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Hewlett-Packard and Cingular Wireless announced on Oct. 25 that starting on Oct. 31, Cingular will be the first delivery service in the United States to offer a new HP iPaq handheld device.
The HP iPaq hw6920 series Mobile Messenger gives customers the opportunity to use Cingulars nationwide GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)/GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)/EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) wireless data network, Wi-Fi, GPS, infrared and Bluetooth wireless technologies, which allows business customers to connect to e-mail or other applications.
“HP is making it simple for customers to stay connected and work effectively when on the move,” Alain Debost, director of the handheld business unit in North America for HP, said in a statement.
“By combining the iPaq hw6920 series wireless e-mail, voice and fast data access with Cingulars expansive network, we are allowing customers to tap into the information and rich content they want, when they want it.”
The company touts that the included GPS receiver helps customers to receive directions to their specific destination of choice on their hw6920 series.
This series will also use the TeleNav GPS Navigator from TeleNav, which will let users get voice as well as onscreen directions with every turn that they make while driving or walking.
This system will be available as a subscription service from Cingular as users can also select from a few other GPS navigation choices such as Microsoft Pocket Streets or HP Navigation Maps and Software.
Cathy Quaciari, director of B2B devices for Cingular Wireless, said in a company statement that whether through a wide area, local area or Bluetooth connection, customers will be able to access their e-mail and other corporate data while having location-based capabilities with the devices built-in GPS receiver.
“Its yet another jewel in the long and fruitful collaborative alliance between HP and Cingular,” she said.
According to HP, users of the HP iPaq hw6920 series will have access to Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, which has many of the same tools that can be found in Microsoft on their personal computers such as Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and Outlook.
The series will also include the Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5.0, which gives customers up-to-date e-mail, calendar, tasks and contacts, as well as enhanced security features such as a remote device wipe, remotely enforced IT policy and MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) support.
The company also advertises the 1.3-megapixel HP Photosmart camera that comes in the HP iPaq hw6920 series, which lets users take photos and videos.
Cingular will sell two versions of the HP iPaq hw6900 series Mobile Messenger, one that has a built-in camera (hw6925) and one that comes without a camera (hw6920).
The iPaq hw6920 series is available from Cingular Wireless B2B sales organization for as low as $359.99 for business customers with a two-year contract and qualifying voice and data plans.
It is also available through select HP channel partners and through the companys Web site.