upgrades Revisited
Posted by Andy Sjostrom in "HARDWARE" @ 01:23 PM
I am sure we'll continue to visit this topic many times in the near future, but here is my take and a follow up on Janak's recent post:
There are many and complex issues that go along with a complete upgrade. It is not as simple as getting bits from Microsoft, slamming them into a box and give it away. HP has technical, quality and testing issues to address. I certainly don't want a first round of upgrades that potentially cause iPAQ users any problems. I want documentation and support to be ramped up and ready. In other words, I would rather see HP err on the side of stability and reliability vs. a quick shipment and lots of hassles and support. With regards to pricing... My educated guess is that the upgrade costs HP approximately $85 000+ for each system (3850, 3870, 3900, 5400 and so on), meaning the cost can very well be above $400 000 for HP, which is why this isn't a freebie give away.
As far as I have heard from unofficial sources, HP got the final bits about four weeks ago and has been busy testing and readying the upgrade since -- with an ETA in the third week of July.
There are many and complex issues that go along with a complete upgrade. It is not as simple as getting bits from Microsoft, slamming them into a box and give it away. HP has technical, quality and testing issues to address. I certainly don't want a first round of upgrades that potentially cause iPAQ users any problems. I want documentation and support to be ramped up and ready. In other words, I would rather see HP err on the side of stability and reliability vs. a quick shipment and lots of hassles and support. With regards to pricing... My educated guess is that the upgrade costs HP approximately $85 000+ for each system (3850, 3870, 3900, 5400 and so on), meaning the cost can very well be above $400 000 for HP, which is why this isn't a freebie give away.
As far as I have heard from unofficial sources, HP got the final bits about four weeks ago and has been busy testing and readying the upgrade since -- with an ETA in the third week of July.
