[Jason Dunn]

Coming up tomorrow we have the first of a three-part ThoughtCast review of a pre-production iPAQ 6900 that I was sent. Dave Conger and I discuss the pros and cons of this device, along with my impressions after having used it for a few days as my only phone and Pocket PC. To whet your appetite, I've taken a series of particularly luscious photos of this new device. Feast your eyes, and when we post the first part of the review, have a listen to what I thought about the latest phone edition device from HP. Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't spoil the surprise. Each image below is linked to a larger version.

Not sure what the iPAQ 6900 is? Check out the specs.


Figure 1: The front view with the screen cover flipped open.


Figure 2: A close-up shot of the keyboard.


Figure 3: The battery and SIM card to the right.


Figure 4: The device has a single MiniSD slot.


Figure 5: The top of the unit - speaker, indicator lights, and the power button.


Figure 6: A top view shot with the screen protector down.


Figure 7: The back with (left to right) the photo light, the 1.3 MP camera, and the self-portrait mirror.


Figure 8: Compared in size to the Dell X51v (left) and iMate Jasjar (right). The devices were top-aligned, so this is an accurate representation of the difference in length.


Figure 9: Thickness comparison between the iPAQ 6900, Dell X51v, and iMate Jasjar (in that order).


Figure 10: Another view showing the difference in length. Although the photo does make it look like it, they were all aligned at the right end.


Figure 11: A front view of the new cradle.


Figure 12: A rear view of the cradle.


Figure 13: A bottom view of the cradle.

Stay tuned for our three part audio review of this new device.

UPDATE: I managed to get the iPAQ hw6900 into the same room as a Treo 650 (sorry, I had to send the Treo 700w back) and took some snaps of it.


Figure 14: iPAQ hw6900 head to head with a Treo 650.


Figure 15: Roughly the same length, but the hw6900 is wider than the Treo 650 by quite a bit.


Figure 16: Brothers from a different mother? No, not quite.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog.

[Jason Dunn]

Coming up tomorrow we have the first of a three-part ThoughtCast review of a pre-production iPAQ 6900 that I was sent. Dave Conger and I discuss the pros and cons of this device, along with my impressions after having used it for a few days as my only phone and Pocket PC. To whet your appetite, I've taken a series of particularly luscious photos of this new device. Feast your eyes, and when we post the first part of the review, have a listen to what I thought about the latest phone edition device from HP. Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't spoil the surprise. Each image below is linked to a larger version.

Not sure what the iPAQ 6900 is? Check out the specs.


Figure 1: The front view with the screen cover flipped open.


Figure 2: A close-up shot of the keyboard.


Figure 3: The battery and SIM card to the right.


Figure 4: The device has a single MiniSD slot.


Figure 5: The top of the unit - speaker, indicator lights, and the power button.


Figure 6: A top view shot with the screen protector down.


Figure 7: The back with (left to right) the photo light, the 1.3 MP camera, and the self-portrait mirror.


Figure 8: Compared in size to the Dell X51v (left) and iMate Jasjar (right). The devices were top-aligned, so this is an accurate representation of the difference in length.


Figure 9: Thickness comparison between the iPAQ 6900, Dell X51v, and iMate Jasjar (in that order).


Figure 10: Another view showing the difference in length. Although the photo does make it look like it, they were all aligned at the right end.


Figure 11: A front view of the new cradle.


Figure 12: A rear view of the cradle.


Figure 13: A bottom view of the cradle.

Stay tuned for our three part audio review of this new device.

UPDATE: I managed to get the iPAQ hw6900 into the same room as a Treo 650 (sorry, I had to send the Treo 700w back) and took some snaps of it.


Figure 14: iPAQ hw6900 head to head with a Treo 650.


Figure 15: Roughly the same length, but the hw6900 is wider than the Treo 650 by quite a bit.


Figure 16: Brothers from a different mother? No, not quite.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog.

[Jerry Raia]

Jason have you noticed any problems with the keyboard? The 6515 which I just got rid of had some problems with keys having to be pressed several times.

[Twain]

Jason,

I would like to have seen a comparison photo with the Treo 700w for size comparison purposes. Can you rustle up a photo?

Twain

[krypticide]

Looks nice, which cellular service can this be used with?

[ADBrown]

Originally Posted by krypticide

Looks nice, which cellular service can this be used with?

Any GSM service. Cingular or T-Mobile in the US, Rogers in Canada, etc.

[krypticide]

I guess I'm still a novice when it comes to this. Say I get Cingular service, can I just stick the SIM card into a phone edition and more or less start using it as a cell phone too?

[ADBrown]

Yes, if the PPC phone is unlocked. If it's carrier-locked, you need to either unlock it or use the provider to which it is locked. Any PPC phones branded by a carrier are likely to be locked.

[krypticide]

What would be the best way to get one of these?

I have an Axim X50v, but I'd be interested in selling it and getting a phone edition so I'd have one less thing to carry around. Is it better to buy the device and service separate? I'm a student, so I'd have no use for the data plans.

[ADBrown]

Originally Posted by krypticide

What would be the best way to get one of these?

I have an Axim X50v, but I'd be interested in selling it and getting a phone edition so I'd have one less thing to carry around. Is it better to buy the device and service separate? I'm a student, so I'd have no use for the data plans.

Then you're in a difficult position. Units sold as unlocked are usually far more expensive than carrier branded devices. On the other hand, if you buy a carrier device, you'd almost certainly have to sign up for a data plan.

Also, bear in mind that you'll have to sacrifice pretty much all of the nice features of your Axim like the CompactFlash slot, VGA screen, SDIO slot, video accelerator, etcetera.

[krypticide]

Doh! Hm, I guess I'll just have to see what's on the market when my two year contract with Verizon is up. I should definitely switch to a GSM network. They seem to be a lot more flexible when it comes to devices than CDMA.