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Hewlett-Packard (HP) quietly slipped out its first Windows Mobile 6 smartphone, the iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger, in June. What was unusual about this launch was the lack of an official announcement from the computer and printer giant. Today, nearly a month later, we finally received official notification from HP that the iPAQ 510 is now shipping.

As we originally reported, it appears HP failed to get a carrier to sign on to offer the device; so there's no subsidy to offset the new iPAQ's $320 price tag.

The version of the iPAQ 510 now available is an unlocked edition that can be used with the GMS operator of your choice. In the U.S., this would be either AT&T or T-Mobile.

Introduced earlier this year, the candy-bar smartphone is much smaller than the HP’s most recent Mobile Messenger models, the iPAQ 6900 series. It is the first iPAQ smartphone to include a keypad rather than a QWERTY thumb-keyboard. And, unlike the iPAQ 6900 series, the iPAQ 510 fits comfortably in the hand, measuring 4.21 x 1.91 x 0.64 inches (107 x 48.6 x 16.3 millimeters) and weighing 3.6 ounces (102 grams).

The iPAQ 510 Mobile Messenger runs on the Standard (formally Smartphone) edition of Windows Mobile 6, with push e-mail and document viewing and editing capabilities but now touch screen. The display measures 2 inches and is a 240 x 320 pixel resolution (QVGA) type.

. You can snap pictures and take video with the device's 1.3 megapixel camera.

It accepts voice commands (over 20 speaker independent)—to control and navigate through applications, for instance—and allows you to dictate e-mail messages.

HP promises up to six and a half hours of talk and 7.8 days standby time from the smartphone's 1100 Lithium Ion battery.

The quad-band GSM/GPRS 510 tops out at 2.5G EDGE (no 3G) cellular-wireless data technology, and includes Wi-Fi WLAN and Bluetooth personal area network wireless technologies.

It sports a 200 MHz CPU, 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of ROM, a microSD slot and a 12-key numeric keyboard with LED backlit keys.