Hewlett-Packard's Budget Pocket PC

The Jornada 525 from Hewlett-Packard is a Pocket PC for people with skinny pockets--and wallets. At $359, it (along with its near-identical sibling, the Jornada 520) is one of the least-expensive color Pocket PCs available--a good $90 cheaper than the Jornada 548, and $140 less than Compaq's popular IPaq Pocket PC.

Even so, the Jornada 525 has many attractive Pocket PC selling points: a svelte, 8-ounce design; a high-resolution (240 by 320) color screen; and stripped-down versions of such Microsoft Office applications as Outlook, Word, and Excel. But as you might suspect, HP did cut some corners to get the price down so low.

Most glaringly, there's no built-in stylus holder on the PDA itself; the 520 series offers only a little pocket in the fabric lining of the included leather case. HP also economized on the color screen, which uses a 256-color passive-matrix LCD technology. The display looks bright enough, and it has settings that you can adjust for indoor and outdoor lighting. The colors aren't as saturated or rich as those found on the 4000- or 65,000-color active-matrix screens of more-expensive competitors, however. I also noticed some ghost images on the display of my shipping model. Finally, you must sync via a poky serial cable--the Jornada 525 doesn't support a faster USB hookup, and a cradle costs extra.

On the plus side, you can boost the Jornada 525's 16MB memory via a CompactFlash slot. And the software bundle includes a useful note-taking and organizing application, several audio players, and a couple of fun games.

Overall, the Jornada 525 offers good value for its price (the Jornada 520 bundles the same device with software that's slightly more corporate). Cost-conscious Pocket PC fans should consider checking out one of these models.

SUMMARY

Jornada 525 PRO: One of the most affordable color Pocket PCs available. CON: Serial hookup means slow syncing; no built-in stylus holder; passive-matrix display. VALUE: Reasonable sacrifices for cost-conscious Pocket PC fans. Street price: $359 Hewlett-Packard 800/752-0900 www.hp.com