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In an effort to expand its device business beyond the borders of just the corporate crowd, The Wall Street Journal just announced that Hewlett Packard is getting ready to release a new smart phone that is also going to be marketed to the “average joe consumer.”  It will be sold by a (yet un-named) mobile carrier in retail stores and will debut in Europe.

The new smartphone will be the latest in the line of HP’s iPaq devices.  The most recent iPaq smartphone, which was geared toward the business crowd, was launched this past June.  The company began selling iPaq-branded devices in 2002, when it acquired Compaq Computer Corp; although earlier iPaqs focused more on businesses and weren’t usually sold in retail stores.  So, they are obviously trying to make a leap into a broader market.

The phone is going to have the usual smartphone touchscreen and keypad, and will run Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. You’ll be able to access the ‘Net, and send and receive emails.  Not much more is out there on what else separates this phone from their previous versions and no info on pricing.  We know that it is due to come out in Europe in the next two months, then will hit the States shortly thereafter.  Stay tuned for more details as they come in.

Via [techmeme] and [wsj]