HP pops out iPaq pair

Hewlett Packard has set its sights on tech-obsessed and always-on businesspeople, with the launch of two additions to its iPaq smartphone series.

HP's iPaq Voice Messenger: not touch-sensitive...

The iPaq Voice Messenger (VM) and iPaq Data Messenger (DM) are both quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge enabled and support HSDPA 3G connections of up to 7.2Mb/s. Both also recognise Wi-Fi 802.11b/g networks and include Bluetooth support.

...but the Data Messenger is

HP’s equipped the iPaq DM with a 2.8in touchscreen display, but only given the iPaq VM a 2.4in and non touch-sensitive screen. As such, the iPaq VM has an integrated 20-key keypad, while the iPaq DM features a slide-out alphanumeric keypad.

The Data Messenger also has a keyboard

God forbid a phone should come without a camera these days, so HP’s built 3.1-megapixel snappers into both smartphones and given the duo Micro SD memory card slots for up to 8GB of expandable storage capacity. Each iPaq also has 128MB of on-board SDRAM memory too.

Music fans won’t like the fact that a 2.5mm headphone socket, rather than the standard 3.5mm port, has been built into both smartphones. GPS navigation also features on the duo.

HP’s Voice Messenger and iPaq Data Messenger are both expected to be released here next month, priced at £333 ($567/€428) and £399 ($679/€513), respectively. Both phones will be available as unlocked devices, but Vodafone is also expected to launch tethered versions of the handsets in the UK too.