Windows Phone Thoughts: New Pocket PCs from HP and Dell, and is Bluetooth Dead or Not?

The big news of the past week is that Dell has released the Axim X3 Pocket PC, and although it doesn't come in at the sub-$200 USD price point like I had hoped it would, the $239 price-point isn't bad at all. The X5 continues to hold out at $199, so I don't think we'll see the X3 drop in price to $199 until the X5 fades away. HP officially released their 4100 and 4300 series iPAQ Pocket PCs, and while they're much more expensive at $449 and $499 respectively, they offer more excitement than the Dell X3. The iPAQ 4300 will have a built-in keyboard, which opens up a whole new paradigm for the device if you pair it with an Exchange 2003 server - instant Blackberry killer. By combining WiFi, Bluetooth, and the size of the 1900 series iPAQ into one, this may be the ultimate Pocket PC. Of course, not everyone is 100% happy - people also want 128 MB of RAM. You can't please everyone I guess. ;-)

We've also had some lively discussions this week, the most notable being the issue of whether Bluetooth is dead or alive. Most people commenting seem to feel Bluetooth is alive and well, but I still believe that it's gasping for breath, and while it's not dead yet, Bluetooth needs one simple thing: built-in drivers and basic functionality from the Windows OS level. Until that happens, Bluetooth on the Windows side of things will continue to be a haphazard and generally ugly experience. Some vendors provide solid, easy implementations that make Bluetooth a painless experience for users, and others leave scars that will last for years and drive the user to RF-based solutions instead (like me).

The Pocket PC Summit is next week, and I hope to see you there. See if you can find me! :wink: