Good News for iPAQ hw6500 Fans

A spokesperson for HP has revealed that the rumors of GPS problems with the iPAQ hw6500 series are untrue, and this smartphone will get an operating system upgrade.

Earlier this week, Pocket PC Thoughts reported that HP is considering recalling the units that have been sold in Europe because of a problem with their built-in GPS receivers.

Today, Pocket PC italia.com was able to speak with Andrea Astolfi, Area Category Manager for HP's handheld division, who said there was no basis at all for this rumor.

Windows Mobile 5.0

In addition, Astolfi refuted the reports that these Pocket PCs would never get an upgrade to Windows Mobile 5.0.

Instead, she said this operating system upgrade would be available around the end of this year or the beginning of the next, about the same time that the company's next series of smartphones, the hw6700 series, will be released.

This is good news for people who are considering buying one of the iPAQ hw6500 series models. Without Windows Mobile 5.0, these smartphones could not use the push email system that Microsoft is going to release this fall.

More About the iPAQ hw6500 Series

The iPAQ hw6500 series runs the Phone Edition of Windows Mobile 2003 SE on a 312 MHz Intel XScale processor.

It has 64 MB of RAM, of which 46 MB is user accessible. This handheld includes an 8 MB File Store.

Currently, there are two models in this series. These are essentially identical, except for the fact that one of them, the hw6515, has a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera, while the hw6510 does not.

These are the first Pocket PCs from any company with a square (240 by 240 pixel) screen. This is 2.2 inches on each side.

Below the screen is a backlit QWERTY keyboard, making this device strongly resemble a Treo or a BlackBerry.

The hw6500 series runs on GSM/GPRS networks, and includes support for EDGE.

These models also have Bluetooth short-range wireless networking, plus one slot for SD cards and a second for miniSD cards.

They include a built-in GPS receiver and TomTom Navigator software. Users are able to download one city map for free. Additional maps cost extra.

The hw6500 series models are 4.7 inches tall, 2.8 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick (118 mm by 71 mm by 21 mm). They weigh 5.8 ounces (165 g).

There is a lot of evidence that Cingular is going to start offering the hw6500 series in the near future.

Thanks to Engadget for the tip.

Related Links

• Brighthand's iPAQ hw6500 Forum
• HP Leaks Details on the iPAQ hw6700 Series
• Cingular Accidentally Confirms iPAQ hw6500 Plans