This is a device you're definitely not going to lose in a coat pocket. The HTC P6500 isn't the smallest of devices by any stretch of the imagination. It looks like the Pocket PC's of old and weighs nearly a quarter of a kilogram, yet there's a more modern feel to the design.

To show you exactly how big this phone is, I've taken a couple of comparison shots below..

Here it sits next to my HTC Touch Dual, reviewed earlier.

In the box there's an extra stylus, a cover, charger, sync cable, manuals and headset / hands-free kit.

The rugged handset gives 460 hours (20 days) of standby on CDMA or 407 hours (nearly 17 days) of standby on GSM. This equals out to around 284 minutes (nearly 5 hours) of solid talking on CDMA and 464 minutes (nearly 8 hours) on GSM.

As for the specs list, it's pretty decent, with GPS, WiFi, a speedy CPU and plenty of memory to hand...

Windows Mobile 6 Professional
Qualcomm® MSM7200TM CPU running at 400MHz
Memory ROM: 256MB + optional 1GB (or up to 2GB/4GB) flash
RAM: 128MB SDRAM
Dimensions 137.4 mm (L) X 72.9 mm (W) X 20.5 mm (T)
Weight 220g with battery
Display 3.5-inch QVGA touch screen
240 X 320 dots resolution with 65,536 colors
WCDMA/HSDPA: 850/1900/2100 MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Device Control 5-way navigation control / Jog wheel
Interface HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 Full-speed)
2 SDIO slots (SD 2.0 compatible)
Fingerprint sensor
Connectivity Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
GPS plus antenna connector
3 megapixel CMOS color with auto focus
Audio Built-in microphone and speaker
1,500 mAh rechargeable Li-polymer battery

Up front some solid meaty buttons are well spaced out and therefore easy to find. The fingerprint reader sits at the bottom and you'll need to quickly swipe one of your selected fingers over this to unlock the device. In practice this actually wasn't bad - even if your fingers are sweaty you can still get into the device. This is easy to setup and use - it'll prompt you all the way and you can select which finger you want to scan and store - ideal for left and right-handed people.

Above it the navigation pad is again reassuringly chunky and well prepared for even the harshest of environments. The softkeys, to the left and right, along with the call drop / answer and Windows / OK keys may look small but they're not hard to miss.

At the top the large earpiece has two network / Bluetooth / battery activity LED's so you know what's happening plus two quick-keys to access your email and Internet Explorer browser.

The top of the handset has SD card-slot number one. The rubber flap will protect the card from dust or anything else that may creep in. There's also a slot for the speaker and another at the back.

Looking at the back there's a large section of the handset taken up for the 3 megapixel camera and flash - you also get a GPS logo above. Just below that is the unlock / lock slider for the 1500mAh battery.

The left-side of the handset has a full scroll-wheel and OK button. I'm always a big fan of these wheels, it makes navigating a lot easier and lets you go through menus quickly. The addition of the OK button means that one handset operation is a little easier. At the bottom of here you get a loop to affix the device to a neck or wrist-strap.

At the bottom the miniUSB port is always welcome - charging, sync'ing and audio connections are made through here. Just above and to the left you can see the reset button which you can press in with the stylus if things go wrong. To the right of the miniUSB port is the microphone.

The right side of the device has the second SD card slot, again covered with a rubber flap. The SDIO capability gives room for expansion and extra peripherals like credit card readers etc. There's also a "you can't miss it" camera button along at the bottom plus a WiFi and power button towards the top.

This handset is designed for working. You can imagine it being strapped to a cart full of snacks or drinks as you board a train or plane, or perhaps the local meter reader may produce one - it's a strong, resiliant handset designed for tough environments whilst still maintaining the security of the data on board. It's built well too - the metal casing resists knocks and scrapes whilst the chunky buttons are easily pressable even with gloves on.

Now, although we've just given you a look around the handset, it's always good to see it for "real" - in video. The video below shows how the fingerprint sensor is used to access / unlock the device. When the device is locked you can't access the unit, even via ActiveSync..

Other useful tools such as Zip, Voice Dial, Messenger, Adobe PDF reader and the HTC Audio Manager are included along with the full mobile Office suite for editing, creating and viewing all those important documents you need on the move. The included WiFi and 3G connectivity are a welcome addition and the battery gives a very respectable usage time for your wire-free working.

The CPU operated quickly and the ability to encrypt your documents using your finger-print (shown above) is a great idea.



Camera


As previously mentioned the camera quality is good. Low-lighgt situations are assited with the flash, plus the images look great once you've grabbed them from the device. The auto-focus lens helps to snap shots, plus it responds quickly. The actual preview image does look a little misty due to the resolution of the screen, and I presumed most of the images I'd taken had come out worse than they actually did when uploaded to my PC.

We've added some images direct from the phone below. Just click on the preview thumbnails to open them up. As usual our cat is the star :)...

Link - devicewire.co.uk (Currently £528.99 without contract, but check back for the latest prices)