This week at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the
mobile industry has gathered to showcase new products and
services, as well as to further the development of the GSM
platform. Among them is HP, which today announced its latest
smart phone, the HP iPaq hw6900 Mobile Messenger. The follow-up
to the HP iPaq hw6515, the hw6900 updates the operating system
and adds some new features. Unfortunately, as of the time of this
writing, no pricing had been set, and HP gave us only a vague US
availability date of mid-to-late spring. To hold you over in the
meantime, here are a few details about the PDA-phone.
Upside
When we reviewed the iPaq hw6515, integrated Wi-Fi was one of the
things on our wish list. With the HP iPaq hw6900, we're happy to
see the company added it to the feature set. Bluetooth and EDGE
technologies are also onboard, so you have the full gamut of
wireless options. And for globe-trotting execs, good news: The
hw6900 is a quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) phone, so you can
take it with you overseas. We also welcome the latest Windows
Mobile 5 operating system, and since the smart phone runs the
Pocket PC Edition, you get the full Mobile Office Suite,
including Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, and
Outlook Mobile. Speaking of which, the hw6900 is positioned to be
an e-mail machine, as it's compatible with GoodLink and Microsoft
Exchanger Server 2003. Plus, with Microsoft's Messaging and
Security Feature Pack, you'll be able to enjoy the joys of push
e-mail technology. Oh, and did we mention the full QWERTY
keyboard?
Other features on the iPaq hw6900 include a 1.3-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities (HP will offer a cameraless version), a built-in GPS receiver and navigation software, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, a 416MHz Intel PXA270 processor, 128MB of flash memory and 64MB of SDRAM, and a speakerphone.
Downside
Like any other Pocket PC phone, the HP iPaq hw6900 is on the
bigger side (118 x 71 x 18mm; 179.45g), resembling a PDA more
than a mobile, so using the device as your cell phone may take
some adjustment. Also, when reviewing the HP iPaq hw6515, we
experienced sluggish performance with numerous applications open,
so we're hoping HP has made steps to improve this in the
hw6900.
Outlook
The HP iPaq hw6900 is shaping up to be a powerful device, but
we're always a little wary of products that aim to be a
jack-of-all-trades. We hope it can perform in all areas -- GPS,
phone, PDA, and multimedia -- and do them well. The smart-phone
market is definitely picking up, and the hw6900 will face
competition as new models continue to come down the pipeline.
Check back soon for our full review.
HP iPaq hw6900
Company: HP
Price: TBA
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