HP iPAQ Data Messenger review

With economic doom and gloom all around us, we’re trying our best to use the glass half full approach and spread positivity. Unfortunately, as hard as we’ve tried, we’re unable to extend that to the HP iPAQ Messenger; There is very little to like about this handset unless you’ve been cryogenically frozen for the past few years and are blissfully unaware of the innovations that have occurred in the industry.

The Data Messenger makes use of Windows Mobile, which isn't necessarily the best way to win people over. On top of this, the Qewrty keyboard feels like it would be more at home on an old skool Casio calculator.

At 2.8-inch with support for 65k colours, the 320x340 pixel resolution screen is bright but still relatively small compared to some of the touchscreen handsets that are vying for business users’ attention at the moment and, no doubt, in the future.

Although, in the Data Messenger’s defence, given that it's not really a phone designed for consumer-focused media usage screen size/quality isn't of such great importance. So we’re happy to cut HP some slack here and overlook this usually mammoth shortcoming.

The handset itself is pretty heavy at 160g, which is likely to cause bulge to anything other than the baggiest of trousers. What’s more, it feels pretty plasticky and, although not cheaply made, it's not the most tactile handset. The stylus is more a 1980's telescopic car aerial than a slender tool - which does nothing to add to this already aesthetically challenged handset given that other players are pushing the cool and modern envelope.

Having turned the phone on, we were greeted with the usual uninspiring Windows interface. From a functional point of view this phone sticks to the basic stuff that Windows 6.1 offers with the usual Office suspects. Google Maps Mobile, a 30-day navigation trial, A-GPS and a camera are also present and correct. The camera itself is only 3.1-megapixels which is better than the iPhone but pretty pathetic compared to the 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel giants out there. Having said this, picture quality is OK. But is OK ever enough these days?

When looking at some of the above-mentioned lacklustre aspects of the phone, it’s important to consider that the iPAQ Data Messenger is a business tool and not a flashy iPhone or compact camera equaling the likes of the Sony Ericsson C905, LG Renoir or Samsung Pixon. The Data Messenger is clearly named so as it is aimed at the business professional who needs to stay in touch, receive emails and IM whilst on the move; while having Microsoft Office available for those work related attachments. This being the case, the straw that broke the camel’s back for us when reviewing this already unimpressive handset, was the fact that it crashed the first time we opened a basic SMS text message. Not a great first impression by any stretch of the imagination.

While this review may sound overly critical - and it's true that we couldn't really find anything to like about the HP Data Messenger - that's not to say that it's completely lacking as a phone.

Call quality is good enough and the phone can - when it doesn't crash - handle most basic Windows mobile functions adequately. Essentially, it works but does not excel in any of its functions. As such, we can only really see the Data Messenger appealing to current iPAQ users looking to upgrade. We fail to see why anyone looking for a new business phone, especially with current line of BlackBerrys, the Samsung Omnia or the new improved Palm models, would choose this current iPAQ.

The Data Messenger is way behind compared to its peers and doesn't seem to have come along way since the PDA iPAQs of old. Unfortunately for HP, the competition is just too strong for this below par offering.

They say don’t shoot the messenger. After spending time with this device and deciding to grade it with a disappointing and uninspiring 2/5, we can’t think of anything we’d rather do more.