Kaz 911 Unboxes the i-mate Ultimate 9502

Posted on 23 April 2008 by


When Jerry and I had our meeting with i-mate during CES, one of the Ultimates that most caught my eye was the 9502. While I have pretty much given up hope that I will be getting my hands on one anytime soon, Kaz – of  Kaz 911 Rescue Service – is lucky enough to live in Dubai, where the 9502 is readily available at the Sharaff DG in Times Square Mall. He purchased one, and although he has already decided that he won’t be keeping it (possibly because it is so expensive), he has generously shared the unboxing experience…

Kaz mentions that the “Buttons are a bit “cheap” – but keyboard inside is great despite its small size.” I agree with him on the keyboard, I thought it was fine…for my fingers, anyway. :-)

Kaz has a list of what he likes and doesn’t like so far, and also offers up this summary:

So in general – if you want Windows Mobile – this is a great device for you. One of the best out there – HTC does a better design job – but no normal sized HTC phones are available with 640×480 screen. Some of the design elements seem like crude Russian mid 1970s inspired. So it is built like a tank apart from pen and battery cover.

Read Kaz’s thoughts and see the rest of the Ultimate 9502 unboxing photos at Kaz 911 Rescue Services. I still hope to be able to try the 9502, but who knows…between now and when I can actually get my hands on one, something else may pique my interest. :-)

This post was written by:

- who has written 1699 posts on Gear Diary.

I started Gear Diary on September 30, 2006, and my goal was that this not be an easily labeled site. We all have gear that we use daily – some of it electronic and some of it organic. I think it is fascinating to explore the equipment that makes our lives easier, more entertaining, more productive, and more manageable. My hope is that Gear Diary visitors will find this site to be a comfortable and friendly place to discuss interesting topics – and not only those that are tech related, as well as a location to discover various types of gear – whatever that term may end up implying – that they never knew existed. My specialty is in-depth reviews written in a layman’s terms, because everyone can understand technology, sometimes it just takes a little translating. +Judie Stanford

Contact the author


  • Joel Mclaughlin

    Nice! Not a fan of Windows Mobile, but I would go for this.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    I want one. :drool:

  • Drew G

    About ready to put mine up on EBay.. But its carrier branded.. :-(

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    Drew, what’s the one thing that bugs you the most? What’s the one thing you like the most (if there is one)?

  • http://www.mytodayscreen.com Tariq Bamadhaj

    I kinda prefer the 8502 to the 9502. Kinda gave up on VGA devices due to their generally slow performance (the Glofiish M800 that I reviewed earlier on seems to be the exception). Maybe when they have dedicated graphics chip, I might reconsider them.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    Tariq, I love a good VGA device, but it seems like the 9502 may just be troublesome. :-/
    Kaz has added some more observations, and it doesn’t look good:

    http://kaz911.blogspot.com/2008/04/few-more-i-mate-ultimate-9502-comments.html

    “Now I have used the device for a few days. And it is a nice device. But despite the 1660 MA battery – the battery life of the 9502 is not very good.”

    “A charge lasts maximum a day with my usage. That is 1/2 of my E90 – and I use them in the same way.”

    “Then I checked the Micro SD. And what a sunrise – only supports standard Micro SD – no capacity higher that 2GB. Come on i-mate – this is 2008 – and 12GB Micro SD cards are available. My 8GB SDHC card does not work in the Ultimate 9502.”

    “The screen is nice though – but gets damn greasy – and does not really work well in the sun. Even though it is nice and bright indoors – outdoors you can hardly read it on highest brightness settings. And this is despite i-mate HQ is in a very sunny city of Dubai.”

    “The Power button has problems as well. Very hard to press to get the screen to turn on. It is in an awkward place for most people – and really annoy me. After pressing it it takes 0.5 – to 1 second before you have any reaction.”

    Ouch.

  • Pingback: The i-mate Ultimate 9502 Now Selling…in Dubai - Reviews of PDAs