Lightning Review: i-Mate Ultimate 8502
The gadget: The i-Mate Ultimate 8502, the company’s new entry-level workhorse touchscreen and keyboard smartphone which is making its local debut on Telstra’s Next G network.
The price: $999
The verdict: It’s a nice enough phone and the network is speedy, but the BlackBerry gang don’t need to get too worried just yet.
On sale this week, the 8502 (and its keyboard-sprouting sibling the
9502) are making their global debut on Telstra’s impressively quick
(and impressively pricey) Next G network. According to i-Mate, an
increasing number of these devices are finding their way into consumer
hands — but despite that claim,
the main target audience remains business users who would otherwise
probably be sporting a BlackBerry.
There’s some nice features — remote locking via a website if you lose
the phone and the ability to build a custom internet presence for
managing it — and the overall design is a logical successor to
previous models. All the Windows Mobile apps are present and correct,
and call quality is good. But given the choice between this and a
BlackBerry, we’d still be feeling fruity.
A big part of the problem is the reliance on Windows Mobile, which is
still far more Windows than Mobile and lacks the really integrated feel
delivered by RIM. Tellingly, despite the full keyboard, there are some
features you can only access using the stylus, which is pretty much
useless for one-handed operation. Typing on the keyboard is adequate,
but even our rather thin fingers slipped up fairly often.
By far the worst feature is the battery life. We used a fully charged
device for half an hour or so’s light web browsing one day — no calls
or high-power activities — and the thing was dead by breakfast the
next morning.
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Comments
Using a Blackberry for work, and my I-Mate (I’ve got a jasjam – basically the previous model of the phone on review), and I can easily say that except for battery life, my jasjam outperforms, and out features the blackberry in every way.
I guess it comes down to personal preference.
I think this review was very short, and if I was going to base my decision to buy or not to buy (todays societies slogan for “to be or not to be..”) as a reader, I would never have bought the 8502. BUT – since I am not a customer looking for a PDA, but have had the 8502 for a long time I would say this is my favourite WM PDA! At the moment I would say the only features I miss is FM Radio and VGA screen, but the latter would mean a larger battery and heavier device. Regarding the battery capacity, its 100% based on the individual user pattern – and the Telstra ROM (memory containing the MS Windows Mobile 6 professional + all other software) is “early”. I have no battery drain problems. If one buy a PDA which seems to have a bad battery capacity there is many settings to change and advices that could help: Check Backlight settings + Power. Don’t let the QVGA (320×240 pixels) display be turned on when phone it not in use. 1 min is okay idle delay. All surfing, using MSN and its services drains battery power. If using push-email from MS Exchange Server some claims it drains power to have a continually (160ms delay I think) heartbeat between phone and server via tele network. Check if Activesync is configured to receive PIM-elements as items arrive at server or synchronize every xth minute or manually. Check also Schedule and Peak times in the Activesync application on the PC or client as its called on the phone. As UMTS and HSDPA/HSUPA is supported, it could be adviceable to turn this of – sorry to say the battery technology hasn’t kept the same pace and progress as voice/data communication technology available. Be sceptic to which 3rd party application you install as it might make the phone unstable, also the battery power. MicroSD memorycard – as the memorycard slot needs power to let apps access the card – check and buy a brand and memorycard compatible with the device according to i-mate or other providers. GPS – make sure that the phone used in a car is continually charging. Bluetooth + Wlan – turn it off when its not used. It sucks power!
I will mention the design/shape – his is very good – no other PDAs on the marked with this form factor. It feels very light to carry and hold. One could say the keys are small, but they have a “pyramidical” shape so the keys have more space between them than one should think from a quick glance – and knowing it has a full QWERTY kbd would probably make 9/10 reviewers sceptical. But the shape of the keys makes it easy to press the correct keys – infact using an HTC S730 to write this – and the S730 (being a smartphone having a alphanumeric kbd) is much worse in keyboard build quality – which makes it more difficult to hit the keys than on the 8502. Just to mention, this is not a “one-hand” PDA! I’ve read so many strange tests where its obvious that the person who have written the text don’t know the industry, the other competitors on the market, etc. But then again – thats exactly like the potential customers! The experience, know-how, motivation for using this device instead of a perfectly easy Nokia – but due to working in a company where a standardisation process on new phones..is so individual!
I would recommend readers to google for reviews of i-mate Ultimate 8502, and if possible, go to a shop to test it! :-)
The phone may be good but beware if you have any repair work. I damaged my phone walking past a table with the phone in my pocket. The touch screen in front of the LCD was cracked but Imate have now made them one unit so the local repairer wanted $375 to repair the phone. Talk about a rip off. I won’t be buying anymore imate products because of it and I’m warning off other buyers.
“I damaged my phone walking past a table with the phone in my pocket.”
I know this may sound crazy in our current “blame everyone else but yourself” culture… but bare with me.
Perhaps it would be prudent to not walk into tables?