HP Jornada 680

The 680's installation of Windows CE 2.1 Professional Edition is powered by a Hitachi SH3 133MHz processor, backed up with 16Mb of RAM and 16Mb of ROM. Understandably, this means it doesn't feel as responsive as its big brother, the 820 (which boasts a 190MHz StrongARM RISC processor), when launching and switching between apps. The short delay and its hourglass accompaniment can be quite annoying, but this is a problem that isn't restricted to the 680 - it afflicts all Windows CE-based handhelds.

At least HP has attempted to offset this shortcoming by supplying a comprehensive bundle of useful productivity software. The 680 comes, of course, with Windows CE Services 2.2 (which handles the job of synchronising files, contacts, appointments and other important information effortlessly) as well as the full complement of Pocket apps as standard.

Among the extras is the handy bfind utility, which adds the ability to perform complex, and very quick, search operations across all file types, and the HP Viewer, which ties contact, calendar and task views together in one interface.

Despite some shortcomings, the HP Jornada 680 is still one of the most usable H/PCs currently available and, at this size, it represents the first serious competition that Psion's Series 5 has had to contend with. The colour screen, built-in modem and slick synchronisation combined with a decent keyboard certainly make it an attractive proposition. At the end of the day, however, the Psion Series 5's lower price, superior keyboard and sharper performance still give it a slight edge.

Author: Jonathan Bray