No doubt sensing the wind of change in the PDA market, with worldwide sales under threat from smartphones and other hybrid devices, HP has launched the no-frills, budget Ipaq rz1710.

It's almost like stepping back into the 1990s, when the first Windows CE devices were launched with a screen, a stylus, a battery and very little else. Perhaps that's a little cruel, as the technology has advanced immensely, but you couldn't get much more basic than the rz1710 and still call it a PDA.

On the plus side, its slimline styling is excellent and ergonomic, making it ideal for even the smallest pocket. A minor niggle is that the shortcut buttons and five-way navigation paddle are too small for comfort.

There are no jog wheels or other external switches and buttons on the side of the casing. In fact, the only visible external features are a headphone socket and a single SDIO card slot.

Its 16bit, QVGA 3.5in screen is bright but picks up a lot of reflections. It also looks awful when Cleartype is enabled; we thought there was a malfunction with the screen, with black characters showing red shadows and outlines, but turn off Cleartype and all is well.

The 203MHz Samsung 2410 processor does a good job, but the Ipaq is nowhere near as responsive as the low-cost Pocket PC Dell Axim X30 Wireless.

Considering that the Dell costs only £70 more and comes with Wifi and Bluetooth, plus 64MB of Ram, the rz1710 looks outclassed; there's no wireless connectivity and only 32MB of onboard memory. You don't even get a docking cradle, only a combined USB synch/charger cable.

It may be cheap and stylish, but it's too basic to be an attractive buy.

Contact: HP 0845 270 4222
www.hp.com

Specifications:

• Windows Mobile 2003
• 203MHz Samsung 2410
• 32MB of Ram
• 32MB of Rom
• 3.5in 240 x 320 screen
• SDIO card slot
• Headphone socket
• 120g
• 70 x 13.4 x 114mm (w x d x h)
• HP Image Zone, Task Switch and Profiles
• USB synch/charger cable