Kris Kumar
05-03-2007, 01:50 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/review/2007/04/30/Hewlett-Packard-iPAQ-514-Voice-Messenger/p1' target='_blank'>http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/review/2007/04/30/Hewlett-Packard-iPAQ-514-Voice-Messenger/p1</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Hewlett Packard has a very longstanding relationship with Microsoft where its Windows Mobile software is concerned. The company was in at the start when Windows Mobile was first announced back in 2002. When Hewlett Packard and arch-rival Compaq merged, HP took on Compaq's iPAQ name, abandoning its own Jornada naming. As time went on HP integrated SIM support into its devices, but the company always stuck with the Pocket PC format with its large touch sensitive screen. At last Hewlett Packard has decided it is time to launch a smartphone and the result is the Hewlett Packard iPAQ 514 Voice Messenger. I was just about the first journalist in the UK to get my hands on one of these to test and as I write this review I've had it for less than a week. There are still one or two tweaks to be done to the ROM before this smartphone goes on sale; it isn't even up at Hewlett Packard's website yet and no operators have announced that they are taking it on. However, that doesn't mean to say operators won't announce it, and Hewlett Packard tells me that it will be available SIM free in May for less than £200."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-may2007-ipaq514.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Usually I like the reviews posted on TrustedReviews, but this time I feel like the review doesn't do justice to the HP's smartphone. The unique selling proposition of this device is the VoIP calling and its ability to integrate with the office IP exchange system. It almost seems like HP designed a unit based on feedback from the enterprise market where players like Cisco are offering VoIP handsets, but the combination of Windows Mobile and VoIP is what makes this device unique. While it is not easy to test the office IP exchange functionality, I would have expected that the reviewer had at least talked a bit more about this functionality. Instead the review focuses more on the standard software functionality that you can expect from any Windows Mobile Standard device. Anyway, sounds like HP is getting ready to launch its first Windows Mobile Standard device. I am sure it will have its share of success because of HP's access to the enterprise market.