HP iPAQ Voice Messenger & iPAQ Data Messenger Smartphones
HP announced two new consumer smartphones today, and they’ve thankfully dropped convoluted numerical product names in favor of nice, easy to understand words. TheiPAQ Voice Messengeris a candybar smartphone with a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 display and 20-key SureType-style keyboard, while theiPAQ Data Messengerhas a 2.81-inch 320 x 240 touchscreen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Both run Windows Mobile 6.1, have WiFi b/g, HSDPA and quadband GSM.
Each has aGPS, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, a 3.1-megapixel camera and a microSD slot (up to 8GB supported, apparently) for augmenting the onboard 256MB of ROM storage. There’s also, thankfully, a standard 3.5mm headphone socket, which is an improvement on much of HTC’s range, together with a microUSB socket for synchronizing and charging.
The iPAQ Voice Messenger measures 5.0 x 1.36 x 11.4 cm and weighs 107g; the iPAQ Data Messenger measures 5.7 x 1.74 x 11.4 cm and weighs 160g.Electricpigmanaged to score some hands-on time with the Data version, finding it well-specified but, with no attempt to garnish or disguise the standard Windows Mobile GUI, far less usable than rivals such a the HTC Touch Diamond or the Apple iPhone.
Full release and pricing information is scarce; however, according toEngadget, Vodafone in the Netherlands will be selling the Voice Messenger for €399 ($532) on November 5th and the Data Messenger for €499 ($665) on November 22nd.
