HP has released a minor upgrade to the h4100 line of iPAQs. Also, the company releases a statement that Windows Mobile 2003 SE upgrades for the rest of its line are unfeasible.
HP has released an upgraded ROM image for the iPAQ h4100 series. At the same time, however, it has released an FAQ on its users forum claiming that releasing a Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition upgrade for its older handhelds is not possible, a statement many users have refuted.
The h4100 update includes various bug fixes for Pocket IE, Contacts, and various edge cases, as well as some functionality enhancements. The most significant enhancement is support for Wireless Protective Access (WPA) for the handheld's built-in Wi-Fi radio. WPA is a newer security protocol designed to increase the strength of the encryption used on Wi-Fi transmissions. This update is a free download from the HP web site, and is the third such update this summer. Previous updates corrected assorted bugs and updated added Wi-Fi roaming.
Meanwhile, however, HP has released a statement on its user forums that it claims further explains its decision to not offer a full Windows Mobile 2003 SE upgrade for any of its existing models. Although HP plans to release WPA upgrades for its existing products that support Wi-Fi, and has already done so for some models (such as the h4100 above), it argues that "all other features of the Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition require either specific hardware components, ROM size requirements, or 3rd party application adjustments to enable the full features offered in this operating system version", and will therefore not offer such an upgrade.
The statement also states that the recently-related h6300 line is already heavily-tweaked to support tri-wireless functionality, and HP does not see the need to upgrade that model (which ships with Windows Mobile 2003) when it has already backported most of the wireless enhancements from the Second Edition.
Many users have so far responded, questioning the veracity of HP's claimed reasons. For example, one reason HP cites is the larger ROM size requirements for Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. However, as several users have pointed out the iPAQ h5500 series includes more ROM than the recently-released rz1715, which does run Windows Mobile 2003 SE. Some have also repeatedly pointed out the apparent customer demand in the form of a recently-circulated online petition, which as of this writing now stands at just under 8500 signatures.
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