Combining a solid cell phone with a feature-rich PDA (personal digital assistant) is a challenge. Based on most of the products I've seen on the market, the challenge is daunting -- as many vendors give us either a good phone or a good PDA (although some products give us mediocrity on both counts). Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ hw6925 Mobile Messenger does a pretty good job as a phone (using the Cingular network) and a very good job as a PDA.

When determining the quality of a cell phone, I normally base my opinion on the quality of the sound, the ease of use and the breadth of the phone book. Other features such as speakerphones and cameras, while nice to have, are not requisites. You want to be able to make your call with minimum distractions -- perhaps send a text message.

If you try to use the iPAQ's built-in keyboard, you might have trouble making your call, unless you have young eyes and small fingers -- because the alphanumeric keys are tiny and close together. Thank goodness, you don't have to use them for calls; you can use bigger buttons that present themselves on the iPAQ's touch-sensitive screen whenever you push the permanent Talk button that you find on all cell phones. It's like having an oversized phone keypad that even klutzes with impaired eyesight can read and push.

The same screen has a large soft button for call history so you can find and redial calls you've previously placed or received. It's not hidden in some obscure menu like on many phones. Similarly, you can access any contact that is in your synchronized contact list from your computer.

The iPAQ's internal speakerphone is easy to hear, even though the standard earpiece is ultrasensitive to the way you hold it near your ear. A small change in position can be the difference between barely loud enough and uncomfortably loud.

Hewlett-Packard made a good decision by including a touch sensitive screen and stylus. It gives the user options that are missing from Windows Mobile PDAs that don't have a stylus, such as the ability to purchase and use the FranklinCovey planning system through PocketInformant software. To keep you from inadvertently activating items on the touch screen when you touch your face to your phone, HP covered the screen with a pivoting plastic screen that is annoying the first week but easy to get used to.

The biggest issue with the iPAQ hw6925 is Hewlett-Packard's continued use of nonstandard connectors. It doesn't use a standard mini USB connector (the kind you find on phones and cameras). Instead its USB cord and power cord end in an HP-only adapter. So you need to pack an extra power supply and USB cord when you travel. The designers didn't even include a standard earphone jack, opting for a jack that is incompatible with the ear buds from most mp3 players. I found out the hard way; I brought it on the road with only my mp3 ear buds, hoping to listen to an audio book stored on the iPAQ. (To be fair, the iPAQ has Bluetooth, which should allow you to use a Bluetooth headset instead.)

All in all, the iPAQ is a sturdy Windows Mobile device that offers better than average quality and features as a phone and PDA -- and also has a 1.3 megapixel camera that comes in handy on the road when you don't have your camera with you. It competently lets you retrieve and send e-mail, surf the Net via your cell network or Wi-Fi hot spots, and find your position via GPS.