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INTRODUCTION
The
following review was originally posted at Pocket.co.il,
Israel's premiere Pocket PC website, and has been translated by
Eli Haboosh for pocketnow.com readers.
When
the hw6515 was brought to the market, at
first look it seemed as if HP wanted to redeem themselves from
the error they have done with the h63xx. What
did HP intend when making this device? Is it aimed at the Blackberry?
A lot of information is ahead!
WHAT'S HOT
The hw6515 is a device with
integrated GPS, easy to use thumb keyboard and phone functionality.
With its unique look and square screen, you will, without a doubt,
get some glares on your next business meeting.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Box contents include: cradle, hw6515, belt clip, stereo earbuds, charger, manuals, and navigation and driver CD. The first thing you notice after opening the package is the comfort in holding the device and its design. It feels a lot smaller and comfortable than it looks in pictures.
Specifications:
Processor:
Intel XScale PXA270 312 MHz
Memory: 64MB RAM 64MB ROM
Screen: 240 X 240 64K color
Wireless:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth, irDA
GPS: Integrated GPS
Expansion: MINI SD and SDIO
OS: Windows Mobile 2003SE
Dimensions:
(L x W x H) 2.8" x .83" x 4.65"
Weight:
5.82oz
The hw6515 is slightly larger and has more weight than the Blackberry, but packs more features. I have a little problem with the fact that manufactures still make Pocket PCs with only 64MB. Indeed, you can still work with 64MB, but why not getting the best technology one can get? Probably, battery and money were factors here. The processor is a 312MHZ from Texas instruments. The processor didn’t cause any problem and the device worked flawlessly and fast.
When news of the hw6515 emerged with accompanying specs, we were wondering about this whole square screen idea. The square screen was created in order to save place for the integrated keyboard. But is it useful? Do you want to try and see how your device will look like with square screen? Cover the bottom part of your screen (on a regular VGA/QVGA device) so a perfect square will remain. Try even arranging your today screen according to this new square screen and see if you can get use to that. The graphics are not relatively compressed, but it stays the same (not like the JAM for example which the graphics are reduced relative to the small screen). On the hw6515, the icons will remain at their same size, the font will stay at the same size, etc. This way, fewer icons will have room in this new screen.
I have tried several software programs on the hw6515, and most of the software was compatible with the square screen. NAVNGO software (navigation software in Israel) was cut out at the bottom. Destinator software had some problems with its menus. I couldn’t check every piece of software, however the popular PocketBreeze and PocketPlus were fine on the square screen.
Like with some other devices, HP added a plastic screen protector which is also removable. The cover lets us walk with the device without any leather cover or any other extra case that makes the device a lot bulkier and clumsy when trying to receive or initiate a call. The cover leaves the buttons and keyboard exposed, ready to be used. You can also use the device with the cover closed, holding it next to your ear without any sweat or grease problem on the screen.
Combining a hardware keyboard to a Pocket PC was a good intention in that it avoids the tiny virtual keyboard. The former model of HP, the h63xx, came with a detachable thumb keyboard that was a big failure, as users needed to go with this detachable keyboard in their pocket. This time, HP has done a very good job, adding a built-in QWERTY, comfortable keyboard. The keys are far enough from each other, giving the ability for chubby fingers users to use this keyboard with no problem. The keyboard has most of the letters and symbols and using the shift key will give you more options.
Writing long documents will be a bit difficult with this keyboard, but still I found it very easy to use and comfortable for shorter messages and such. If you are a SMS freak, this is the device for you. Most of the users doesn’t really use their integrated keyboard other than writing short massages, editing small text fields and browsing the internet. PDA2K users for that matter, use their keyboard a lot less.
The numbers on the keyboard are located on the right side of the keyboard, making it hard for right-handed people to use this device. On the other hand (literally), left handed people will have no problem dialing with the keyboard. Pressing the numbers when in the Today screen should open the phone screen and show the numbers pressed, on screen. I found out that the device has a mind of its own and decides when to pop the phone screen and when not after pressing number buttons. Also, sometimes it didn’t even considered the pressing on the hardware numbers and just did nothing. Pressing on the shift key along with every press of a number did the trick.
Dialing isn't ideal. I have a vision that some day when I will press on "E" on my keyboard when in phone mode, I will get all the contact names starting with "E" and in every press of a button, the software will narrow my search. Is it so hard to do? Why not using the already built-in keyboard?
There are two more buttons for programs and two buttons for End and Send. The buttons are well designed, along with the 5 way D-pad shaped like a small stick which makes it easy to use.
In dark conditions, the buttons are backlit blue.
The hw6515 integrates with a built-in GPS receiver (AGPS). When trying to check the GPS feature with my Destinator software, the software couldn’t find the GPS receiver of the device. When trying to find the reason why, the Director of Business Development of Destinator software – Mr. Saar Avigour, told us that according to an agreement between HP and TOM TOM, the GPS in the hw6515 is locked for TOM TOM use only, leaving other navigation software out of the picture. The package comes with TOM TOM software and a free city map download of your choice. Because TOM TOM doesn’t have Israel maps, we couldn’t check the GPS ability of the 6515 with a navigation software.
On the right side you can find the SD and Mini SD slots, where the Mini SD is meant for memory cards as the SD slot is meant for expansions like WiFi. The slots are located on the right side of the device, which could be problematic when trying to work with the device when a SD WiFi card is inserted. Also, as a side note, Mini SD cost more than SDs.
Also on the right side is the stylus which is located on the upper right side. The stylus is the same as most of HPs stylus – simple and black..
On the left side you can locate the slider button, the camera button and IR port.
On the top, there are the communication and power LEDs. Also, the power button is located here. I found that the button is not so easy to use, as you will need to press hard on it in order for it to work, and in dark conditions, it's a struggle to locate.
On the backside we have the battery and SIM card, and the camera, flash, and a self portrait mirror. The flash is actually a small bulb which lights close objects adequately. The camera is cable of capturing 1.3 megapixels, but I have found that the quality of the images to be poor compared to point-and-shoot 1.3 megapixel digital cameras that I've worked with. Nevertheless, I cant find a reason for using a Pocket PC for quality pictures.
Usually, phone edition devices comes without any cradle (HTC). I was glad to find out that HP offered a cradle for this device. The cradle looks a lot similar to other HP cradles and has two ports, one for USB connection, and the other for power cord. You can define that the USB cable will also charge the unit (not a great idea for laptop owners).
The hw6515, compared to the i-mate JAM, is larger in all dimensions, but has a slightly brighter screen.
