HP iPaq Glisten (AT&T)
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a smartphone from HP here in the United States, but the company’s hoping to shine with its new messaging device for AT&T, called the HP iPaq Glisten. The Windows Mobile 6.5 handset looks decent on paper, offering all the essential features a mobile professional would want in a smartphone: a full range of wireless options, e-mail capabilities with a spacious QWERTY keyboard, and productivity tools. However, after spending some time with the device, we came away feeling completely underwhelmed by the iPaq Glisten. Its AMOLED touch screen should be one of the highlights of the smartphone, but instead, the low-resolution screen and the poor touch interface make it one of the phone’s downfalls. In addition, there’s very little in the way of extras or customization that just makes the smartphone feel drab.
For our money, we’d rather give up the touch screen and go with something like the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700, which offers a sharper screen, faster performance, and costs about $80 less than the iPaq. However, if you’re not a BlackBerry fan or are partial to Windows Mobile, the iPaq Glisten can do the job, just don’t expect a lot of bells and whistles. The HP iPaq Glisten is available now with a two-year contract for $179.99, after a $50 mail-in rebate.
About the Author: Amay Kulkarni, an engineering student at the University of Mumbai and a geek, who loves technology. It started with gadgets, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. Amay is a mobile phone fanatic who lives and breathes devices that give users mobility. He is strongly opinionated and very much passionate about what he writes. He has been blogging since 2008 and joined HotCellulatPhone.com
