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Hewlett-Packard started touting its next-generation smartphones, the iPAQ hw6500 series in February. Since then, we learned from Microsoft MVP (most valuable professional) Joe Schurman that Cingular Wireless—with its widely deployed EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) high-speed, third-generation network—will be the first wireless operator to support the Pocket PC Phone in the United States. Exactly when this would occur has been trickier to ascertain.

HP says the smartphone will be available either this or next month, depending on the country, on its Web site. Recent rumors placed the release for the hw6500 in the U.S. not until November, however.

Today, Brighthand states a source informed them Cingular would begin carrying the Pocket PC Phone somewhat earlier, in September. It also said HP has another handset up its sleeve, the iPAQ hw6700, due after the hw6500’s release. Not a surprise, as the computer and printing giant always asserted the hw6500 would be the first in a series of new smartphones.

Purportedly, the hw6700 will closely resemble the hw6500, except for some important (mostly internal) alterations.

First, the later model will run Microsoft's newest wireless platform, Windows Mobile 5.0 -- announced last week -- rather than last year's Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition.

The hw6700 also adds a Wi-Fi radio to the hw6500's GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Bluetooth wireless capabilities, but loses one of the latter handset's two expansion slots—nixing the Secure Digital slot and leaving only the one for miniSD cards.

We’ll report more on the hw6700 as information becomes available.

More on hw6500
In addition to the features mentioned above, the hw6500 runs on a 312 MHz Intel XScale processor, 64 MB of memory (46 MB available to the user), and an 8 MB File Store. Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer High Tech Computer (HTC) designed the smartphone.

In addition to GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Bluetooth radios, the hw6500 integrates a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver with NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) standards support for navigation and other location services. Even though the hw6500 lacks an external GPS antenna, HP asserts the Pocket PC Phone can still get good reception from satellites.

Where that isn't possible, the device turns to cell phone tower triangulation to determine locations. It will bundle TomTom Navigator software with the ability to choose and download one free city map.

In an apparent change in strategy, the hw6500 incorporates a backlit QWERTY thumb-keyboard. While the company's first smartphone, the iPAQ h6315, shipped with a keyboard attachment. It appears HP is responding to prospective customers who passed on the earlier model because the keyboard wasn't physically merged into the unit like with palmOne's Treo 650 or newer Pocket PC Phones (e.g. Sprint's Audiovox PPC-6601 and Cingular's Siemens SX66) that even have retractable keyboards.

Interestingly, the hw6500 is the first handheld of its type with a square 240 x 240 pixel resolution display. As with the h6315, HP will offer versions of the hw6500 with and without a camera.

The hw6500 measures 4.7 x 2.8 x 0.8 inches (118 x 71 x 21 millimeters) and weighs 5.8 ounces (165 grams). Reports say the device should cost around $600.