HP finally delivers 3G Qwerty Ipaq

AT ITS Connecting Your World event in Berlin, Compaq Hewlett-Packard announced the Ipaq 900 Business Messenger Smartphone and its final worldwide shipping date, June 30^th – only a little late, since the gadget was unveiled in September 2007.

The INQ was officially informed the reasons for the hold-up were two-fold. First up was the whole Qualcomm–Broadcom heated legal dispute over phones using Qualcomm MSM6280 chips in North America. The revisited phone specifications from the last year now show they’ve now gone with the Qualcomm MSM6281 instead, for its eventual global release.

Second up was the awaited Windows Mobile 6.1 Processional OS update, which they hung out for until it was eventually ready to go – here endeth all their reasons and excuses for the 274-day delay.

It’s the firm's first 3G Qwerty keyboard-based Smartphone, using tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and built-in A-GPS. It also includes a 3-mega pixel onboard camera, for those vital business photographs.

Cosmetically they’ve moved away from the original steel look from the September launch which appeared to be very similar to a bare-bone OEM computer case, now on to a fairly stylish, glossy, piano-black design.

Shipping begins this month but will vary region to region just as the prices will too – although it has been confirmed to us that US cost is $549 and 499 Euros locally. µ