Ah, iPAQ 610. You were so close, and yet... so far away. According to a handful of tipsters, after a round of delays, HP has decided to cancel the release of its upcoming Windows Mobile smartphone, the 610 (also known as the iPAQ 614, 614c and 600). The company didn't give a lot of information, though they did state that, "due to recent legal issues between suppliers of mobile phone technologies, HP has decided not to offer the iPAQ 610 Business Navigator to U.S. customers as previously planned." It's unclear whether this means the phone will be missing from shelves worldwide, but it certainly won't be popping up on these shores anytime soon.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

For most, the Treo 600 and 650 are old enough so that we don't really remember if we had troubles with 'em or not -- but apparently we did, and some owners are now entitled to a little chunk of cash to show for it. A class action lawsuit filed against Palm "claimed that the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones had certain defects, failed at unacceptable rates, and that Palm made misrepresentations concerning the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones," and Palm just decided to settle the whole tiff rather than take it to trial. This means that if you owned a Treo 600 or 650 that required two or more repairs and ended up purchasing a new device within a certain period, you get a little spending money -- or you're entitled to some free repair work, even if your Treo didn't require two or more trips to the shop. Naturally, there are some rules and regs involved -- this is a legal matter, after all -- so head on over to the site to figure out whether you're affected and how you can cash in.

[Thanks, Michael G.]

In its fray of iPAQ introductions today come two new phones from HP -- the first since the rather bland 510 -- potentialy throwing the once-dominant Windows Mobile force back into the hunt. First up, the 600 series Business Navigator comes equipped with integrated GPS, a generous 2.8-inch touchscreen, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM, 3 megapixel autofocus cam, WiFi, and Windows Mobile 6 Professional, all sitting atop a Marvell PXA270 putting along at 520MHz. The 600 rocks a numeric keypad; a dealbreaker for some, yes, but the nifty touch-sensitive scroll wheel integrated into the keys may be enough to sway a few back. The 900 series, meanwhile, swaps out the numeric pad for a standard QWERTY outfit and steps down to a 2.46-inch display, but the specs remain otherwise similar to its stablemate. Look for both to ship before the year's out.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Though spec sheet details still haven't been confirmed, the existence of the rumored iPAQ 600 from HP now seems like a sure thing. A spokesman for HP Korea has said that a "third-generation PDA phone, dubbed the iPAQ 600" will launch on multiple Korean carriers later this year, featuring HSDPA, a numeric keypad, and likely a 2.8 inch display. Of course, a Korean launch doesn't really do us very much good in these parts, but we've gotta believe that HP is going to aim for one or more American launches as well as they've done in the past -- and even if it doesn't, the reported tri-band HSDPA radio should work swimmingly once we get any carrier lock issues taken care of.

[Via the::unwired]

Once the glittering crown jewel of the Windows Mobile world, HP has sat back, taken it easy on R&D, and watched its empire dwindle to an empty husk of what it once was. The reasons are unclear, but other manufacturers have certainly had no qualms about rushing in to fill the void -- most notably HTC, the ODM largely responsible for HP's success in the first place. Does it stand a chance of reclaiming the throne? Eh, with so many competitors in the game at this point, probably not, but that may not stop it from trying. Rumors have been swirling the last few days that HP will surround its iPAQ 510 Windows Mobile 6 Standard smartphone with a wide variety of devices positioned both above and below it, and if the details pan out, there could definitely be a few winners in the bunch. The 600 series is said to be similar to the 510 in form factor -- candybar with a numeric keypad -- but will add tri-band HSDPA, a touch sensitive navigation wheel, double the RAM and ROM, and will sport Windows Mobile Professional in place of Standard. The 900 should be largely similar, but trades the numeric keypad for a QWERTY version. Word on the street is that these should be announced in September with availability late in the year -- if it all turns out to be true, we wish the best of luck to ya, HP!