HP guns for Nokia's mobile crown

 

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By Dave Stevenson

Posted on 13 Feb 2007 at 11:08

HP has announced the iPAQ 514 Voice Messenger, the company's first foray into voice-centric mobile phones.

Although the name will be familiar to anyone who knows HP's range of sophisticated iPAQ smartphones, the Voice Messenger is HP's first 'candy bar' style device.

Running the new Windows Mobile 6, the device also sports a 1.3 megapixel camera and, initially at least, will be sold SIM free and ready to work on any network, at a cost of around £200 (£235 inc VAT). It will work on GSM and 3G networks, as well as automatically switching to an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network when in range.

Although there's no HSDPA connectivity, you can make VoIP calls when in range of a wireless network. The screen is a 2in, 176 x 220 TFT, and everything's powered by a Texas Instruments' 200MHz CPU.

In an exclusive interview with PC Pro, Neil Dagger, HP's iPAQ and Wireless Devices Business Manager, denied that the 514 Voice Messenger was a direct response to the Blackberry Pearl, saying "we've been wanting a product like this for a long time," adding that "[the smartphone market] is a rapidly changing market, and we think it's important to do the right thing at the right time."

He also hinted at a range of services to accompany the 514 Voice Messenger, due to be announced over the next few days at 3GSM in Barcelona. The phone itself will be available in the UK in May.

Nokia has also announced a swathe of new business products which, according to Mark Squires, Nokia's Director of Communications, will help the company "step out of the boring business mould." Amongst the new line-up is the E61i, a redesign of the E61. 23% thinner than the previous version, the E61i also adds a 2 megapixel camera, and keeps all of the features that saw PC Pro A-list the original: 802.11b/g wireless, GPRS and a 320 x 240, 2.8in TFT.

The company also announced a new, slimmer version of the venerable Communicator, dubbed the E90. The new device keeps the fold-out, mini-laptop style design of the original, but has added 802.11g wireless and HSDPA connectivity.

The E61i is due in the UK in April, and the E90 Communicator in May.