HP iPAQ 614 - Review
This is Phone Arena’s video review of the HP iPAQ 614 business navigator. It is Windows Mobile Professional device with rich functionality and global 3G. It also offers you a few control options. Its specifications are up to standard and overall it is quite an interesting solution for the business community. HP design is clear providing you with good work conditions, its rounded edges and the classic black covering of the entire phone contributes for the pleasant look.
The phone is made out of quality plastic which feels like rubber coated. Despite that it looks big the iPAQ 614 fits quite comfortably in the hand. There is a 2.8-inch TFT touch display with QVGA resolution on the front. It has a high brightness and contrast level but not sufficient to make it clearly visible in direct sunlight.
Over the screen we see the HP level goal, the speaker and the LED’s standard for a Candybar phone, the soft keys and the numeric keypad are located next to each other under the display. The navigational buttons have been replaced by the Smart Touch navigation wheel system which is at that sensitive circle located in the middle of the numeric keypad.
By sliding your finger over it in clockwise or counterclockwise direction you can scroll through menus rather quickly. Another way to do that is to place your finger on top of the number five and move it in direction desired, up, down, left or right but that is quite slow. To confirm an action though you have to use the enter key. On the left side you will find the OK and voice command buttons and between them a 3-way thumb wheel which can also be used for navigation.
On the right side we have the external antenna slot and the camera shortcut. On the top of the HP is located the silent mode button similarly to the RIM Blackberry devices and on the bottom is the reset button accompanied by the Mini USB slot. The camera with the LED flash and a loud speaker are located in the upper back side of the device and battery lid takes up the rest of the back.
HP has added some innovations to the interface. One of those is the HP shortcuts menu which consists of ten shortcuts to various applications but these can be customized. Each one has a number zero to nine which is connected to the numeric keypad. Therefore if you want to start at Google Maps marked with number 4 you can press the key with the corresponding digit and the application will load. Other lighter personalization options are the screensaver and the HP Help and Support, HP iPAQ tips and remote desktop mobile application. The rest of the interface is standard for this operation system.
The 3-megapixel camera uses the entire display as a view finder. The icons are located on the edges of the screen but they are small and therefore hard to press with fingers. The picture quality is quite disappointing for such a camera. Managing and reviewing pictures is made easier with the HP photos marked memoir. It has a user for the interface with the pictures are being shown as a 3x4 grid and underneath it there is a field giving information about the selected image.
On the very bottom there is a bar with shortcuts leading to camera, browse, full screen, slideshow preview, text comment, voice notes, print, send as, close and a rotate 90 degrees left or right. To make use of the built-in GPS the HP comes preloaded with the Google Maps application. It uses internet traffic to produce the maps and does a great job in combination with the positioning system.
The HP iPAQ 614 combines everything a business and personal needs. It is very fast and since it offers a few navigation solutions you are able to choose the one that fits you best. If you are looking for a business oriented Windows Mobile 6 Professional phone HP iPAQ 614 is the right choice. Please visit www.phonearena.com for our full text review with many pictures and a 360 degree view.
[Demonstration]
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