Product review: HP iPaq 910c Business Messenger smartphone

In the world of smart phones, while Apple's TV ads insist that the company's iPhone 3G "works great with work" and BlackBerry fans eagerly await RIM's BlackBerry Bold, Hewlett-Packard's new Windows Mobile 6.1-based iPaq 910c Business Messenger offers an alternative aimed at corporate users who are willing to pay top dollar for a high-end smart phone with advanced features.

Like the new Palm Treo Pro, the iPaq 910c is being sold unlocked, so you can use it on any GSM carrier worldwide simply by inserting that carrier's SIM card into it. You're not tied to a carrier or a long-term plan, but you don't get a carrier subsidy to lower the price either. HP's iPaq 910c Business Messenger costs US$499 on HP's Web site and is clearly designed with corporate executives and their IT staff in mind.

Like the Treo Pro, the iPaq supports most available wireless standards: Wi-Fi, GPS, quad-band (world) voice, and high-speed HSDPA/UMTS data networks.

In my tests, the iPaq delivered adequate but not outstanding call quality. Unlike the iPhone 3G, it has a removable rechargeable battery, which is rated at 1940 mAh. The iPaq's battery provided 4 hours, 58 minutes of talk-time in our lab tests--a poorer-than-average figure among recently tested PDA phones, though it's not unusual for 3G phones to have shorter battery lives than non-3G phones.

Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world

• Email
• Print
• Share
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Stumble
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine