The new, smaller iPaq loses the QWERTY keyboard, but keeps the Wi-Fi. With Windows Mobile 6 and advanced voice commands, do we think the update does the iPaq line proud?
When we reviewed the HP iPaq 6925 in late October, 2006, we appreciated the advanced features, like GPS and Wi-Fi, but had some problems with the phone. First of all, we though the smartphone was a bit large. It's hard to get a handle on how big the new HP iPaq 510 Voice Messenger really is. The HP site has the same measurements for that phone that we have for the older 6925, as do other sites that claim to have the phone in hand, but we'd rather believe anecdotal evidence that suggests this phone is more in line with the Cingular 2125, itself a large candy bar phone.
We had problems with the iPaq 6925's low resolution screen, which was 240 by 240 pixels, lower than Windows Mobile 5 allows. Unfortunately, though Windows Mobile 6 is apparently capable of resolutions in excess of QVGA, again HP has decided to hobble their phone with a low-res screen, this time a measly 176 by 220. At that resolution, pictures and video will be disappointing, and even text will begin to show effects of aliasing and blocking.
Though we appreciated the Wi-Fi radio on the iPaq 6925, we were disappointed that the phone lacked 3G networking in favor of EDGE. Once again, HP has decided against high speed data in favor of EDGE. Though this used to mean that Web browsing would suffer as a result of lower speeds, now, with HTML e-mail and improved access to corporate intranets, we worry that Outlook will begin to suffer the effects of the 2.5G network.
The new iPaq 510 also lacks a clickwheel, trackball or any such device to make navigating the Windows menu screens easier. We found Windows Mobile 5.0 to be difficult to navigate one-handed on smartphones that include a wheel, and though Windows Mobile 6 does include a new host of shortcuts, we still wonder how the device will perform on long Web pages, or even long menus, without a scrolling aide. It does have an improved voice command system, the highlight of the device, but this seems more like a gimmick feature. We have an office that is too quiet to issue voice commands to our phones, and on trains and buses we can't imaging giving our phones commands and messages orally, when we could type them privately instead.
We are expecting a review unit to be able to test the device first-hand, but until then we can't help but feel like HP is missing an opportunity with this device. Other than brand loyalty, we can’t see a compelling reason to choose this phone over the numerous other smartphones that perform the same functions, have the same features, and are the same size, or smaller. The phone seems to be competing with the Cingular 2125, when it should have its sights on the T-Mobile Dash, a more compact Windows Mobile 6 (soon) device that has a better screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. Now that even the Standard Edition of Windows Mobile 6 packs a mobile Office suite with editing capabilities, the market for Windows Mobile devices with no QWERTY keyboard must be small, if not closing soon.
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