“HP’s mysterious new smartphone entrants have been revealed, and certainly look stylish enough. Apparently the result of bringing the design in-house the HP Ipaq VoiceMessenger and DataManager feature unique looks.The DataManager is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device which features a slide-out keyboard, 2.8 inch QVGA screen (really?), WIFI, Bluetooth, Quadband GSM, Tri-band 7.2 Mbps HSDPA (European bands), HSUPA, A-GPS and a 3.1 Megapixel camera with LED flash. It has 128 MB RAM and 256 MB ROM, microSD expansion, with a 1140 mAh battery.The smartphone is 160g and 5.7 x 1.74 x 11.4 cm, and has a 2.5mm headphone jack. Opera Mobile is bundled, as is Google maps mobile and 30 Day Trial of Webraska Turn-by-Turn Navigation.The HP Ipaq Voice Messenger has similar specs to the DataManager, but instead of the slide-out keyboard features a 20 key suretype-style keyboard. The non-touchscreen Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device has a 2.4 inch screen is which is regrettably also QVGA. The connectivity and GPS receiver is the same, but the device is much lighter at 107 g and measures 5.0 x 1.36 x 11.4 cm. Despite this it features a larger 1260 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery.Both devices feature micro-USB ports for synchronization. Both handsets also feature a new optical sensor that replaces the five-way navigator key common to many phone designs. This makes it easier for users to move through menus with greater speed while minimising the chances of mechanical failure, according to Neil Dagger, HP’s iPaq and wireless business manager. “You just glide your thumb over the disk, and you glide though the menus, tapping it when you want to select something,” he said.Both models also have a power saving mode that minimises power consumption if the battery charge level starts to get low while the user is out on the road.The two models will be available either SIM-free through HP resellers, or with a wireless contract through Vodafone Europe-wide..HP said that the iPaq Voice Messenger is aimed at users that want a phone for voice calls first, but who may also need to receive emails while on the go.David Wright, vice president and general manager of HP’s personal systems group, said the new smartphones were designed to bridge the gap between work and play, targeting what the company calls “prosumers”, or professional consumers, and small and medium businesses.The iPaq Voice Messenger costs 333 Pounds (SIM-free) and is due to ship in mid-November, while the iPaq Data Messenger costs 399 Pounds (SIM-free) and will be available from the end of November.” More photos here:
