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HP iPAQ hw6940 hits retail channels, finally
Has HP come through in the clutch -- or is it too little, too late? That's the question Pocket PC-hungry consumers will be answering in the next few weeks now that the long... nay, long-rumored hw6940 Mobile Messenger is finally shipping stateside. We were sorta excited about this thing, like, nine months ago, but at this point we're not sure how we feel about Bluetooth 1.2, a pedestrian 64MB of RAM, and the lack of 802.11g -- not to mention that the inclusion of AKU2 doesn't command the same respect it did just a few short months back. Add to that the $600 this thing will set you back, and needless to say we're hoping Cingular's going to bless it with a hefty subsidy when it finally drops in their neck of the woods.[Via MobilitySite]
Star Trek, hw6900 series coming to Cingular next week?
Cingular rebate forms circulating over the past couple days are indicating the presence of three devices -- HP's hw6920 / hw6925 and HTC's Star Trek, offered here as the 3125 -- and while too much time has passed for us to get too worked up at the thought of putting our hands on any of these, they're worth noting nonetheless. Now, the popular rumor says that since these puppies have shown up with rebates, they're in the pipeline for delivery next week. While we're hoping that's true, we're not betting on it. Cingular has a reputation for placing rebates on phones ages before their retail availability -- heck, it's not even unheard of for rebates to expire before the phone even drops. So if next week comes and goes and one, two, or all three of these handsets are nowhere to be found, just remember: a pessimist is never disappointed.
HP iPaq hw6915 ready to ship on July 4?
HP's everything-to-everyone hw6xxx series of Pocket PC phones have taken their fair share of criticism for some flaky software, sluggish performance, and bizarre 240 x 240 display resolution, but as we previously reported, the hw69xx looks to be a worthy upgrade. Besides the obvious bonuses like a faster processor and integrated WiFi, the keyboard is allegedly more usable thanks to a revised key shape and, well, it's just good to see that HP finally showed up for the Windows Mobile 5 AKU2 party. Folks that have been waiting for these bad boys to drop might want to reach for their wallets: MobilePlanet is now showing July 4 availability for the hw6915, coming in just shy of $890. Despite the decidedly patriotic release date, the first round of units will likely be European, but the quad-band GSM / EDGE has our American readers covered either way.[Thanks, Daniel]
HP iPaq hw6915 PocketPC phone reviewed
We've been on the fence about HP's hw6000 line of Swiss Army phones ever since we first spotted the GPS-equipped iPaq hw6515 -- these models include everything but the kitchen sink, but they also force you to use that non-standard 240 x 240 screen. Still, MobileTechReview's in-depth look at the latest member of the family, the hw6915, makes us think we could overlook the square screen and lack of 3G data options because, well, the rest of this Windows Mobile 5.0-powered smartphone sounds like exactly what us convergence-geeks are seeking. According to MTR, the quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE handset impresses on many fronts, including its solid keyboard, powerful internal antenna, GPS performance, and best-in-class benchmark numbers. HP also throws in some nice extras, like helpful Today screen plug-ins, a full-featured wireless radio manager, the ability to location-stamp photos, and even A2DP in the Bluetooth stack, which isn't normally included in WM5 AKU2 devices out of the box. Besides the fact that this screen resolution may not support all third-party apps, the only real knock to this model concerns the camera's startup/shutter lags -- and if that's the worst thing to be said about a device that seemingly does it all, then we're totally sold.
Mio A701 GPS-enabled Windows Mobile smartphone reviewed
On paper, the Mio A701 smartphone sounds like almost the perfect convergence device, sporting a Windows Mobile 5.0-powered 520MHz Xscale processor, SiRF III GPS receiver, tri-band GSM radio, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Sadly, at least according to Reg Hardware, the A701 has so many little faults that the device is often barely usable, and sounds like a skip except for those folks who absolutely must have GPS and aren't into the square-screened iPaq hw6xxx series from HP. Some of the Reg's gripes with this model include its crappy camera (one of the worst they've ever seen, apparently), GPRS-only data connection, flimsy telescoping stylus, lack of dedicated buttons for WM5 softkey control, and buggy navigation software (luckily it's optional). Besides the full suite of accessories that come included in the box, there doesn't seem to be much good to say about the $660 to $790 A701, which is no doubt a big disappointment to those who may have been looking to import what appeared to be such a hot phone.
