HP iPAQ Glisten (AT&T Windows Mobile 6.5) Review

Rich Bilancia | December 25, 2009

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HP iPAQ Glisten-AT&T - Handheld PCs It’s been a while since I’ve done a phone review and have been really looking forward to reviewing the iPAQ Glisten with the latest version of Windows Mobile Professional and a touch screen. The iPAQ Glisten was announced in November. Chris Leckness has already done an un-boxing and first look for MobilitySite.com here and a software tour here. In the second of these postings, Chris points out that the phone is available now with a two-year AT&T contract for $179.99 (after $50 rebate). Without a contract, the phone costs $379.99 from either AT&T or HP.

A flash demo of the phone on the HP website can be found here.

Full disclosure before getting started

I’ve been using iPAQ devices for years. Nearly a decade ago I started with an HP iPAQ Jornada. Most recently I’ve owned and used an HP iPAQ 510 Messenger. My review of the 510 Messenger can be found here. In between, I’ve owned and used an HP iPAQ 2215 and an HP iPAQ 4155 which has always been one of my favorites. I still love using the h4155 when I take long airplane flights.

I’ve also been using Windows Mobile phones for a very long time. I have owned and used:

T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone
T-Mobile MDA
T-Mobile Dash (1st Gen)
HP iPAQ 510 Messenger
T-Mobile Shadow (1st Gen)

I used to have two very strong opinions about handheld devices:

the more features & functions the better, and
absolute device convergence was a highly admiral objective.

Nowadays, I’m far less certain that those opinions were correct. Maybe I should also think about ease of use. Ever since the iPhone has been available, “ease of use” has been the new standard. It’s no secret that Windows Mobile has not kept pace.

About a year ago or so, I started using an an HP iPaq 510 Voice Messenger on the T-Mobile network. I bought the unit unlocked directly from HP. I bought the device to replace my aging T-Mobile Dash (first GEN). Over a couple of months I learned that there was both a lot to like and dislike (especially the keyboard and non-standard screen resolution) about the 510. Shortly thereafter I bought a T-Mobile Shadow (first GEN) and have found it to be a near perfect phone for me. Please notice that each of my last three phones have been Windows Mobile Standard (non-touch screen) devices.

Needless to say, and in case you’ve not yet figured it out, I have a soft spot in my heart for Microsoft-powered handheld devices. With that disclosure out of the way, I’ll do my best to give a fair and unbiased review of the iPAQ Glisten.

First impressions

While it may have a funny name (probably because of the bright AMOLED screen), once it’s in your hand it has a feel of true quality that is consistent with the tradition of the iPAQ handheld devices of the past. It fits in my hand nicely, has the sufficient heft of quality and has a soft rubber feel back.

As Chris Leckness has said in the video software tour:

The phone has a minimalistic WM 6.5 installation (i.e., no extras). It’s a basic installation with no special user interface.
Designed for business users (e-mails & text messaging). Not necessarily made or best for multimedia or web browsing.
Small screen is difficult to use with fingers. You need to use the included stylus.
Very nice keyboard with raised buttons.
The WM 6.5 honeycomb look & feel is included. However the icons are only 3 wide vs. 4 or 5 wide on other larger screen devices.

I agree with everything Chris said. In his first look video he referred to the the device as “Blackberryish” in appearance and feel. I agree as well. In addition the amoled screen is very bright and sharp.

One of the puzzling concerns that I have is the small QVGA touch screen. Having used Windows Mobile Standard devices with similar sized screens, I see very little benefit (if any other than the “signing of digital documents” shown in the flash demo) in having a small touch screen on this device given the very nice physical keyboard. I did not find it to aid in the usability of the device at all. In fact I frequently found myself looking for the non-touch screen physical buttons that are included with Windows Mobile Standard devices.

As Chris pointed out, other than literature, all that is in the box is the phone, a sync cable and power adapter. I would have liked to see a case and a headset. HP does offer an optional HP iPAQ Wired Stereo Headset (FB206AA#AC3) and a choice of two optional cases: the HP iPAQ Glisten Leather Case (FB210AA#AC3) and the HP iPAQ Glisten Silicone Protective Case (FB211AA#AC3). Also optionally available is a replacement HP iPAQ Glisten Stylus Kit (FB212AA#AC3).

“At a glance” specifications

Size and weight: 112.8 x 62.8 x 13.4mm, 132g
3G wireless broadband for voice and data:
- North America: 850/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks; 850/1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA networks
- Latin America: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks; 850/1900/2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA networks
- Europe/Asia Pacific: 900/1800 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks; 850/2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA networks
Display: 2.5-inch diagonal touch screen
Text input: QWERTY keyboard, 5-way directional pad Camera: 3.1 Megapixel, 5X digital zoom
Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g (no “n”)
Bluetooth: 2.01
Audio: 3.5 mm headset jack, speakerphone
Battery: 1590 mAh Li-Polymer
Memory: 256 MB SDRAM/512 MB Flash
Removable storage: MicroSD slot supports up to 32 GB (card sold separately)
GPS navigation: Assisted GPS
Operating system: Windows Mobile® Professional 6.5

Here are a few images documenting the buttons and layout that got from the HP web site:

My findings

Since it is a phone, I needed to first checkout the phone features. Call quality on the AT&T network is good but I found that dialing the phone other than from contacts to be a chore because of the smaller touch screen. The rounded keyboard buttons are nicely responsive and make data entry from the keyboard easy. There are four special dedicated keys for accessing the internet, calendar, e-mail and GPS.

Browsing is quick on both the AT&T 3G network and the familiar and easy to configure Wi-Fi setup.

I am running Windows 7 and was able to easily configure the unit with Windows Mobile Device Center. Some Windows Mobile phones don’t get uniquely pictured and displayed in Windows Mobile Device Center—the iPAQ Glisten does.

The unit gets automatically locked after it is setup to synchronize with Microsoft Exchange server. In order to unlock the device, the lock button needs to slide to the side.

Sliding the lock button results in a screen where the unlock PIN is entered.

Upon a successful unlock, the Windows Mobile 6.5 default home screen starts.

After pressing the “home” button on the keyboard the honeycomb application navigation menu appears.

Applications & Menu Layout

Today
Phone
E-Mail
Contacts
Calendar
Internet Explorer
Text
AppCenter (AT&T)
Camera
AT&T Navigator
Mobile Web
Settings
Apps
- Mobi4Biz
- Weather Channel
- Mobile Banking
- Voice Commander
- HP Photosmart Mobile
- Sprite Backup
- MSN Weather
- MSN Money
- Facebook
- Adobe Reader LE
- Java
- Streaming Player
Marketplace
AT&T Music
Games
- Monopoly Here & Now
- SW The Force Unleashed
- Ms. PAC-MAN by Namco
- Solitaire
- Bubble Breaker
AT&T Wi-Fi
Mobile Video
Windows Live
YPmobile
Pictures & Videos
Office Mobile
- Excel Mobile
- Word Mobile
- PowerPoint Mobile
- OneNote Mobile
Tools
- Calculator
- ActiveSync
- Task Manager
- Notes
- Tasks
- Internet Sharing
- JetCet Print
- SIM Manager
- Remote Desktop
- Modem Link
- Proxy Manager
Windows Media
Wireless Manager
File Explorer
Getting Started
Help
Search Phone

After quickly & easily setting up synchronization and push e-mail with Exchange server, I also quickly and easily setup a couple of Wi-Fi partnerships. In the process I was somewhat surprised to learn that the iPAQ Glisten does not support 802.11n.

The iPAQ Glisten comes with Voice Commander instead of Microsoft’s Voice Command. Over the years I’ve become a fan of Microsoft’s Voice Command for one feature—the ability to automatically and selectively read aloud high priority text messages and e-mails without prompting to do so. Voice Commander does however work well on the iPAQ Glisten

Then there is the AT&T Navigator application. I’ve had GPS turn-by-turn navigation systems in my last two cars and have become a big fan of GPS navigation systems. I had been looking forward to trying turn-by-turn navigation on a Windows Mobile device. While riding in the passenger seat on a recent ride with a friend, I tried to use the AT&T Navigator application on the iPAQ Glisten. Not only did the device have difficulty getting and keeping GPS connectivity, entering destinations was quite difficult and tedious. My experience left me far less than pleased. Don’t get me wrong, the AT&T Navigator application works but does not have the easy of use or full feature set that I’d expected.

The camera

Below is an image of the screen when using the camera to take a picture. Some of the many camera options include a timer and burst capture.

Below is the very first picture taken with the default settings (Heinricy Lake, Loveland, Colorado). The image captured is 2048 x 1536 but I have uploaded it as 640 x 480.

This following is a comparative picture with some of my other Windows Mobile devices. Left to right is the T-Mobile Dash, the HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger, the T-Mobile Shadow and the HP iPAQ Glisten.

Conclusion

If you’re a business/professional user there’s a lot to like in the AT&T iPAQ Glisten. It’s a solid performer with all the software you’re likely to need. However, if you’re a Windows Mobile enthusiast the HTC HD 2 coming soon to T-Mobile may be a better choice.

Pros:

bright AMOLED screen for outdoor use
HP iPAQ reputation and related build quality
includes both a keyboard and touch screen

Cons:

low resolution, small touch screen
includes Voice Commander instead of Voice Command
GPS application was tedious to use
a niche implementation (small screen with Blackberry style) of Windows Mobile in an otherwise crowded Smartphone space

Technorati Tags: iPAQ,iPAQ Glisten,AT&T,Windows Mobile,Review

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