New iPaqs Hang on the Horizon

HP is readying new iPaq phones with full QWERTY keyboards, according to Federal documents that are posted on the Web.

According to the documents, the Federal Communications Commission has approved at least two iPaq GPRS/EDGE (General Packet Radio Service/Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) phones with full keyboards for use in the United States—one that supports Wi-Fi and one, the hw6500, that does not.

The hw6500 is already available in Europe, but has yet to be released in the United States, although the FCC indicates that it has been approved for use in the United States.

Hewlett-Packard Co. officials declined to say when the hw6500 will be available in the States—only that it eventually will be.

Resource Library:

"Ill definitely let you know when well start shipping," said Mike Hockey, a spokesperson for HP in Houston.

The hw6500 runs Microsoft Corp.s Windows Mobile operating system. It supports quadband GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)/GPRS/EDGE for cellular connectivity and Bluetooth for local wireless connections, but it does not support Wi-Fi.

However, HTC (High Tech Computer Corp.),which manufactures the iPaq for HP, submitted a similar iPaq that was approved for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the 2.4GHz range.

Read more here about HPs latest tweaks to the iPaq.

Furthermore, an iPaq fan site last week posted a brochure for an iPaq 6700, which Hewlett-Packards United Kingdom site apparently posted too soon.

The brochure says that the hw6700 will support 802.11g, a flavor of Wi-Fi that can support throughput rates of up to 54Mb per second. The information is no longer on any of the HP sites, but can be found here.

Hewlett-Packard officials declined to comment on unannounced products.

An airport arms itself with iPaqs. Click here to read more.

Separately, the FCC has approved three Windows Mobile devices from High-Tech Computer, under the names WIZA100, WIZA110 and WIZA200.

According to an authorization letter, the three devices are virtually the same except for minor mechanical design differences; for instance, the WIZA110 does not include a camera and the others do.

According to an ID label that the FCC has posted, the devices will support cellular, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communications.

Pictures of the devices will be publicly available in September, according to the FCC site.

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