Hands on with an HTC Device That Will Never be Sold

Recently I got some brief hands-on time with the HTC P6000, which is the Windows Mobile 5.0-based device that is being used to collect data for the 2010 census in the US. I wasn't able to take pictures of the device, but I can tell you what I thought of it. The device is huge and ugly, but it's not made to be pretty. It's basically a regular old Windows Mobile device in terms of software, but adds some special applications that have been developed by the consulting arm of Accenture. It packs a 416MHz Intel XScale CPU, with 128MB ROM and 64MB of RAM, plus SD expansion. The screen is 3.5" and QVGA resolution. For detailed specs, check out PDAdb.net.

The government has ordered around 150,000 of them from HTC (despite an article from Popular Mechanics citing 500,000). The HTC P6000 represents a modernization of the census procedure, and the government expects to save billions by using the devices. The idea is that for the door-to-door part of the census, officials will save time by not having to enter in an addresses, because the P6000 has GPS. Also, it's running on Sprint's CDMA network, so data can be sent over the air to census HQ. Also, thanks to a ridiculously huge 3000mAh battery, the P6000 can last 10 hours.