HP iPaq hw6900 - First Look

This week at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the mobile industry has gathered to showcase new products and services, as well as to further the development of the GSM platform. Among them is HP, which today announced its latest smart phone, the HP iPaq hw6900 Mobile Messenger. The follow-up to the HP iPaq hw6515, the hw6900 updates the operating system and adds some new features. Unfortunately, as of the time of this writing, no pricing had been set, and HP gave us only a vague availability date of mid-to-late spring. To hold you over in the meantime, here are a few details about the PDA-phone.

Upside: When we reviewed the iPaq hw6515, integrated Wi-Fi was one of the things on our wish list. With the HP iPaq hw6900, we're happy to see the company added it to the feature set. Bluetooth and EDGE technologies are also onboard, so you have the full gamut of wireless options. And for globe-trotting execs, good news: The hw6900 is a quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) phone, so you can take it with you overseas. We also welcome the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system, and since the smart phone runs the Pocket PC Edition, you get the full Mobile Office Suite, including Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, and Outlook Mobile. Speaking of which, the hw6900 is positioned to be an e-mail machine, as it's compatible with GoodLink and Microsoft Exchanger Server 2003. Plus, with Microsoft's Messaging and Security Feature Pack, you'll be able to enjoy the joys of push e-mail technology. Oh, and did we mention the full QWERTY keyboard?

Other features on the iPaq hw6900 include a 1.3-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities (HP will offer a cameraless version), a built-in GPS receiver and navigation software, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, a 416MHz Intel PXA270 processor, 128MB of flash memory and 64MB of SDRAM, and a speakerphone.

Downside: Like any other Pocket PC phone, the HP iPaq hw6900 is on the bigger side (118 x 71 x 18mm; 179.45g), resembling a PDA more than a mobile, so using the device as your cell phone may take some adjustment. Also, when reviewing the HP iPaq hw6515, we experienced sluggish performance with numerous applications open, so we're hoping HP has made steps to improve this in the hw6900.

Outlook: The HP iPaq hw6900 is shaping up to be a powerful device, but we're always a little wary of products that aim to be a jack-of-all-trades. We hope it can perform in all areas--GPS, phone, PDA, and multimedia--and do them well. The smart-phone market is definitely picking up, and the hw6900 will face competition as new models, such as the Motorola Q, continue to come down the pipeline. Check back soon for our full review.