Posted on 14 January 2008, at 2:39 am, by Judie Lipsett
Judie: It stands to reason that our last post about CES would be about the last meeting Jerry and I attended; and as the title above this text reveals, that meeting was with i-mate. Here was an opportunity for us to enjoy some hands-on time with their long promised Ultimate line in the privacy of an off-convention site, and I have to tell you – I honestly didn’t know what to expect.
As you may recall, when the Ultimate models were first announced they all had matte golden metal bodies, completely impressive specs, and there were several projected models which as yet have never come to fruition. I was so excited about the line when it was first announced, but as time went by I began to read increasingly negative postings by people who had spent a few moments with some of the early models. Needless to say, I was starting to think that the loss of HTC as their OEM might have sounded the death knell for i-mate. I was eager to see the Ultimates in person and find out for myself if i-mate needed to be written off, or if the naysayers had been premature.
But let me back up for just a moment, because a lot of funny stuff happened on our way to the meeting and during…
Jerry and I were picked up in front of the Hilton by our driver Eddie, who had already called twice to coordinate. At first Eddie seemed like all the other hired guns who had been sent to get us for other “off-site” meetings during our stay – dark suited and very professional, so I was surprised when he started asking questions about Gear Diary. I honestly figured that he had just read our site name off his clip board and was being polite, but it soon became evident that he was truly interested. Pleasantly surprised, I asked if he was a “techy”.
Holy mistaken identity, Batman!
That’s when we found out that Eddie actually works for i-mate…and not as a driver. After laughing over my mistake, we had a great conversation about i-mate, Dubai (the company’s headquarters, which Eddie has visited a few times), and yes – a bit about Gear Diary and the things we like to cover.
When we arrived at the MGM Tower, we ran into two guys that Eddie obviously already knew. They had thick accents – one was Scottish for sure, and I couldn’t place the other’s accent; in all honesty they reminded me of a couple of characters from a Guy Ritchie caper movie…think Snatch. They were joking around, really at ease, and asking about badges to get into CES. The two guys came up to the i-mate suite with us and made themselves at home.
This was where we met Hector Lopez, the American Director of Sales. After a bit of banter, I was given a seat at the main table and the demonstration got underway. If you look closely at the monitor below, you’ll see that it is showing the screen from a Windows Mobile Professional device – that’s because each Ultimate device has a VGA out connection for easy hookup.
Jerry: I honestly was tired and ready to be underwhelmed. Then the devices came out, and I woke up.
Judie: The first device I was handed was the 8150; you can see the full specs by clicking this link, but the main points of interest are its 2.6″ VGA touch screen, XScale® PXA 270 520MHz Processor, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, WiFi 802.11 b/g/e/i, Bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and auto focus with 4X Digital Zoom; it also has a 3.5mm “audio connector”.
Jerry: This device and the ones that follow felt so solid, and so well made, that I could not take enough pictures of them.
Judie: Right away I was impressed with how solid (and expensive) the 8150 felt; I thought it might be clad in metal, and sure enough I was told it had an aluminum casing. The 8150 measures 6.66″ tall x 2.38″ wide x 0.61″ thick, and it weighs 5.36 ounces.
Judie: I wasn’t sure how I would feel about an actual joystick erupting from the front of a device, but I found it easy to control and I liked using it.
Jerry: I found the joystick well placed and a pleasure to use.
Judie: As you can see, the 8150 is not a small phone – it almost fills my palm. But I liked the way it fit in my hand, the usable screen size, and the dedicated phone buttons. People who prefer a smaller mobile phone will say that this is too large for them, but I think it would be a mistake to jump to conclusions without actually trying it first.
Jerry: All of them felt right in my hand.
Judie: Yes, but your hands are larger than mine, too! ![]()
The battery is 1530mAh.
Next was the 8502, which has the front fixed keyboard form factor that I like. You can see the full spec sheet here, but worth noting are that it has a 2.6″ QVGA (320 x 240) touch screen, 400 MHz Qualcomm® MSM 7200™ Processor, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera with fixed focus, an LED compensation light, and it has a 2.5mm audio jack. Oh, and it has integrated Qualcomm GPS with an internal antenna.
Jerry: This is the next device that I will buy; I liked everything about it, from its feel to the keyboard.
Judie: The keys on the keyboard are tighter and smaller than the Treo, BlackJack, and Motorola Q9 which I am used to; I would have almost said they were too small but for one thing – the way that they have been angled and raised makes them very usable. I typed out a few sentences, and after a couple of errors I was keying nearly error free. The 8502 also has the little joystick as well as a 360 degree jogwheel, and I think that reading eBooks on this PDA phone would be a pleasure. I wish that this model had the VGA screen, but in a 2.6″ setting the QVGA certainly looks fine.
Jerry: Yes, the keys are more tightly spaced; I found I had to take a bit more time for accuracy, but I also only held and fiddled with the device for a few moments.
Judie: It’s very rare to see Jerry get excited about any mobile device, so it was fun to watch him oohing and ahhing over the 8502. ![]()
Jerry: Please, I was well composed and controlled.
Judie: Ummm…yeah. Right. ![]()
Judie: You can see that this Ultimate is not a small PDA phone, either. It measures 4.57″ long x 2.17″ wide x 0.59″ thick, and it weighs 4.94 ounces. I know that there are some who will scream about the size of it, but I thought it felt balanced and usable.
The 8502 also has a 1530mAh battery.
As much as I liked the 8502, I think my favorite would probably have to be this next mobile phone, the Ultimate 9502: you can see its full specs here. If I had had my choice of slipping one device into my bag and walking away, this would have been the one. ![]()
Jerry: Here is where we part. I liked this one too, but I think I’m over the slide-out keyboard. The one-handed operation of the other two models won me over.
Judie: Specs of interest on the 9502 include the 2.86″ VGA touch screen, 400 MHz Qualcomm® MSM 7200™ processor, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, 3.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED Compensation light. The 9502 measures 4.57″ long x 2.36″ wide x 07″ thick, and it weighs 7.05 ounces. It also has a 2.5mm audio jack. This one also has integrated Qualcomm GPS hardware with an internal antenna.
The 9502 has a QWERTY keyboard under its snappy slider, and worth noting is that it felt a little more crowded than the Mogul keyboard I am used to – probably because everything was situated inside a bit of a well. With that said, I still found the keyboard to be very comfortable.
The 9502 is another device that I think would be wonderful for reading on – not only does it have the D-pad on the front, it also has a fabulous VGA screen and the 360 degree jogwheel.
Judie: In addition to the aluminum body, the 9502 has textured ends which remind me of Hermes Togo leather….
…see what I mean?
The 9502 also has a 1530mAh battery.
Judie: The last device we were shown was the 6150, which is probably the most “old-school PDA like” of the Ultimate collection. Its full specifications can be seen here, and worth noting are that it has: a 2.8″ VGA touch screen, XScale® PXA 270 520MHz Processor, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, WiFi 802.11 b/g/e/i, Bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and auto focus with 4X Digital Zoom; it also has a 3.5mm “audio connector”.
Judie: Once again, there is a little joystick for navigating through the screen options as well as a thumb wheel.
The 6150 measures 4.66″ tall x 2.38″ wide x 0.61″ thick, and it weighs 5.36 ounces.
This Ultimate also has a 1530mAh battery.
Judie: I can’t write this article without mentioning the web-based services that the Ultimate line will come with: i-mate has launched i-Q services which will allow custom configuration of Ultimate devices over the air. One of the coolest features is the ability to remotely lock an Ultimate device when it has gone missing; if it is feared stolen the device’s memory can also be remotely wiped.
It was towards the end of the meeting when the two guys who had sat in on Jerry’s and my session with Hector introduced themselves, meet (from left to right) Michael Cavey – General Manager of i-mate’s APAC division, Jim Morrison, i-mate’s founder and CEO, and of course Hector Lopez – the Director of Sales – who never lost his cool, even though the big boss was sitting in the room watching him like a hawk as he answered all of Jerry’s and my never-ending questions.
Jerry: I think that this was the most enjoyable event for me at CES. These guys were great, and I learned a lot about a company and devices I had not paid much attention to prior to this meeeting. i-mate has come up with some great devices, and I’m very much looking forward to owning the 8502.
Judie: I think that for me, this was definitely the most satisfying CES meeting. As much as I enjoyed the iRobot Roundtable, this was the showing that left me excited about mobile devices – which as you all know, are my first love. Bear in mind that we also attended a Nokia event, saw countless Samsung mobile phones, discovered the not-quite-released HP 200 series (which I pointed out to James Kendrick for his live blogging pleasure), and I finally got to handle an HTC Shift. Of everything that we saw at CES, the Ultimate line was what excited Jerry & I the most – and that’s what we told Jim, Michael, and Eddie on our ride back.
So what were our overall impressions of the new i-mate Ultimate line? They are solid, well made, full-featured, and there is something for almost everyone. Although I suspect that there will be some who think the Ultimates are too big, too thick, or too whatever – we were truly impressed by them.
I would also like to know when this things come out and for how much?
Be advised that since these will be unlocked models without carrier subsidies, they will most likely be rather pricey…but then, we are used to that, right? ![]()
alese, Regarding dropping some of the original Ultimate designs – I suspect that happened because i-mate changed manufacturer’s from Tech Faith Wireless to Arima (for the 6150 & 8150) and MobiNova (for the 8502 & 9502).
And yes…after handling the Touch, almost everything is going to seem bigger and heavier.
It can’t be helped.
a little link love for you too (shared your post with Mobility Site)
http://mobilitysite.com/2008/0…..-ces-2008/
We’d make a deadly-duo shopping….our tastes are too much alike
However, if they carry the standard i-mate price points, I’m going to be wishing upon a certain website’s star (Judie knows the one…
) for back pay to cover the cost.
Oh well! ![]()
I’d love to see the 9502 form factor with VGA, 128MB RAM, and a 500+ MHz processor (preferably a 620/624MHz). Why can’t anyone seem to deliver on that? The HTC Advantage comes close, but in a huge form factor (with video playback problems).
And I’m done listening to the excuses about the “battery life”. Apple did it, so there’s no reason WM manufacturers shouldn’t be able to do it too.
–Chris
I’ve also heard speculation that since this page:
http://www.clubimate.com/ultimate/ult6150.htm
lists a 850/1700/2100 version of the phone that maybe it will be offered through Tmobile.
The 6150 and the 8150 that had an early February release date, according to Hector at our meeting. No prices yet, tho…sorry. ![]()
I totally apologize for any confusion. I blame the cough syrup I have been living on for the last few says. ![]()
Do you mean the 8150 and 6150 in April and the 9502 and 8502 in February?
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April 11th, 2008 at 9:35 am
After a very disappointing experience with a Palm TX I purchased the i-mate Ultimate 9502 after much research into many such devices.
I’ve always stayed away from the all in one PDA/Phones due to seeing how badly they operate and shortness of battery life, for some reason the 9502 just did it for me!
HanDBase software that I use (Database software) easily converted to the new operating system with only a minor adjustment for the screen size. Overall the 9502 seems robust unlike my old Palm.
I did miss the screen size of the Palm TX but that’s no longer a concern because this phone is just awesome. Well recommended but do look into your requirements and compare models for what you need.
One point I did notice is that it can run very sluggish, I have recently learned to go into Settings / System / Memory and close down any running programs I do not need.
Sounds like a lot to do but once you get the hang of it, it’s very quick to do.
Regards
Stew.