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To the surprise of the mobile industry, Hewlett-Packard accidentally leaked information about a group of new handhelds, the iPAQ hx2000 series, on its website back in August. This occurred only a month after the computer giant unveiled several other Pocket PCs, including its first smartphone, the iPAQ h6315 (see The All Everything Pocket PC Phone). Quicker than you could say iPAQ, however, HP took the data about the hx2000 down.

In another odd move, HP officially unveiled the three hx2000 series models this week, but only in Europe. The hx2110, hx2410, and hx2750, which are listed on various European HP websites, are noticeably absent from the company’s American website.

Does this mean mobile professionals and enterprises in the U.S. won’t get a crack at these new handhelds? We doubt it. PDAStreet expects HP will change this unusual state of affairs soon with an official North American announcement.

In the mean time, here’s what we know about the three new iPAQs.

Similarities
Although there are differences between the models, they do share a number of features. All three run on Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition and have dual memory and peripheral expansion with CompactFlash II and SDIO-enabled Secure Digital slots.

They even share the same dimensions, 4.7 x 3.0 x 0.65 inches (119 x 76.6 x 16.3 mm) and weight, 5.8 ounces (164 g). And since the Pocket PCs are compatible with existing iPAQ accessories and peripherals (as well as each other’s), users should be able to fully leverage their investments in previous iPAQ models when upgrading.

This is especially important to enterprises that purchase handhelds in bulk--although consumers and small business owners should find this type of potential savings attractive as well.

The units’ displays measure 3.5 inches diagonally and support resolutions of 240 x 320 pixels at 65,536 colors. Back by popular demand is a translucent plastic flipcover, last seen in HP’s now defunct Jornada series of Pocket PCs.

Powering the two higher-end models, the hx2750 and hx2410, is a swappable 1440 mAh Lithium Ion battery. The hx2110 only comes with a 920 mAh battery. All three models are compatible with an extremely powerful 2880 mAh battery, which will be available as an optional accessory.

Differences
At the high end is the iPAQ hx2750, HP’s first handheld since the iPAQ h5550 to implement biometric security via a fingerprint reader. The reader is supported by software from Creadant Technologies. With biometrics, enterprises can protect important data without being concerned about an employee’s password falling into the wrong hands, for example.

Other features of the hx2750 include a 624 MHz Intel XScale processor, 128MB of RAM, and 128MB of ROM. 93MB of ROM is diverted into iPAQ File Store, which is like having a memory card within your device. The new Pocket PC also incorporates Wi-Fi (802.11b) and Bluetooth (1.2) wireless networking.

A step down from the hx2750 is the hx2410. This model runs a slower 520MHz processor and includes, at 64 MB of RAM and 64 MB of ROM, half as much memory as the hx2750. 31MB of the hx2410’s ROM is set aside for iPAQ File Store. It also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless.

At the bottom of the hierarchy is the hx2110. Although this model runs on a less powerful 312MHz Intel XScale processor, it does include the same amount of memory as the hx2410. Unlike the other two models in the hx2000 series, the hx2110 won’t offer Wi-Fi, but still delivers Bluetooth. The Pocket PC won’t come with a cradle either.

We expect all three models in the hx2000 series to ship in December, at least in Europe. According to reports, the hx2110 should go for $530, the hx2410 for $640, and the hx2750 for $790.