This week, the computer and printer giant told CNET it would not provide upgrades to Windows Mobile 6 for users of its current iPAQs running Windows Mobile 5—not even for its most recent models, including the iPAQ hw6900 series of smartphones or the iPAQ rx5000 and iPAQ rx4000 series of Pocket PCs.

The reason for its decision: "The potential for long delays, as well as possible carry-over costs."

This means the only HP device to come with Windows Mobile 6 will be the still unavailable iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger—the company's first smartphone without a touch screen or QWERTY thumb-keyboard—introduced at March's CTIA Wireless show


iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger

A couple of months ago the computer and printer giant said it would no longer bundle Microsoft Outlook with its PDAs and smartphones—including the software on a CD is standard practice in the industry (How else are people going to sync their handhelds with their desktops?)—starting with iPAQs manufactured in March.

Outlook is nearly as important when it comes to getting the most out of a Windows Mobile device as Microsoft's ActiveSync and Windows Mobile Device Center (for Windows Vista PCs) synchronization software. You need Outlook (or Microsoft Exchange Servers in an enterprise environment) to sync with a Microsoft-based device.

This development means HP customers will have to purchase Outlook after getting a Windows Mobile device from HP if they don't already have it on their PC.