Apple MessagePad/The Newton:
The Apple MessagePad was the first powerful PDA device. Introduced in 1993, the MessagePad ran on the Newton OS and featured handwriting recognition software which would learn a user’s natural handwriting. The original version only supported portrait viewing, but future iterations allowed the screen to be rotated and viewed in landscape mode as well. The device used Four AAA batteries, which hampered battery life. It wasn’t until Apple switched to the use of AA batteries that the Newton could be used for extended periods of time. Perhaps the biggest shortfall of the Newton was the handwriting software’s learning curve. It took the software anywhere from two weeks to two months to learn a user’s handwriting style. This delay, coupled with the lack of desktop connectivity for most of the lines life-time, forced Apple to abandon the project in 1998.

Panasonic Toughbook 08:
The Panasonic Toughbook 08 was a tablet built for abuse. The magnesium alloy case is purportedly 20 times stronger than that of standard plastics used in tablet and laptop construction. The Toughbook 08 comes with a 10.4 inch LED touchscreen and only weighs 2.6 pounds. The device comes with wifi, bluetooth and an ethernet slot. This tablet has a SD expansion slot, which is necessary given its paltry 64MB of RAM. Turns out that while consumers want a rugged and sturdy alternative, aesthetically unpleasing products such as the Toughbook 08 will struggle. Who would have thought? As such, the Panasonic Toughbook 08 is no longer in production.

Motion M1200:
Long before the Apple iSlate (or iPad, or whatever they’ll be calling it) was even a thought in our minds, there was the Motion M1200. The first “slate,” the M1200 sported a massive 12.1 inch display, giving it a competitive advantage over similar tablets which used the smaller 10.4 inch display. Although built with a magnesium alloy chassis, the Motion M1200 was not designed to take a beating like the ToughBooks. The M1200 came with an 833 MHz mobile Pentium 3 processor, 128 to 512 MB of RAM, and either a 20, 40, or 60 GB hard drive. The advertised price of this tablet was $2,200 in 2002, which undoubtedly had something to do with the low adoption rate.

Fujitsu Stylistic ST5010:
One of the first slates to be produced by a big manufacturer was the Fujitsu Stylistic ST5010. Taking a page from Motion’s book, the Fujitsu Stylistic ST5010 came with a huge 12.1 inch screen. Weighing in at 3.4 pounds, the tablet was larger than most, but still light enough for extensive travel; however the four hour battery life was not conducive to this end. Boasting a 1 GHz Pentium M processor, the ST5010 was faster than most of its competitors in the space. Unfortunately, the larger screen led to smaller buttons which were hard to push. The ST5010 was also mysteriously missing a four-way navigation pad which made navigation quite a pain.

Samsung Q1 Ultra:
The Samsung Q1 was one of the first projects built under Microsoft’s Origami project. The Q1 can boot directly into Windows XP or AVS mode. With AVS mode, the Q1 boots to a media player with no Windows Explorer interface. The Q1 Ultra is extremely lightweight, coming in at just over 1.7 pounds. The Intel Celeron M ULV chip running at 900 MHz was supposed to help with battery life, but the device could still only muster 3 hours. The 7 inch touchscreen was smaller than the standard we became accustomed to, and given its poor performance and short battery life, the Q1 Ultra was not well-received.

iPod Touch:
The iPod Touch was introduced to the masses in September of 2007. It comes with a 3.5 inch multi-touch display, and weighs only 4.2 ounces. The battery life in the first generation is sufficient, with up to 22 hours for audio, and 5 for video. Subsequent versions have improved battery life. It was the first of the iPod line to be able to access the iTunes store as well as Apple’s App Store, which greatly increased the number of third-party applications being offered to the platform. While not marketed as a slate, the iPod Touch, has all the functionality of its predecessors, along with the addition of multi-touch. The success of the iPod Touch has been prolific, with over 20 million sold in its first two years.

Lenovo U1:
The Lenovo U1 is a netbook with a removable tablet. When docked, the U1 takes advantage of an Intel processor and runs Windows 7. However, when the tablet is removed, the U1 utilizes the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and runs a Linux distro. While docked, the netbook weighs 3.8 pounds, but when removed, weighs only 1.6. The screen is 11.6 inches and supports multi-touch. While not in production yet, this hybrid was revealed at CES 2010 and has potential to disrupt the market. It will be interesting to see how the product handles being synced to the dock while running programs.

Compaq iPAQ:
The Compaq iPAQ, introduced in 2000, was another advanced PDA device. It took advantage of a Windows interface which gave it multimedia functionality over its Palm rivals. Consumers were able to buy “sleeves” which added functionality; such as GPS, wireless networking, and extra batteries. The first model ran at 200 MHz, and had 64MB of RAM, while later versions had as much as 128 MB of RAM and a 624 MHz processor. The iPAQ line have undergone major revamps since HP’s acquisition of Compaq and are no longer being branded as the iPAQ. Instead, HP has decided to call the future iterations Personal Navigation Devices and Travel Companions. This is a good way to differentiate themselves from their competitor, since calling a product the i”Name” makes one think of something Apple-related.

Microsoft Surface:
The Microsoft Surface is the only non-portable slate on the list. It has an incredible 30 inch multi-touch screen, but only has 2 GB of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive, and a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The Surface is able to recognize different objects as well as register multiple users, which is where this product excels. We have one of these in our TechCrunch office and the multi-user recognition makes for great air hockey games, but it gets more use as a coffee table than anything else. This is definitely not made for personal use, but larger organizations such as hospitals could benefit from this technology.

iSlate/iPad/Apple Tablet:
The hype over the product has caused such a media frenzy that one can’t go to any news site without seeing the tablet mentioned in some form or another. No no one outside of Apple knows what the tablet will be packing with regards to specs, but we do have our thoughts on some groundbreaking gesturing techniques. Even if the Apple Tablet disappoints, it will go down in history as one of the most groundbreaking slates created, simply because of the all the buzz surrounding the product.

HP introduced two, new HP IPAQ handhelds yesterday and the pricing, along with availability, has been found. Expect the both the Voice Messenger launch on November 5th and the Data Messenger on November 22nd, both on Vodafone in the Netherlands for €399 ($532) and €499 ($665), respectively. No word when the U.S. will see a launch just yet though.

The HP Voice Messenger and the Data Messenger are two GSM fleet phones that look fairly staid. The Voice Messenger, show here:

* Small and simple : Dial and type quickly with the simple and useful 20-key keypad. Text and email1,2 easily with intelligent predictive text that “learns” your words and style from messages and emails.
* Smart and practical: Use email, phone, and Internet1,2 with advanced wireless technology in many countries around the world. Where WiFi is available[k1], connect without using data plan minutes. Instant Message with Windows Live.
* Simplify your life: Skip the new phone learning curve with familiar Windows Mobile 6.1 and use Microsoft Outlook Office Mobile to synchronize contacts, appointments and tasks with your PC.
* Find your way: Find your way with integrated GPS3.
* Enjoy the extras: 3.1MP auto focus camera with 5X digital zoom and flash LED. Convenient Micro-SD card slot for storage up to 8GB (card sold separately).

MobilityToday has specs on the other device which is essentially the same except with a slide out keyboard. At least the iPaq name is still alive.

Why anyone would hold an event during the same week as WWDC is beyond me, but I find myself in Berlin, Germany at HP’s Connecting Your World media summit. I just arrived a few hours ago after a 15-hour ordeal that started with a 3-hour delay, a missed connection in Dusseldorf and my bag is missing because the dipshit from LTU (Air Berlin) at JFK gave me the wrong baggage claim ticket and there’s no record of me checking in a bag at JFK. I’m having a great day! I need beer. Lots of beer.

Anyway, I have before me the HP iPAQ 910c. The welcome packet tells me it’s the 914, but the box clearly states that it’s the 910c. I’m confused by the whole situation, but the device is pretty robust and a tad on the chubby side. The 3G Windows Mobile device is packed with Wi-Fi, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, a 3-megapixel AF camera (does video at 176×144), QWERTY keyboard and a 2.46-inch LED backlit touchscreen. It seems like a pretty solid device based on the specs and we’ll see how she goes while I’m here in Berlin. Oh, it ships June 30.

For $449, you’ll get a 4-inch 640×480 VGA touchscreen plus a bunch of other stuff like a 624MHz Marvell PXA310 processor — Marvell bought Intel’s XScale unit back in June of 2006 so you’re basically getting an XScale processor if you’d like to look at it that way.

There’s also 128MB of SDRAM, 256MB of flash ROM, microphone, full-size (3.5mm) headphone jack, 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, Windows Mobile 6 Classic, Windows Mobile Office, and Compact Flash and SDIO slots.

HP iPAQ 210 [HP.com] via CNET Blogs

I’m honestly not sure what to make of the 514. On one hand it’s a WinMo 6 smartphone with WiFi, on the other hand it’s an iPAQ without a touchscreen. Essentially, HP made a phone, not a PDA with phone features. It’s about as big as an old school Nokia candybar and it looks OEM-tastic with a very odd trade dress that I haven’t seen in HP products before.

I asked them about U.S. availability and it seems that all they need to do is get it approved and they’ll probably be selling it through the HP website without contracts, allowing Cingular and T-Mobile folks to snap them up and presumably enjoy VoIP and other jazz. It only supports GPRS/EDGE and has about 64MB of memory and a microSD slot.

Looks like HP resurrected its near-dead brand of PDAs. The new iPAQ 510 is a strange, yet slim phone device that runs Windows Mobile 6 and comes with features like Skype, EDGE, Wi-Fi and extended battery life.

Despite packing some decent features, we still have no clue why HP would continue the iPAQ brand. Says Laptop Mag:

The HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger is a solid phone for people who like the idea of having Outlook in their pocket but don’t need a QWERTY keyboard. HP does a nice job of not only incorporating the Windows Mobile 6 OS but improving upon it as well. If you have your heart set on a high-performing Voice Commander functionality, though, you might want to wait for round two before spending $300.

They end up giving the iPAQ 510 three out of five stars, not exactly what I’d call earth-shattering. If you really have a lot of cash to spend, then I guess you could drop $300 on it—though I’d try to avoid doing so.

HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger [Laptop]

Cell service is of course provided on the carrier’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless data network and then you get Wi-Fi, GPS, infrared and Bluetooth wireless. Just think of all the wireless fun you can have. I’m sure it does other stuff that makes it worth the money, but you can follow the links below to read more.

HP Mobility [Company site] or
Cingular iPaq [Product page]

Oh boy. HP made a PMP. The iPaq rx4000 has a 2.8-inch screen and uses Windows Mobile 5.0 to play back MP3s and video. It’s also compatible with many VOIP apps so you can use it as a wee phone around the house over WiFi. Finally, you can hook up your phone with Bluetooth.

Best of all? There’s a scroll wheel. Yeah. I know. Another mylo/Nokia 770-alike. Sorry.

HP iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion Announced [Mobility Site]
Full specs after the jump.

* Choose to view digital content in either landscape or portrait mode to maximize the viewing pleasure of videos, photos and games.
* A scroll wheel for a single, smooth, one-handed operation for access and navigation of digital content.
* A large 2.8-inch-wide anti-glare touch screen to quickly launch media applications for entertainment gratification.
* The HP iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion series, which is built on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Software for Pocket PC, also includes a suite of connectivity options, such as integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, enabling consumers to stay connected on the go.
* Built with integrated Wi-Fi, consumers can connect to their email and the Internet to get real-time information and download music or movies. Consumers can also download VoIP software to make free PC-to-PC calls and fee-based calls to landlines and mobile phones, staying connected to loved.
* Bluetooth technology enables consumers to connect to other Bluetooth devices, such as wireless stereo headphones, mobile phones and wireless printers.
* Built on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Software for Pocket PC, consumers can synchronize their calendar and contacts with ease, while getting work done on the go with popular Microsoft applications, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.