HP Oak, Silver smartphone rumors resurface

HP is nearing the release of two important touchscreen phones previously only hinted at earlier in the year, according to a pair of reports. The Wall Street Journal now hints that one of HP's first true touchscreen-focused iPAQ smartphones is due in Europe as soon as two months from now; the report directly corroborates a leak early in the year of the Oak that reveals a hybrid touch and keyboard design intended for Vodafone. The earlier and more specific leak would give the phone a side-slider design with 7.2Mbps, HSDPA-based 3G as well as GPS and Wi-Fi.

As with recent iPAQ smartphones, the Oak is also said to be running Windows Mobile 6.1. The newspaper adds that the phone should be available worldwide after the European release but doesn't mention more specific dates or prices. The earlier leak had initially suggested a September launch at ₤260 in the UK (now $461) but now may change given the apparent delay.

Separately, Engadget has also obtained the first photos of the Silver, a candybar-style parallel to the Oak. It would lose the touchscreen and revert to a SureType-style keyboard while keeping the advanced 3G and Windows Mobile foundations of the larger and likely more costly Oak. It too is also slated for Vodafone, though its originally projected ₤250 ($443) price and July release date have since become inaccurate. A US launch is very likely for the Silver.

HP to release touchscreen smartphone

The WSJ.com reports that Hewlett Packard will release a new smartphone in the next two months, aiming to grow its device business beyond corporate users. The device will debut in Europe, and will be sold by a mobile carrier in retail stores.
Hopefully, as WMPowerUser hopes, “the device will be the HP Oak, which looks pretty tasty, and hopefully the device is more polished and less buggy than the trouble-some HP 910c.”

Fellow PC manufacturers Dell and Acer have been hinting their own plans to enter the smartphone industry. Acer even has been confirmed to start its brand new smartphone debut in Q1 2009.

HP To Release Touchscreen Smartphone

The new device will have a touchscreen and keypad and will use Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, say people briefed on the plan. It will be able to send and receive emails, and access the Internet.

The phone is the latest version of H-P’s iPaq devices. H-P, which has been selling iPaq-branded devices since it acquired personal-computer maker Compaq Computer Corp. in 2002, primarily focused earlier iPaqs on businesses and typically didn’t sell them through retail stores.

This is an interesting move, as PC manufacturers seem to be hopping on the smartphone train of late. Look for Dell and Acer to enter the market as well, possibly as early as Q1 2009.
Reports have it that Hewlett Packard is working on a new smartphone for release before the end of the year. The new touchscreen smartphone initially dubbed the ‘HP Oak’ will be initially sold in Europe by carriers in their retail stores. Initial reports on this new device came out earlier this year… But it sounds like HP has finished their development and is getting ready to ship the device.