HP Jornada 430se review

As well as all the changes to the machine itself, HP's marketing team has been busy refocusing the palmtop Jornada range. Where the 420 was clearly aimed at the corporate market, the 430se is targeted ambitiously at the consumer market, although, of course, it's still functional as a corporate toy. HP has even added a small MP3 logo to the bottom-left of the device, but as three or four MP3 tracks would soon swallow the machine's spare RAM, HP quietly advises using a CompactFlash card instead.

If using the Jornada as a personal stereo appeals to you, then UtopiaSoft's Hum MP3 player is pre-installed, and HP is even generous enough to provide a pair of stereo earphones. As with the Jornada 420, the 430se also includes a trio of useful applications built into the ROM: EzExplorer (a scaled-down version of the Windows Explorer), OmniSolve (a financial calculator), and bTask (a handy utility that allows you to quickly switch to or close active tasks).

An extra CD-ROM includes even more Windows CE software to choose from. These include Image Expert for viewing and editing digital images, and HP's own easy contacts and voice contacts, which offer an alternative way of viewing Contacts. It's no surprise to see Microsoft's Outlook 2000 included in the box as well, to accompany version 3 of Microsoft's ActiveSync CE synchronisation software.

All these additions help boost the Jornada's value for money, especially as its list price is £85 cheaper than the Casio. However, we far prefer the Casio's extra 16Mb of RAM, excellent screen and stylish design. Clearly, the MI5 is under the same budgetary constraints as the rest of the Civil Service, and M didn't have the luxury of an extra £85 when Q chose the 430se as James Bond's latest gadget.

Author: Tim Danton