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A pair of Windows smartphones, the HP iPAQ Voice Messenger and HP iPAQ Data Messenger are Hewlett-Packard’s latest attempt to get a slice of the business phone market. This time, HP have teamed up with Vodafone and this pair should be available in the UK and other Vodafone countries later this year.

HP iPAQ Voice Messenger
While many Windows Mobile handsets are going for large touchscreens, the new HP iPAQ Voice Messenger uses a much more conventional layout, which might well appeal to people who otherwise might consider the BlackBerry Pearl.

It’s about the same size and weight as a traditional monoblock phone, but one noticeable thing is the hybrid QWERTY / numeric keyboard, a little like the SureType keypad on the Pearl. The screen is a fairly standard 2.4″ 240 x 320 pixel panel which is not touch-sensitive. The main interface control is a five-way optical navigation pad. If this isn’t for you, fear not.. HP have a touch sensitive screen on the Data Messenger.

Despite the conventional looks, the iPAQ Voice Messenger is pretty loaded when it comes to features. Not only does the Voice Messenger have 3.5G HSDPA support, but it also comes with HSUPA capabilities for high-speed uploads, plus WiFi, tri-band 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz UMTS, quad-band GSM, GPRS and EDGE data. In other words, the HP iPAQ Voice Messenger should be able to get you some sort of high-speed data connection pretty much anywhere in the world.

There are lots of other features too – the Voice Messenger has GPS and Google Maps, plus a 30 day trial for a turn-by-turn satellite navigation application. The camera is surprisingly good for a Windows device, being a 3.1 megapixel unit with autofocus and LED flash. There’s microSD expandable memory, Bluetooth and a USB connection too.

The operating system is Windows Mobile 6.1 standard plus a load of other applications such as the Opera web browser, Windows Media Player and Microsoft Office compatibility. If you’re interested in the iPAQ Voice Messenger, then you will have a pretty good idea of what Windows Mobile can do.

HP suggest a SIM-free retail price of £333 (including tax) which works out at roughly €420. If taken with a new Vodafone contract, then you can expect it to be much cheaper. HP say that the iPAQ Voice Messenger should be available in November.

HP iPAQ Data Messenger
The HP iPAQ Data Messenger is a touchscreen device that takes all of the features of the Voice Messenger and then adds a larger display and a QWERTY keyboard.

Still featuring high-speed 3.5G downloads and uploads, GPS, WiFi and a 3.1 megapixel camera, this iPAQ model comes with a large 2.8″ 320 x 240 pixel touchscreen display, plus a pretty conventional looking slide-out keyboard.

The display is a 320 x 240 pixel panel, which is pretty average.. it would have been nice to see a VGA resolution display or better though, but the iPAQ Data Messenger’s tri-band HSDPA and HSUPA data support partly make up for it.

At 160 grams in weight and 114 x 57 x 17mm in size, the Data Messenger is clearly bigger and heavier than the Voice Messenger, but for a touchscreen device like this it’s pretty reasonable.

HP say that the recommended SIM-free price for the iPAQ Data Messenger is £399 (about €500) including tax, and it should start to be available from next month.

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HP iPAQ Voice Messenger at a glance

Available:
Q4 2008

Network:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 +
UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100

Data:
GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA +
HSUPA + WiFi

Screen:
240 x 320 pixels, 65k colours

Camera:
3.1 megapixels

Size:
Medium monoblock
115 x 50 x 14mm / 103 grams

Bluetooth:
Yes

Memory card:
microSD

Infra-red:
No

Polyphonic:
Yes

Java:
Yes (Sun JVM)

GPS:
Yes (A-GPS)

Battery life:
Not specified

OS:
Windows Mobile Standard 6.1

HP iPAQ Data Messenger at a glance

Available:
Q4 2008

Network:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 +
UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100

Data:
GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA +
HSUPA + WiFi

Screen:
240 x 320 pixels, 65k colours

Camera:
3.1 megapixels

Size:
Medium monoblock
114 x 57 x 17mm / 160 grams

Bluetooth:
Yes

Memory card:
microSD

Infra-red:
No

Polyphonic:
Yes

Java:
Yes (Sun JVM)

GPS:
Yes (A-GPS)

Battery life:
Not specified

OS:
Windows Mobile Professional 6.1