Two new HP Windows Mobile devices appear with new keyboard options
I was checking out jkOnTheRun this morning and read their post on new HP Windows Mobile phones that lead to the details on the wmpoweruser.com site. Sam wrote last month that HP was jumping deeper into the smartphone market after a couple years trying to sell their iPAQ line that largely focused on the enterprise buyer. These two new devices, the iPAQ Voice Messenger and Data Messenger, actually look quite modern and may appeal to consumers as well. I actually found the HP iPAQ 910 to be a pretty compelling device and the first HP mobile phone that I almost purchased for myself.
The HP iPAQ Data Messenger is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (touch screen) device with 2.8 inch QVGA display (where is the VGA HP?), integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM, UMTS/HSDPA (doesn't look like it supports US bands), integrated GPS, 3.1 megapixel camera, 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM, microSD card slot, and 1140 mAh battery. All of these new Windows Mobile devices have pretty much the same specifications and there is nothing that distinguishes the HP device from others. A unique feature for HP though is that this device has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard like the AT&T Tilt.
The HP iPAQ Voice Messenger is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard (non-touch screen) device with 2.4 inch display, 20-key SureType QWERTY keyboard/keypad, integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM, UMTS/HSDPA, integrated GPS, 3.1 megapixel camera, 128MB RAM, 256MB RAM, 1260 mAh battery, and microSD card slot. Again the specifications are pretty standard, but the keyboard/keypad design is unique for HP.
The non-touch screen Voice Messenger actually has a larger capacity battery yet is more efficient than the touch screen device so that is a bit interesting. I like seeing new non-touch screen Windows Mobile Standard devices since we see too many touch screen devices today and I find the Standard devices to be more stable and zippier. There is no word on when or if we may see these devices in the U.S. and there is no pricing information yet available.