HP Reveals Their Ipaq Data Manager & Voice Messenger Smartphones

(PhysOrg.com) -- HP's mysterious new smartphone entrants have just been revealed. The HP Voice Messenger will sell for €399 ($532) on November 5th and the Data Messenger will be selling for €499 ($665) on November 22nd. The two models will be available either SIM-free through HP resellers, or with a wireless contract through Vodafone Europe-wide.

The HP Ipaq Data Manager smartphone is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device which features a slide-out keyboard, 2.8 inch QVGA screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, Quadband GSM, Tri-band 7.2 Mbps HSDPA (European bands), HSUPA, A-GPS and a 3.1 Megapixel camera with LED flash. There is also 128 MB RAM and 256 MB ROM, supports microSD expansion and comes with a 1140 mAh battery.

The Data Manager smartphone is 160g and 5.7 x 1.74 x 11.4 cm, and has a 2.5mm headphone jack. The phone is bundled with Opera Mobile, Google maps mobile and comes with a 30 Day Trial of Webraska Turn-by-Turn Navigation.

The HP Ipaq Voice Messenger has similar specs to the Data Manager, but instead of the slide-out keyboard it has a 20 key suretype-style keyboard. The non-touchscreen Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device has a 2.4 inch QVGA screen. The connectivity and GPS is the same, but the device is much lighter at 107 g and measures 5.0 x 1.36 x 11.4 cm. This smartphone comes with a larger 1260 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery.

Both smartphones feature micro-USB ports for synchronization and a new optical sensor that replaces the five-way navigator key common to many phone designs. You navigate through the menus by just gliding your thumb over the disk, and tapping it when you want to select something.

Both models have a power saving mode that minimizes power consumption if the battery charge level starts to get low while the user is out on the road. 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.