Just announced for Cingular, the iPAQ hw6925 boasts Windows Mobile 5.0, Wi-Fi, built-in GPS and TeleNav software. Does this formidable slab of a smartphone lose its way or find its mark?
Review summary of the HP iPAQ hw6925:
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 The HP iPAQ hw6925 feels more like a full-fledged handheld computer than a smartphone, thanks to its powerful processor, as well as its girth. With GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the iPAQ is a connectivity powerhouse, and the mobile version of Office can handle most popular document formats. The included Photosmart software is better than what you'll find on other phones, as is the TeleNav suite Cingular had bundled with the phone. Unfortunately, the hw6925 is saddled with a relatively low-resolution screen, and it’s a shame that Cingular isn't offering this phone on their HSDPA network, as 3G capabilities would make this iPAQ a formidable handset. Release: October 2006. Price: $380.
Pros: Wi-Fi support; GPS navigation and ability to tag photos with coordinates; speedy Web browsing; robust e-mail and messaging features.
Cons: Low-resolution screen; lack of 3G and 802.11g support; short battery life using advanced features; inconsistent joystick; typically requires two hands to use.
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69%
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Full HP iPAQ hw6925 Review:
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Design
Measuring 4.7 by 2.8 by 0.7 inches and weighing in at a hefty 6.3 ounces, the iPAQ hw6925 qualifies as one of the widest smartphones we've tested; after a few hours of testing, our 2.3 inch-wide Palm Treo 700p felt small in comparison, and holding the iPAQ to our ear felt like listening to a small dinner plate. The iPAQ comes with a flip-up screen protector that attaches to the top, and the phone is big enough that you won't mind the extra bulk; however, because this is a Windows Mobile Pocket PC edition phone, you'll often flip up the visor to use the touchscreen. While the screen itself is quite large at 3 inches, at just 240 by 240 pixels it lacks the resolution of the most recent Windows Mobile devices we've seen, including the Treo 700wx and Cingular 3125 (which both have 320 by 240-pixel screens).
Calling - Good
Voices sounded loud and clear on the iPAQ 6925, but we had some trouble with reception. In our New York City offices (and testing with the same SIM card), our GSM RAZR managed consistently better reception than did the iPAQ, which often dipped to two bars, causing audible static during calls. However, when reception was strong, voices sounded very clean. The contact list is bare, but offers numerous fields, while-you-type searching, and even accelerating scrolling with a pop-up letter telling you how far you've moved in the alphabet. Unfortunately, these advanced contact features aren't accessible directly from the dialing menu. Conference calling requires a lot of digging through the menus and contact lists, while voice commands aren't available at all. The iPAQ supports MP3s ringtones, and alerts are grouped into profiles that also handle power consumption settings.
Messaging - Very good
The iPAQ messaging strongly resembles a desktop computer. ActiveSync allows you to use an Exchange server to synchronize your e-mail, and the phone can handle push e-mail. SMS and e-mail get their own folders under the messaging heading, and browsing these folders feels like browsing a Windows Explorer folder hierarchy window. The interface can display a full SMS message on screen, but the low-res screen makes text look a little blocky. Also, browsing messages and flipping between SMS, Outlook, and POP3 mailboxes was impossible without using the stylus. Typing was okay on the small, circular keys, but the keyboard layout seems strange. The exclamation point gets its own key, but the far more useful @ symbol requires the "Alt" key. Also, where most Windows smartphones place the "Start" and "OK" keys near the screen, the iPAQ puts them in the bottom row of keys, making navigation somewhat counterintuitive.
Scheduling - Good
The iPAQ 6925 is a competent scheduling device, but it's held back by the low-resolution screen and the lack of a consistently one-handed interface. Though the calendar can display an entire eight-hour day, you'll lose some of this view once you add an appointment due to the screen's lack of pixels. Skipping between days on the month view requires the stylus, and even on the week view we found the joystick to be inconsistent and difficult to use. Adding appointments is easy, with the same input fields you would expect to find on Outlook. We found the "OK" key to be a bit quirky in the calendar -- sometimes it would accept an option, sometimes it would back us out to the Today screen.
Productivity - Good
Although we appreciate the wealth of productivity tools on the iPAQ 6925, actually putting them to use is a different story. The device can read Office documents, but not PDF files, and the viewer is incapable of showing a useful amount of information on the screen. Viewing a large amount of text requires zooming out to the point where text becomes illegible, or spreadsheet cells begin to crowd together. With such a large screen, it's too bad HP didn't squeeze more pixels into the display. Both Excel Mobile and Word Mobile are capable programs, but the small keys on the iPAQ are spread just a bit too far apart, making typing was difficult. Adding to our woes was the inconsistent joystick, which sometimes failed to register our input.
Laptop sidekick - Mediocre
The HP iPAQ 6925 includes myriad connectivity options, but most of these are stuck in the last generation. The phone uses EDGE for data, instead of a 3G network; Wi-Fi is 802.11b instead of the faster 802.11g; and neither USB nor Bluetooth are present in their high-speed iterations. Though you can connect the iPAQ to your laptop as a tethered modem, the EDGE network will keep your speed down. You cannot charge the iPAQ over USB, so you'll have to remember the charger. Also, the software included with the iPAQ, with the notable exception of the TeleNav GPS software, is very intrusive. It installed not only drivers, but also HP's Photosmart software for image handling and RealPlayer, which in turn installed the Weather Channel's desktop app. We prefer a far less invasive software suite.
Multimedia - Very good
With a processor running at 400MHz, faster than most devices in its class, the iPAQ 6925 shows its prowess handling Web and multimedia content. Pages load very quickly, especially over the Wi-Fi connection. Complicated pages, such as The New York Times homepage, load completely, though Internet Explorer tends to muddy the layout a bit. The iPAQ includes a robust picture viewer (complimented by HP's desktop-based Photosmart application) that edits and prints photos directly from the phone. With an integrated GPS receiver, the phone can even attach coordinates to a photo, then later look up the location via MapQuest.
GPS - Mediocre
GPS mapping and navigation come compliments of TeleNav, which Cingular is offering through an online download. We tested the hw6925's GPS abilities in the New Jersey suburbs, and while we had no trouble getting a signal, we found the navigator map itself slow and unresponsive. We regularly missed turns because the navigator took so long to update our actual position (at least the app managed to re-route us after we'd gone off course). There is no way to scroll around the map or zoom while a trip is in progress, and occasionally the software would indicate our destination on the opposite side of the road, but failed to note the lack of left turn lanes, and would then end our trip without telling us how to reverse direction. Finally, some directions seemed out of the way, especially in areas we know well.
Battery life - Good
Walking around New York, with Wi-Fi, EDGE, and GPS all blazing and the screen set to its brightest setting, we managed to drain the battery in just an hour. The device gave us plenty of warning, and the foldout front page of the manual is devoted to battery saving tips. Following all of HP's advice, with every advanced feature turned off or down, we got just under four hours of talk time, which is close to the manufacturer's claims.
Related phones: Windows Mobile-powered smartphones
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HP iPAQ hw6515
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Score: 70% When: October 2005 Worth: $200 - $250 Carrier: Cingular
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Editor-in-Chief Jørgen Sundgot reviews the hw6515, HP's first shot in its new vein of iPAQ hw6500 communicator series, featuring an integrated thumbboard, EDGE, Bluetooth and GPS.
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Read » Gallery »
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Price and availability
Available October 31 from Cingular, the HP iPAQ hw6925 will retail for $360 with a two-year service agreement.
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