HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger Review by LAPTOP Magazine

HP's latest iPAQ doesn't look like an iPAQ at all. It's a compact candy bar phone without a keyboard, and that features Wi-Fi and runs Windows Mobile 6. The 510's biggest innovation, however, is its Voice Commander technology, which enables the phone to read your e-mail aloud, open applications via voice, and respond to e-mail with voice notes. These features would be especially convenient for commuters who drive to work--if HP's execution were slightly better.

At only 2.8 inches wide, the iPAQ 510 (See Photo Gallery) forgoes the QWERTY keyboard in favor of a standard number pad. The dark-gray body with black trim looks executive-chic, but this handset weighs a hefty 5.8 ounces and measures 0.7 inches thick, compared with the much sleeker dimensions (3.5 ounces and 0.6 inches) of the Cingular 3125. The reward for the iPAQ 510's extra bulk is a relatively large battery that promises 6.5 hours of talk time, versus the 3125's five hours.

The backlit, rounded keys make for easy dialing and texting. You won't find a scroll wheel or trackball, but the five-way directional pad made it easy enough to navigate menus. You can't scroll on the Start page by pressing down on the D-pad; instead, you're forced to hit the More soft button, which we found annoying. The sides of the phone are uncluttered with just a voice-activation button on the right, and a headphone port, microSD slot, and volume controls on the left.

The two-inch micro-reflective display didn't impress us. The 176 x 220-pixel resolution is a little low (the Cingular 3125's display is 320 x 240 pixels), and we noticed some jaggies on the icons. Photos taken with the 1.3-megapixel camera looked fine on iPAQ 510's screen, and they looked decent when viewed on our notebook, with only a little graininess.

The iPAQ 510 (see our HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger slideshow for more images) does a pretty good job of leveraging Windows Mobile 6. For starters, you can now start typing in the name of your contact from the Today screen, and it will automatically search your contacts and recent calls. This worked very smoothly on our tests. For example, hitting the 2 key twice brought up Barbara in Queens, Barbara at the shore, and Barbara's cell, as well as two contacts whose last names started with "CA." <

Other cool new features include support for HTML e-mail, as well as for protected or confidential e-mail, and the ability to search e-mail by subject or name. There's also a shortcuts menu (on this phone, you just press and hold the 0 button) for sending, replying to, and flagging messages without having to dig for the command. (Check out our full review of Windows Mobile 6.)

HP has added its own utilities that run on top of the new OS, making for an even smoother experience. For instance, we love the customizable shortcuts menu on the bottom right of the display. It comes with nine preset applications, and you can add the tenth, or you can change all ten of them and rearrange the order. If you plan on listening to music through the phone, for instance, you can just add Media Player to your shortcuts and save yourself some drilling.

The Voice Commander is what really sets this phone apart. It offers more than 20 commands, such as "Read e-mail," "Compose audio e-mail," and "Reminder," with no voice training required. To get to the Voice Commander, you can either select the microphone on the Today screen or push the mic button on the right-hand side of the phone. It took a few minutes to get the hang of it all, but we were able to have our e-mail read to us on the first try. To go to the next e-mail, simply push the button and say "next." You can also reply to e-mail with an audio attachment.

The voice that reads your e-mail is where this very cool concept starts to unravel. We missed about every fifth or sixth word the computer voice spoke because the pronunciation was truncated or distorted. It also had to pause after each phrase. Harried drivers will appreciate this technology because it saves time, but Voice Commander has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream.

On the data front, the iPAQ 510 packs in EDGE and a Wi-Fi radio. Loading Web pages using either connection was slow, however. Over Cingular's EDGE network, Web sites loaded in about 25 seconds, and over the Wi-Fi network pages took about 10 to 15 seconds to load. Business users will appreciate the iPAQ 510's support for Internet calling over Wi-Fi, whether they're tapping into an IP-PBX system in the office or loading Skype for Windows Mobile to save money at home or on the go. Skype wasn't supporting the 510 at press time, but it should be available by the time you read this or shortly after.

Regular calls sounded pretty good on the handset. Everyone we talked to sounded clear and natural. People on the other end of the line said we sounded good for the most part, but one person said we sounded tinny. When we talked through the included stereo earphones, listeners said they heard no difference between that and the handset, but on our end, callers sounded much deeper and less natural. Music sounded okay when played through the handset, though it wasn't very loud. Your best bet is to pair the iPAQ 510 with stereo Bluetooth headphones.

The HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger is a solid phone for people who like the idea of having Outlook in their pocket but don't need a QWERTY keyboard. HP does a nice job of not only incorporating the Windows Mobile 6 OS but improving upon it as well. If you have your heart set on a high-performing Voice Commander functionality, though, you might want to wait for round two before spending $300.

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HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger

HP's first Windows Mobile 6 phone packs in Wi-Fi and lots of talk time, but its Voice Command technology is no replacement for a keyboard.

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