The New HP iPAQ Voice Messenger Smartphone - Take 2

Jack Cook posted about a new voice messenger device from HP earlier today. What’s interesting to me, is that HP might have learned from their past mistakes on this device.  The original Voice Messenger device from HP was a horrible unit with poor screen, low memory, and no real appeal or wow factor to speak of.  To be fair, the voice software that came on the device was pretty cool, but aside from that, there was nothing that made anyone want to own one of these.

I rode HP hard about this device from day one, and I’m excited to see that they listened to what the community had to say and came back with what appears to be a pretty sweet device.

The new Voice Messenger comes with a sure-type like 20-keypad device, integrated GPS, WiFi, 3G, Quad-Band, Bluetooth 2.0, 128MB SDRAM / 256MB Flash ROM, a 1260 mAh battery, and a 3.1 megapixel camera. Best of all, it runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard edition.  It’s great to see that some companies still see the value in having a non-touch screen device.

Visit HP’s web site to learn more about the new Voice Messenger Smartphone. I haven’t seen any information on price or availability yet, but I would expect this to be shipping in the next month or so. I think I’m going to need to get my hands on one of these for review.

Is The HP iPAQ 510 Really A Top Rated Smartphone?

According to Expansys, the HP iPAQ 510 is among the 3 top rated Windows Mobile Smartphones on their site. The other 2, in case you’re wondering, are the Samsung BlackJack II and the Palm Treo 500v. I have no problems with the other two devices, they are both very nice handsets - yes, even the 500v. But the HP device is nowhere near top rated. When the device was released it was slammed by just about every major gadget site. The best thing it has going for it is the voice software that HP pre-loaded on it. From everything I read, it’s pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the device sucks at everything else. It’s running a lower resolution that we haven’t seen on Windows Mobile Smartphone (Standard) devices for years - 176×220. The device is also limited to the much slower EDGE network. That means there’s no enjoyment for fast 3G network when browsing the web or downloading emails. Surely there has to be another device that ranks better than this? Where’s HTC on this list too?