We’ve complained endlessly about the unimaginative—often downright ugly—styling of Pocket PC handhelds. Things have been improving slowly, but HP’s latest clutch of new releases represents a step change for the company’s best-selling iPAQ range, with chunky-but-stylish good looks in a curvy form factor that’s comfortable to hold—comfort being an important consideration surprisingly overlooked in many PDA designs.

Supplied with a smoked plastic flip cover rather than a conventional slip case, and finished off with hard rubberised-effect side panels, the iPAQ hx2110 feels tough and durable, as does the cover itself. Although comparatively weighty at almost 180g/6.3oz, there’s a fair amount of technology squeezed in there, with dual SD and CF expansion slots and integral Bluetooth. Though the processor only runs at 312MHz, it’s an Intel PXA270, which feels snappier than most earlier processor models running at 400MHz and beyond. Specifications are otherwise unremarkable, with 60MB of internal memory available and just over 21MB in the obligatory iPAQ File Store flash memory.

As is the norm with modern iPAQs, the (920mAh) Lithium-Ion battery pack is removable, and this particular model comes with a basic USB ActiveSync cable rather than a full desktop cradle, though a cradle can be purchased as an optional extra.

The iPAQ hx2110 runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, as do all the new 2xxx series Pocket PCs, and it comes with an improved and updated version of HP’s longstanding iTask program launcher. When assigned to one of the four standard application buttons, this offers an effective way of switching between running programs, controlling screen brightness and other system settings, and generally managing your handheld. As always on iPAQs, there’s iPAQ Backup for backing up the entire contents of internal memory to a memory storage card. This is in fact a bundled copy of Sprite Software’s (www.spritesoftware.com) superb Sprite Backup utility, probably the best of its kind, which allows unattended, timed backups as well as the ability to restore individual files if needed.

As a mid-range Pocket PC, the iPAQ hx2110 is a worthy successor to the best-selling 2210: it’s more attractive, slightly faster, feels more durable, and, with its latest version of the Microsoft operating system, now supports landscape mode.

If you need Wi-Fi but still want an iPAQ then go for the hx2410 or hx2750 instead. Likewise, if you’re looking for something ultra-fast and/or with the ability to run more programs simultaneously, the larger memory capacity of these two models may be an attraction.