Whereupon the computer and printer giant introduced four multifunction iPAQs for Europe: The iPAQ rx4240 Mobile Media Companion, two members of the iPAQ rx5000 Travel Companion Series, and a Pocket PC Phone called the iPAQ rw6815 Personal Messenger. The first two had been unveiled before for other markets, but the last model was brand new.

In HP's vision, vendors would stop loading reams of features into PDAs and smartphones, but instead companion gadgets could enhance handheld functionality. (One such gadget, Fossil's Bluetooth watch - developed in partnership with Sony Ericsson - was introduced a couple of weeks ago. The time piece displays Caller ID info and more from a smartphone.)

Sure, each of the devices HP announced has its particular emphasis, with labels to make sure potential customers know exactly what they’re getting. The rx4240 is a personal media player with plenty of audio and visual functionality, the rx5000 series is GPS-equipped for mapping and location-based applications, and the rw6815 is a smartphone with voice and messaging capabilities. But seeing as how they are all built on Windows Mobile 5.0 with plenty of overlapping features, one can hardly call any of them single function.

"It's really easy to make devices more complex, but it's really hard to make devices insanely simple," said HP CTO Phil McKinney at the press conference, according to PC Pro. "Are you ever going to get to a single device? No. There's constantly a trade off. You can watch video on a device, but some people will want a bigger screen, for example."

Unlike any of the Pocket PC Phones—and most of the popular smartphones (Windows Mobile or otherwise) available in the U.S.—the rw6815 is a tablet-style handset without a keypad (i.e. the Cingular 3125) or keyboard (i.e. Motorola Q, Treo 700wx, RIM BlackBerry etc.). Its sole method of input - entering text, dialing numbers, etc. - is through the device’s 2.7-inch 240 x 320 (VGA) resolution and 262,144-color touch screen.

Having a touch screen gives it an advantage over Windows Smartphones such as the Cingular 3125. And the rw6815’s size, at 40 x 2.3 x 0.75 inches (102 x 58 x 19 millimeters) and 4.94 ounces (140 grams), is relatively small to most other Pocket PC Phones on the market because they generally integrate keyboards.

Unlike with Windows Smartphones, you view and edit Microsoft Office files, rather than just viewing them. There's also e-mail, PIM apps, and Windows Media Player 10.

The tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE rw6815 runs on 416 MHz Intel processor, 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of persistent user storage, and a miniSD card slot to add additional memory. There's also 802.11b Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 1.2, and 2 megapixel camera with LED flash for picture and video.

Due to ship by the end of the month, the unsubsidized cost of the rw6815 is 599 euros (about $754). There's no word on whether any carriers might pick it up, which would almost certainly lower the price with a service plan. We'll let you know if HP devides to ship the smartphone in the U.S.

The two rx5000 models appear to be physically the same as the one that was announced in the U.S. in September, the rx5915. They have a SiRF Star III GPS receiver with maps and travel software from Tom Tom.

Unlike the rx5915, which offers 2 GB of maps and travel data for this market, the rx5720 449 euros (about $565) comes in eight versions for different European regions, and there's a single edition, the rx5935 449 euros (about $565) , that delivers 2 GB worth of Europe-wide street maps. So for example, there's a 512 MB version of the rx5720 with UK roads only. For details about the rx5000 series specifications, see here.

Already available in Asia, rx4240 has a 2.8-inch QVGA touch screen, 400 MHz processor, 64 MB or RAM and 128 MB of ROM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. A rx4500 version is expected to have 1 GB of ROM. Both editions feature an SD slot for storage expansion. Additional key features include HP Photosmart Mobile software to turn the iPAQ into a digital photo album and Skype support.

Pricing for the rx4000 series ranges from 299 to 399 euros (about $376-$502)