HP iPAQ Voice Messenger and Data Messenger
Discontinued 22nd
October 2008
A pair of Windows smartphones, the HP
iPAQ Voice Messenger and HP iPAQ Data Messenger
are Hewlett-Packard's latest attempt to get a slice
of the business phone market. This time, HP have teamed
up with Vodafone and this pair should be available in
the UK and other Vodafone countries later this year.
HP iPAQ Voice Messenger
While
many Windows Mobile handsets are going for large touchscreens,
the new HP iPAQ Voice Messenger uses a much more
conventional layout, which might well appeal to people
who otherwise might consider the BlackBerry
Pearl.
It's about the same size and weight
as a traditional monoblock phone, but one noticeable
thing is the hybrid QWERTY / numeric keyboard, a little
like the SureType keypad on the Pearl. The screen is
a fairly standard 2.4" 240 x 320 pixel panel which
is not touch-sensitive. The main interface control
is a five-way optical navigation pad. If this isn't
for you, fear not.. HP have a touch sensitive screen
on the Data Messenger.
Despite the conventional looks, the
iPAQ Voice Messenger is pretty loaded when it comes
to features. Not only does the Voice Messenger have
3.5G HSDPA support, but it also comes with HSUPA capabilities
for high-speed uploads, plus WiFi, tri-band 900 / 1900
/ 2100 MHz UMTS, quad-band GSM, GPRS and EDGE data.
In other words, the HP iPAQ Voice Messenger should be
able to get you some sort of high-speed data connection
pretty much anywhere in the world.
There are lots of other features too
- the Voice Messenger has GPS and Google Maps, plus
a 30 day trial for a turn-by-turn satellite navigation
application. The camera is surprisingly good for a Windows
device, being a 3.1 megapixel unit with autofocus and
LED flash. There's microSD expandable memory, Bluetooth
and a USB connection too.
The operating system is Windows Mobile
6.1 standard plus a load of other applications such
as the Opera web browser, Windows Media Player and Microsoft
Office compatibility. If you're interested in the iPAQ
Voice Messenger, then you will have a pretty good idea
of what Windows Mobile can do.
HP suggest a SIM-free retail price of
£333 (including tax) which works out at roughly
€420. If taken with a new Vodafone contract, then you
can expect it to be much cheaper. HP say that the iPAQ
Voice Messenger should be available in November.
HP iPAQ Data Messenger
The
HP iPAQ Data Messenger is a touchscreen device
that takes all of the features of the Voice Messenger
and then adds a larger display and a QWERTY keyboard.
Still
featuring high-speed 3.5G downloads and uploads, GPS,
WiFi and a 3.1 megapixel camera, this iPAQ model comes
with a large 2.8" 320 x 240 pixel touchscreen display,
plus a pretty conventional looking slide-out keyboard.
The display is a 320 x 240 pixel panel,
which is pretty average.. it would have been nice to
see a VGA resolution display or better though, but the
iPAQ Data Messenger's tri-band HSDPA and HSUPA data
support partly make up for it.
At 160 grams in weight and 114 x 57
x 17mm in size, the Data Messenger is clearly bigger
and heavier than the Voice Messenger, but for a touchscreen
device like this it's pretty reasonable.
HP say that the recommended SIM-free
price for the iPAQ Data Messenger is £399 (about
€500) including tax, and it should start to be available
from next month.
HP
iPAQ Voice Messenger at
a glance
|
Available:
|
Now
|
Network:
|
GSM
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
+ UMTS 900 / 1900 /
2100
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
+ HSUPA + WiFi
|
Screen:
|
240
x 320 pixels, 65k colours
|
Camera:
|
3.1
megapixels
|
Size:
|
Medium
monoblock 115 x 50 x
14mm / 103 grams
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Yes
(Sun JVM)
|
GPS:
|
Yes
(A-GPS)
|
Battery
life:
|
Not
specified
|
OS:
|
Windows
Mobile Standard 6.1
|
|
HP
iPAQ Data Messenger
at a glance
|
Available:
|
Now
|
Network:
|
GSM
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
+ UMTS 900 / 1900 /
2100
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
+ HSUPA + WiFi
|
Screen:
|
240
x 320 pixels, 65k colours
|
Camera:
|
3.1
megapixels
|
Size:
|
Medium
monoblock 114 x 57 x
17mm / 160 grams
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Yes
(Sun JVM)
|
GPS:
|
Yes
(A-GPS)
|
Battery
life:
|
Not
specified
|
OS:
|
Windows
Mobile Professional 6.1
|
|
|