I've had the pleasure of using HP's Ipaq 910 Business Messenger for the past few weeks, and I must say I'm impressed. With the onslaught of smartphones like Apple's iPhone, T-Mobile's G1, and the ever-present BlackBerry devices, some may have written HP off thinking their excellent PDAs a thing of the past. I admit I'm guilty of the same line of thinking. My last HP Ipaq, the 2215, served me well for a few of years before being relegated to an expensive GameBoy, providing a few minutes of enjoyment here and there with Solitaire.

When it came time to get a new phone I didn't even think twice about checking out HP, opting to carefully weigh the pros and cons of iPhones, G1s and BlackBerries. I see now that I was remiss, as the HP Ipaq 910 does everything I need it to do for work and play, and I realized a little late that the physical keyboard is by far preferable to software ones -- even if they have that nifty haptic feedback.

Here are the things I really liked about the Ipaq 910:

• It's unlocked if you buy it from HP or Amazon
• Long battery life -- I used the 910 heavily for email, calls, IM, browsing the web, making notes, google maps, etc. for up to 16 hours a day and it never ran out of juice.
• Integrated Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and 3G kept me in touch no matter where I went, and worked with any bluetooth earpiece I tried
• Fast downloads with tri-band UMTS/HSDPA -- great for getting game cheats and video tutorials when I was too lazy to walk to the computer
• Clear calls - Everyone heard me loud and clear, and vice versa
• Touch screen is responsive and precise. Most of the time my semi-chunky thumbs worked fine, but for those with particularly large fingers, the iPaq 910 has a handy stylus
• Integrated with our Exchange Email and Windows Messenger flawlessly
• GPS + Google Maps = locational bliss
• QWERTY Keyboard!
• Easy USB 2.0 connectivity
• microSD slot supports up to 4GB of additional storage
• Non-slip grip alleviated any concerns I had about dropping it

So aside from the keyboard, what's good about the Ipaq 910? A whole lot. I used it for editing documents, getting emails, texting (of course), scheduling, internet access, and GPS location along with all personal and work-related phone calls. The Ipaq 910 comes with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Mobile Office which includes Excel, PowerPoint, Word and OneNote. I used Word and Excel more than a few times, and even with the slightly smaller screen on the Ipaq 910, I was able to edit spreadsheets and articles. Don't get me wrong, doing any task on a screen that's 1/30 the size of my computer monitor display takes some getting used to, but having the ability to edit documents on the fly was great -- even if it meant working from home.

I also set the Ipaq to sync with our corporate Exchange server, so keeping track of tasks, appointments, and contacts was effortless. Reading and replying to emails was easily done with either my thumbs or the thoughtfully included stylus. The touch screen is calibrated well right out of the box, so it was rare that I pressed the wrong button or link with my fingers. The keyboard keys have a very smooth finish, making it a little slick for my tastes, but I quickly got used to it.

When the Ipaq 910 goes to sleep, you have to press the power button on top to wake it backup. This was somewhat annoying, as I'm used to tapping a screen or key combination to power up a smartphone. Even so it was a minor annoyance that shouldn't deter you from buying your own 910. Google Maps is pre-installed, and together with the built-in GPS receiver I was able to find my location and various business types around me at most times. The receiver is a little too sensitive, however, as I was unable to get signals inside any building.

The 3 megapixel phone is handy for taking pics while you're out and about, but don't plan on getting a shot of Bigfoot before he disappears into the forest -- it took around 10 - 12 seconds for the camera to take a pic and a few seconds more for it to be ready for more picture taking. The button placement for the camera also doesn't allow for real steady picture taking, but this is another case where the 910 is best for business use, and not wedding photography. Performance and handling issues aside, the 910autofocuses well, and images turned out better than I thought they would.

Summary

Ultimately, HP's Ipaq 910 Business Messenger can do nearly everything iPhone or BlackBerry can do, and if you buy it from Amazon or directly from HP, it's unlocked, so you're not tethered to any particular wireless carrier! All in all I give the HP iPaq 910 Business Messenger a 3.5 out of 4. It's meant for business, and it means business.