News, Reviews, and Pictures of the HP iPaq HW6500 GPS PDA Pocket PC
Before Compaq was gobbled up by HP, it gave a very important gift to the world - long before there was an iPod, there was an iPaq, a small handheld PDA/PocketPC that let you keep a calendar, schedule, play games, store pictures and multimedia files, etc. iPaq made sense coming from Compaq - now it is the HP iPaq - not quite as catchy. The iPaq has evolved over the years to become a more robust competitor for the RIM Blackberry line of communication devices. For Home Business customers, HP offers the more basic PDA models called the HP iPaq Pocket PCs and iPaq Mobile Media Companions.
These come with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® wireless technology, Microsoft Windows Mobile software for Pocket PC, and VGA and TFT crisp color displays. Priced from $299 to $359, the iPaq h4355 for example comes with a backlit thumb keyboard and runs included Microsoft software (Outlook® 2002, Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer for Pocket PC) - this is a 5.8 oz. PDA. For business users, HP offers the line of iPaq hw6500 Mobile Messenger series, the iPaq rx1950 Pocket PC series, and the iPaq h6300 Pocket PC series. "The HP iPAQ Pocket PC h6300 is the one global device for all your mobile communications needs. The iPAQ Pocket PC h6300 is the first and smallest handheld with integrated 3-way wireless capabilities (GSM/GPRS, WLAN, and Bluetooth® wireless technology) to give you high-speed wireless voice and data connectivity at work, at home, and on the go. The removable, snap-on thumb keyboard lets you easily compose emails, notes, and MMS/SMS messages. The built-in camera (on some models) allows you to take pictures, view them on the bright 3.5” color screen, and share them instantly via email or MMS. A removable, rechargeable battery keeps your iPAQ Pocket PC running longer while an industry standard SD slot gives you options for more expansion and information storage."
HP iPaq HW6500, HW6510, HW6515 GPS PDAs
Even more exciting are the new HW6500 line. These are designed to compete directly with the RIM Blackberry phone/email combos, with a cell phone, 1.3MP digital camera, GPS device, PDA/Pocket PC Organizer, and email all built into 1 machine. The 240x240 pixel square screen sits above a full (though small) thumb keyboard with circular keys. These are the specs at a glance:
Integrated Antenna
Integrated Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless radio with automatic band transition
Integrated GPS Receiver and support for navigation software (sold separately)
Integrated Bluetooth® 1.2 wireless technology
Intel® PXA272 Processor 312 MHz
Integrated HP Photosmart 1.3 MP camera
Integrated thumb keyboard
Integrated Secure Digital (SDIO) slot
Integrated Mini-SD slot (memory only)
Removable/rechargeable 1200 mAh battery
3.0" transflective TFT QVGA with 64K color LED backlight display
Microsoft® Windows Mobile™ 2003 Second Edition software
You can download navigation maps onto the unit, then use it in your car or while exploring a new city with its built in GPS locator - wow! Picture quality is about what you expect from the camera phones - low resolution, not great detail, not great under poor lighting conditions. But starting at $599, this is a nicely priced package that includes a lot of functionality in a small 5.8oz package.
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