It's the year 2001. Most Pocket PCs have 32 megabytes of memory and all sorts of multimedia functionality to take advantage of their glorious TFT color screens. Even Palm, Handspring, and Sony have joined the world of color. So why has Compaq apparently shifted into reverse with the introduction of its 16 megabyte, monochrome-display Compaq iPAQ H3100 Pocket PC?

If you ask me, the answer lies in the widespread electronic parts shortage that has limited the production of color iPAQs which, after all, use a sophisticated novel high-reflective technology that's both indoor and outdoor-viewable. I can't help but surmise that the monochrome iPAQ Pocket PC is more a knee-jerk reaction to the shortage than it is a strategic component in Compaq's handheld product line.

Few handheld computers or other consumer electronics products--save for the Sony Playstation 2, of course--have achieved the instantaneous, overwhelming attention and success afforded the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC. Consumers and businesses have been snapping up as many of these hot little devices as can be produced, even after Compaq doubled, and then redoubled, production capacity. Many adults have found themselves engaged in a childlike-quest for an iPAQ, running from store to store in search of the elusive device or bidding up its price on eBay. It's reminiscent of the Cabbage Patch, Tickle Me Elmo and Beanie Baby crazes of recent years, only this time it's for adults.

Yet even with the increased production, Compaq claims that it is still likely that it will not meet demand for the iPAQ for several months to come, primarily due to difficulty obtaining certain parts needed in the color devices.

So last fall Compaq began marketing the monochrome iPAQ H3100 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Greater China region, and Latin America. This in hopes of meeting demand for the popular iPAQÑalbeit in a less glamorous version--and perhaps as an eventual replacement for the Compaq Aero 1550 Pocket PC; which is, after all, simply a last generation product retrofitted with Pocket PC ROMs. More recently Compaq decided to offer the H3100 in North America as well. I could be wrong, but I think it's questionable whether a monochrome device like the H3100 is something that will appease the legions of iPAQ seekers.

The H3100 we evaluated was sent to us from the United Kingdom, so its AC adapter plug didn't fit our U.S. sockets. Plus, it came with a serial cradle rather than a USB cradle, and sans the Basic Style Pack. Fortunately we had a spare adapter and an extra USB cradle. But it's worth noting that if you decide to have an H3100 shipped from overseas "items included vary by model number purchased," as Compaq readily points out in its documentation.

Here's how the H3100 differs from the color H3600: It has less memory (16 rather than 32 megabytes), weighs slightly less (5.7 rather than 6.4 ounces), and has a 16 grayscale semi-transmissive LCD rather than a color display. Otherwise it has the same specifications as its colorful sibling, right down to its powerful Intel StrongARM 206MHz processor, Lithium Polymer battery, and handy size. In fact, until you power the H3100 on, it's difficult to tell it's not a color device.

Except for the buttons, that is. The four application launching buttons, the navigation button (with the audio speaker recessed behind it just like in the 3600 series), and the power button are all black rather than silver, as is the voice record button on the top left side of the iPAQ. Now we finally have the answer to why the original iPAQ pictures leaked on the Web last March showed black buttons. Speculation was that it was a prototype device but, alas, now we know better.

There's not much to say about the inner workings and software of the new Compaq iPAQ H3100 that hasn't already been said about the H3600, although it does come with a revised ROMÑversion 1.46.00 ENG. Some speculated that a monochrome iPAQ would be quicker and have a longer battery life than a color iPAQ. I simply didn't notice much of a difference. I should mention that the 3100 handled both the CompactFlash and PC Card Expansion Packs without a hitch.

There is, however, a big difference when it comes to the display. Like most of us who have been following the development of palm-size and Pocket PCs, I've become used to color screens ever since the Hewlett Packard Jornada 420 debuted two years ago. And the glorious color TFT in Casio's original Cassiopeia E-100/105 spoiled me for good. Once you go color, it's hard to go back to black and white. While a monochrome display may have been acceptable back in the days of the venerable Philips Nino and Everex Freestyle Palm-size PCs, nowadays it's a downright liability. There's still something to be said for truly black text on an almost white background, but the H3100 displays gray text and images on a pale green background. This does not provide high-quality readability in low light situations, even with the contrast adjusted tweaked to the max. The reverse backlight was little help. And the screen is so highly reflective that, at times, it was more like a mirror than a PDA display, so that I constantly found myself searching for the perfect viewing angle.

With the introduction of a new model, we were curious whether Compaq has resolved that pesky, and widely observed, Òdust problemÓ that's been plaguing the color iPAQ. What's been happening is that small specks of white dust or glass particles appear on the inside surface of the iPAQ's screen. These particles tend to glow when illuminated by the device's intense sidelight. Well, we're not sure if the problem has been completely resolved, but since the H3100 is backlit rather than sidelit, dustÑif indeed that's what it isÑis not quite as apparent.

Another source of frustration for color iPAQ owners has been the tiny sliding door on the base of the device that covers the even smaller on/off switch. That door tends to be loose--something so annoying that my fellow Pen Computing contributing editor, Dom Giangrasso, suggested to simply bend the little bugger with brute force until it stops all that rattling. Good news here: The door is not a problem with the monochrome iPAQ. It opens and closes just as it should and stays securely in place.

After all is said and done, the determining factor as to whether consumers and corporations will take to a colorless iPAQ Pocket PC may be its price. While pricing was not yet set at the time of publication, in this era of color Pocket PCs, it would likely take a retail price of $299 to entice anyone to buy a monochrome unit over a color device. That would be a very substantial price cut compared to the color iPAQ, and you'd still get all the speed and features of the 3600.

Still, I'm afraid that even a drastically lower price that may not do it.

While several industry followers believe that a good, inexpensive monochrome device is just what's needed for the Pocket PC to seriously gain on the Palm OS platform juggernaut I disagree. We live in a world of color, and soon all PDAs--Palms included--will be color, too. So I'd recommend that you toss in the extra money and buy the color iPAQÑif you can find one. - -

– Steven Bush

Processor	Intel StrongARM SA-110 206MHz
OS	Windows CE 3.0
Memory	16MB RAM, 24MB ROM
Display	16-gray backlit semi-transmissive LCD
Digitizer	Pressure-sensitive panel
Storage	Internal RAM or via PC Card or CF card expansion jacket
Size	3.25 x 5.1 x 0.62 inches
Weight	6.4 oz
Power	Li-Polymer (up to 10 hours)
Interface	Serial, Irda 1.1, expansion
Options	CF card and PC Card expansion sleeves
Price	US$399 (varies with quantity and equipment
Contact	Compaq www.compaq.com