HP iPAQ 912c

Design HP has done its homework. The 912c's pragmatic design is far from revolutionary, but the company has been smart enough to pinch a few good ideas from its competition. In addition to the standard menu navigation keys, there is an OK button used to close active windows, common to Palm smartphones, and on the right side of the handset HP has included a jogwheel reminiscent of the last generation of BlackBerrys. Both of these elements are simple inclusions but certainly make for faster navigation. The 912c's dimensions (114mm tall, 54mm wide and 15mm deep) seems no bigger than other Windows Mobile (WM) devices we've seen, but its 154g weight is noticeably heavier, due in part to its enormous battery. The 912c also features a reasonably high spec camera compared to most WM smartphones; a 3-megapixel shooter with an LED flash and auto-focus. The iPAQ 912c makes use of a full QWERTY keyboard for speedy text entry, similar to most other smartphones in the market. The keyboard is comprised of four rows of raised rounded keys. Raising the keys does give each button some definition, but overall we found this keypad hard to navigate at top speed, with two thumbs typing being next to impossible. Above the QWERTY keyboard the 912c features a 2.4-inch colour TFT touchscreen display. We found that we didn't use the touchscreen much, the menus were often faster to navigate using the five-way nav button, but we do like to have the option to slap at the screen open to us, plus the 912c comes with an excellent telescopic stylus. We don't recommend relying on this display outside under natural light. While the screens on most phones lose clarity under sunlight, the 912c's display becomes completely unreadable. Features HP has employed Windows Mobile 6.1 professional on this latest iPAQ. Browsing through the iPAQ program folder is similar to browsing through the same folder on Palm's Treo Pro, with a few notable exceptions. HP has included several self-branded applications including the HP Photosmart Mobile used to view and modify photos taken with the phone's camera, with the ability to send the photos to a compatible printer via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Following suit with most of its competitors HP has included all major connectivity features. Tri-band UMTS reception with HSDPA for fast Web access, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and A-GPS. Of course, just as important as the hardware is, the necessary software is where the iPAQ is lacking somewhat. Similar to the Palm Treo Pro we reviewed recently, the 912c lacks a dedicated navigation solution, rendering the A-GPS hardware almost entirely useless. HP has pre-installed