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iPAQ K3 – Good job, HP, keep working on it!

Word about the new HP iPAQ K3 “Obsidian” came out today (courtesy of AT&T) and it looks like another step towards the better, I think. On paper and pictures, the new iPAQ K3 looks like the middle child of the iPAQ 912 Business Messenger and the recent iPAQ Data Messenger. There’s the iPAQ 912′s form factor here (if you’ve never seen one, think Nokia E71) along with a QWERTY keyboard… and from the Data Messenger’s genes come a 2.8 inch (supposedly touchscreen) LCD, microSD/microSDHC support and proximity + ambient light sensor. There are the usual culprits you’d expect to find on a smartphone – WiFi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, data syncing, etc.

The two key changes here are: Windows Mobile 6.5 and a 3.5 mm headphone jack (whew, thought I’d never see it again since the days of the iPAQ h6310). Congratulations HP, that’s a step in the right direction – bring back the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack!! It seems just about every phone nowadays has one, and I’m glad HP actually listens and is not ignorant to change (the reason why Sony Ericsson/Motorola = Fail). The only not-so-good item on paper I see here is a 2 megapixel fixed focus camera (Why oh why?!).

No, I won’t be surrendering my Data Messenger for the iPAQ K3 – I’ll be holding out until HP releases a full WVGA touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6.5 phone, when someone loans it to me, whenever that may be…

HP iPAQ Data Messenger still rocks in some ways

Sure, it may not be the best darn Pocket PC phone out there (though HP may change that with newer phones later this year), but the HP iPAQ Data Messenger still has several reasons for existing iPAQ 612 or 912 owners to drop those models for this one. Even I’ve got to admit, coming from the iPAQ h6310 and hw6515/hw6915 phones, within my first DAY of using the iPAQ 612c, I thought “the iPAQ 612 sucks compared to previous HP Pocket PCs” (but you can’t really complain much if you’re loaning a phone and don’t have to pay for it; beggars can’t be choosers). When HP announced their iPAQ Data Messenger late fall last year, it’s specifications weren’t very impressive but still, it did offer me some compelling reasons to try it out…

The Data Messenger is essentially the fusion of the hw6915′s quick typing abilities (QWERTY keyboard) and “faux music jack” (2.5 mm headphone jack, adaptable to 3.5 mm) with the 612c’s plus points; the candybar form factor, vibrate/silent mode switch and more traditional 4:3 screen (Well, versus the hw6915′s weird square screen; not good for gaming on the go).

I’ve been using the iPAQ Data Messenger for a week now (it’s a retail model) and I do not regret, at all, dumping my iPAQ 612 for this new Pocket PC. This final, retail version fixes most of the issues I had with the pre-production version I used in November; namely camera autofocus not working, the keyguard button not working and a few software incompatibilities. The only incompatibility that remains is you CAN’T use the TCPMP player with the Data Messenger… an error constantly appears when you try to start up the player (you’ll have to use Core Player instead, which offers similar functionality).

So what plus points does the iPAQ Data Messenger offer over the iPAQ 612/912 phones?

• 2.5 mm headphone jack (YEAH!) – you can use an adapter to plug in your own 3.5 mm headphones.
  Instead of the mini USB port for headphones, where you get stuck for life with those crummy in-the-box earbuds.
• Separate micro USB port; -means you can now charge/connect the phone to your PC while continuing to listen to music at the same time.
• Larger, FLUSH 2.81 inch screen (yeah, not a big deal compared to the 612′s 2.8 inch screen, but a nice difference versus the 912′s 2.6 inch screen)
• Ambient light sensor; the screen automatically adjusts its brightness based on surrounding light
• EXCELLENT outdoor/bright light screen visibility – I can actually view the display outside on a bright sunny day now (dare I say, this rivals the Apple iPhone)
• Proximity sensor – this detects when the phone is against your ear/face when making a phone call and the Data Messenger will automatically turn off the screen
• Vibrate/silent mode switch – you can activate/disable silent mode any time (versus none on the 912; on the 612, you had to turn the phone on, press the button, and turn it off)
• HP Keyguard – this isn’t the standard Windows Mobile device lock… when the phone is locked, you can turn on the screen to check for any missed calls/messages and then just stuff it back into your pocket; the phone will turn the screen back off after several seconds
• Better camera image quality – the Data Messenger is no digital SLR but the colors it produces now are much more vivid and realistic; pictures are a tad sharper too
• Louder earpiece and loudspeaker units – now I can finally be able to hear the caller when I’m in a crowded place (malls, tradeshows and conventions, etc)
• Better sound quality – with the iPAQ 612c, music and sounds were kinda “tinny” but the Data Messenger’s sound is much deeper, louder and better (one of the factors is probably the design of the battery cover over the speaker)
• QWERTY keyboard – it’s awesome, period (the 612 had none, the 912′s keyboard was tiny and slippery)
• Improved battery life – I’m loving this as well… it’s not the best out there, but for a Pocket PC phone, battery life is very good (Data Messenger lasts for 2-3 days of my standard usage, 612c only lasts for 1 day) and I tend to heavily use feature phones.
• Very stylish design – this is my personal opinion

Some of the features like the sound/music department, QWERTY keyboard and battery life of the iPAQ Data Messenger were HUGE to me… I have even tried typing a 1,000 word article using the phone’s keyboard when I was out last weekend.

The iPAQ 612 and iPAQ 912 phones were probably fluke shots by HP… but the Data Messenger goes back to the roots of HP iPAQ design and functionality (Well, sort of). For those with bad impressions or experiences with the 612/912, I would advise you to not strike HP off your “phone shopping list” forever – the new models they’re releasing, like this one, are much better already… and I can foresee more, even better things coming…

I suspect I’ll be a very happy user of the iPAQ Data Messenger for at least the next 9-12 months… until something newer and better comes along…

HP’s future Pocket PC phones to run Windows Mobile 6.5!!

And it was officially confirmed last week; right from the horse’s mouth too! Now can we see some new stuff, which are more up-to-date, that will be competitive with those other manufacturers (or preferably, with absolutely kick-ass features/specifications) when they get announced?  And please don’t take months to deliver them to store shelves. And maybe we’ll see one of those Windows Mobile UI overlays/add ons…*ahem* use Touchsmart design team *ahem*

For me, even very tiny, subtle hints of future products like this one is good news! (Don’t we wanna see the ex- #1 Pocket PC manufacturer return to its former glory again?)

HP iPAQ Data Messenger Review

I recently got my hands on a retail version of HP’s iPAQ Data Messenger phone (European version).

It’s a nice, simple and stylish looking Pocket PC phone which is a tad smaller than the iPAQ 600 I have. To summarize in one sentence what the HP Data Messenger is all about, it’s actually a slightly smaller iPAQ 600 with a QWERTY keyboard and more fashion sense.

The main features of the HP iPAQ Data Messenger is a 2.8 inch QVGA (320 X 240) touchscreen, a slide-out backlit QWERTY keyboard from the side, with an optical navigation pad and touch sensitive controls on the front, 3 megapixel camera and it runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro. There’s also a 2.5 mm headphone jack for making calls/listening to music and micro USB port for charging and connectivity to your computer.

Sure, I do not doubt what people think about the iPAQ Data Messenger – even at the time of its debut, which was around October 2008, it’s specifications already looked dull, dusty and outdated compared to its competitors with similar form factors (that is, devices running WM 6.1 Pro with slide-out QWERTY keyboards). Both the Sony Xperia X1 and HTC Touch Pro offer either larger/higher resolution screens than the HP Data Messenger and come with their own Today Interface, which attempts to cover, what people brand as hideous and clunky, the Windows Mobile UI.

So what’s the point of the HP iPAQ Data Messenger, you ask? Well, it’s mainly targeted at business people who want a straight forward business Pocket PC phone (And we all know Windows and Windows Mobile mean business). It’s not meant to be a flashy or show-off phone with tons of bells and whistles. I find the Sony Xperia X1 a bit on the pricey side (which Sony product isn’t?) while the HTC Touch Pro is the true competitor of the HP Data Messenger and will probably steal quite a few sales thanks to its superior specifications.

However, what’s going for the Data Messenger, versus the Touch Pro 1, is that it has a 2.5 mm headphone jack (I can easily plug in an adapter for 3.5 mm standard headphones) and the fact that I can start out with a fresh phone and install whichever 3rd party Windows Mobile Today Interface that I want. Compared to the new Touch Pro 2 and other new phones released over the past week this month and it’s a different story; those other phones are much more appealing, sadly.

The only way HP can probably fight for now is by lowering the price of the Data Messenger so more people will go for it… and get off their butts NOW to the design room, then hopefully down the road somewhere, release more appealing and competitive iPAQs which are actually able to stand toe-to-toe against the competition!

I love HP (especially their notebooks) but I seriously think they should actually put in some effort into their Pocket PC/smart phone department!

Voodoo (DNA) phone in the works?

Is Voodoo PC working on bringing out their own phone/smartphone? Information right now is very scarce and it still remains a mystery IF there will be a such thing (Since Voodoo PC so far has been strictly a (gaming) computer company). The last time someone brought up the topic of a Voodoo phone would be Rob Enderle in his article published in September 2008. Recently, there have been some little, little things which hint a Voodoo phone again.

Today Mark Soloman made a post entitled “Voodoo Design Secrets” on HP/Voodoo’s The Next Bench blog. Of course, there were no product roadmaps, no concept products, not many revelations at all. Not many revelations. The first picture certainly looks very interesting (see the screenshot above) – it appears to be one of those product design kind of thing in its planning stage where the designers need to list out the components they need to pack into the final product. The right half of the whiteboard writings highlight some very interesting components (to me, at least) such as “speaker holes”, “button finish”, “multicolor LEDs” and of course, a “proximity sensor”.

Why would a computer (desktop or notebook) need a proximity sensor? Who counts the number of speaker holes on their notebook PC and their size? What about “button finish”? All these unanswered questions… the “multicolor LEDs” list “BT” and “W”. Assuming these stand for Bluetooth and WiFi respectively, when was the last time you saw a recent HP… bah, or any modern computer with separate indicators for Bluetooth and WiFi? On the other hand, some old Pocket PCs and HP iPAQs have those kind of LED indicators….

Nah, maybe Voodoo is working on a computer that turns itself on when you approach it (And off, when you walk away from it) which has flush leather buttons and back-to-the-future style separate LED indicators for Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. Plausible, huh?