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The 6500 will be the second iPAQ with mobile phone capabilities, in addition to Bluetooth personal area networking and WLAN connectivity. The first was the 6340, launched in late 2004. The company plans GSM/GPRS and CDMA connectivity, the 6500 marking HP’s first serious attempt to woo European mobile operators as a route to market. It already has a US market alliance with T-Mobile USA, but while the German group is a potential customer in the Old Continent, there are also other major carriers in its sights.
“We’ll target operators that cover Europe, as well as local and regional players,” said Tim Schelling, director of category management in UK and Ireland for the Palo Alto, California-based vendors IPSG division, comprising the printer and personal computing devices businesses. “Vodafone, of whom we are a close partner, will be interested in this device,” he predicted. The 6500 is also the first iPAQ with built-in rather than clip-on Qwerty keyboard, in addition to the touch-screen one supported in the OS.
Source: Computer Business Chronicle