Hewlett-Packard (HP) today confirmed recent speculation it is moving into the consumer market, unveiling two new smartphones and a distribution agreement with Vodafone in Europe. The HP iPAQ Voice Messenger and the iPAQ Data Messenger will be available in the UK exclusively from Vodafone from next month, with other European countries to be announced. Both devices run over Vodafone’s HSPA networks and use Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. The iPAQ Voice Messenger will retail for £333, while the touchscreen iPAQ Data Messenger will sell for £399.

The Times notes that today’s announcement marks a change of strategy for HP, which until now targeted big businesses (selling direct to enterprises or through retailers). David Wright, VP and general manager for HP’s personal systems group, told the publication the new smartphones were designed to bridge the gap between work and play, targeting what the company calls ‘prosumers,’ or professional consumers, and small and medium businesses. However, HP is currently only a niche player in the smartphone market; IDC gives HP a 3.3 percent global market share in terms of sales. According to a recent Gartner study, Nokia dominates the smartphone market with a 47.5 percent market share as of Q2 2008. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion was second with a 17.4 percent share, followed by HTC with 4.1 percent. “These devices are a signal of HP’s future aspirations,” CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood told The Times. “They have taken the bull by the horns and brought a design team in-house. This could be its salvo to make a break into the smartphone market.”