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Hewlett-Packard’s highly-anticipated smartphone, the iPAQ h6315,
can now be bought at retail– both online and at stores like CompUSA.
If you’re an iPAQ devotee who wants to purchase the new smartphone soon, however, you’d better act fast. Apparently, demand for the smartphone is so high that stocks
are already low.
Announced late last month, the iPAQ h6315 is available on T-Mobile’s network. The
smartphone offers GSM for global voice support, GPRS for long-range wireless
data, Wi-Fi for data on local area networks (LANs), and Bluetooth for
supporting personal area communications such as a wireless voice headset.
“This is a unique offering, and a first for HP,” said John Dayan, HP’s senior
director of handheld and wireless business, at the time of the announcement.
“We’ve partnered with T-Mobile to bring this to market, and even before, to come
up with the design and branding.”
The h6315 runs the Pocket PC Phone edition of the Windows Mobile 2003
operating system, which means users can’t go into landscape format like other
new Pocket PC products that run the Second Edition of Windows Mobile 2003.
It ships in the box with a case and a thumb keyboard that can be attached for
easier dialing and text messaging. It also has an integrated digital camera capable of VGA-quality shots.
The operating system only allows one wireless data connection at a time, but
the switchover is purported to be seamless. For example, if a Web page is open
over the GPRS link and the user walks into a hotspot, the unit will associate
with the access point (if allowed) and store an IP address in standby. The next time
it needs to access the Internet, such as when a link is clicked, the h6315 will
use whatever connection is faster (usually the Wi-Fi).
Using the GSM for voice while also surfing/sending data is supported,
however. T-Mobile is expecting this product to boost the number of customers who
sign up for both, saying one third of its hotspot users already have a T-Mobile
voice account now.
Unfortunately, the h6315 doesn’t have a voice over IP (VoIP) component, as
T-Mobile views VoIP as a business opportunity for the future.
The h6315 lists for $599 without activation, or $499 (minus a rebate) with
activation of T-Mobile’s plan for cellular and hotspot service. It is exclusive
for T-Mobile users on the voice and GPRS side, though the Wi-Fi connectivity
will work with any hotspot, home network, or corporate network where the user is
allowed access.
Although it was announced first, the h6315 isn’t HP’s first smartphone to ship. That honor goes to the iPAQ rw6100, which is a re-branded AQ
rw6100. Regrettably, the CDMA-enabled mobile handset, which has some really cool
features — such as a retractable keyboard — is only shipping in South Korea (see New HP Smartphone Unreal for U.S.).
Reprinted from SmartPhoneToday.
