Hewlett Packard has been loyal to the Windows CE operating system since its release and has produced devices using most of the revisions released. The latest Jornada is no exception, but while the 568 is a powerful PDA, its price and limited expansion option may deter some.

The Jornada 568 is HP's first Pocket PC based around the 206MHz StrongARM processor, and outperforms any of its predecessors. Backing up the processor are 64MB of RAM and 32MB of flash ROM, however if you need any more space, expansion is limited to just a single CompactFlash Type I slot.

The 16-bit 65,536-color, 320 by 240 pixel, reflective display is protected by a detachable plastic cover and is not particularly bright even indoors, but it can be read in direct sunlight. There are two brightness levels available, but these are too similar to make a substantial difference.

One plus point in the Jornada 568's favour is that the battery is removable, so you could carry a spare. A word of caution, though; if you do remove the battery during operation, you have the option to keep or erase data in RAM. We couldn't get the device to retain data successfully and had to choose the 'no' option to clear it from the device. It's a useful way to reset your device quickly, but could be disastrous if you don't have an up-to-date backup on your PC. A sign of the lower power consumption of Pocket PC 2002 is that you get 14 hours of battery life.

To supplement the basic Pocket PC2002 software package, there are several of HP's own utilities, including HP Display Profile (for setting a screen brightness appropriate to your surroundings), HP Viewing (for displaying common image file formats), HP Backup and HP Task Switcher, which lets you jump quickly to another HP application or close all applications at once.

The Jornada 568 is a well-designed PDA, but it is pricey and it would be more useful if the CompactFlash slot was Type II, allowing for larger-capacity storage cards.