iPAQ hw6500 Coming in September

Although HP first began talking about the iPAQ hw6500 series in February, this device is not yet being offered by any carrier.

HP's web site iPAQ Choice doesn't say exactly when this is going to happen, aside from a note that this series will be available "May/June 2005," depending on country.

Recently, a report surfaced that said these cellular-wireless handhelds wouldn't be released in the United States until November.

However, a source familiar with HP's plans has told Brighthand that Cingular will actually begin offering the hw6500 series in September.

A Second Model, Too

HP is developing some more cellular-wireless Pocket PCs that will come out some time after the hw6500 series.

The hw6700 series will be quite similar to its predecessor, but there will be a few significant changes.

The hw6500 series will use Windows Mobile 2003 SE, while the hw6700 series will use the latest version, Windows Mobile 5.0. It is not known if the earlier models will eventually get an operating system upgrade.

In addition, the hw6500 series includes GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Bluetooth. Supposedly, the later models will also include Wi-Fi Wireless networking.

However, to make room, one of the memory card slots in the hw6500 series will have to be left out. The first models will include one slot for SD cards and a second for miniSD cards. The hw6700 will include only the miniSD card slot.

More Information on the iPAQ hw6500 Series

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

It will have 64 MB of RAM, of which 46 MB is user accessible. This handheld will include an 8 MB File Store.

HP's U.K. web site shows two models in this series. These will be essentially identical, except for the fact that one of them, the hw6515, will have a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera, while the hw6510 will not.

This will be capable of taking 1280-by-1024-pixel still pictures or 640-by-480-pixel MPEG4 video. It will be accompanied by an LED flash.

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

Below the screen will be a backlit QWERTY keyboard.

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

These devices will be 4.7 inches tall, 2.8 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick (118 mm by 71 mm by 21 mm). They will weigh 5.8 ounces (165 g).

The exact price is still not known, but the hw6500 series handhelds are expected to cost about the same as HP's other cellular-wireless Pocket PC, the iPAQ h6315.

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