Unlike the iPhone 3G, the HP and the Palm have removable rechargeable batteries. Palm's battery is rated at 1500 mAh, and HP's at 1940 mAh. PC World's Test Center is currently evaluating the battery life of these phones; we'll update this story with that information when it becomes available. Once the results of our battery life tests are in, we will also provide full PCW Ratings for these phones as well.

Palm provides a standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack and a pretty decent earbud headset. Unfortunately, HP's headset connects to its mini-USB port, leaving you with fewer options if you're not happy with the quality. In my hands-on experience, the quality of audio and video playback was acceptable on both devices.

In my tests, both phones delivered adequate (though not outstanding) phone call quality without the headsets. I give the HP the edge at typing messages and e-mail because of its keyboard's superbly sculpted keys and the device's slightly wider form. But Palm's keyboard wasn't too shabby, either; as on the Palm Centro, the keys are covered with a plastic veneer that helps your fingers avoid sliding about.

Both phones came with GPS-assist software to help it get fixes faster--plus Google Maps, which can use GPS to show your location (but does not provide turn-by-turn voice navigation). Palm's preinstalled TeleNav software, delivered good turn-by-turn voice guidance in my tests; the service is priced at $10 per month. HP's site provides a link to an offer for CoPilot Live 7 software and maps on a 2GB micro-SD card for $80 (I did not test this).

Special Features

HP's enterprise focus becomes apparent from its included software bundle, which includes applications for security, remote control (for demanding IS departments), mobile printing, using the device as a modem, and viewing PDFs (on top of Windows Mobile's pared-down Office apps). I was impressed by HP's voice recognition software, too: It supports a number of command and control functions beyond voice dialing. Another perk: HP's 3-megapixel still/video camera had several b

rightness controls and a built-in flash, and it produced pleasing pictures. Palm's 2-megapixel camera was adequate but had fewer features.

But Palm's home screen provided some welcome tweaks to Windows Mobile, most notably an icon in the upper right corner of the Today screen that lets you view all running apps and shut down ones you don't need. This addresses a principal ongoing annoyance with Windows Mobile: It doesn't automatically clean up after itself.