| Smartphones feature QWERTY keyboards, video out |
Oct. 24, 2007
i-mate has unveiled two more phones in its line of unlocked Windows Mobile 6 Professional-based products aimed at road warriors. The Ultimate 8502 and 9502 feature QWERTY keyboards, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and video outputs that can drive external XGA displays, according to the company.
Both phones, sold in unlocked bring-your-own-carrier format, feature SIM slots. They support tri-band WCDMA/HSDPA along with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE WAN capabilities. Additionally, both offer 802.11b/g and Bluetooth, according to the company.
As on the Ultimate 6150 and 8150 announced earlier, the devices feature a wide range of Bluetooth profiles, such as A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile), and HID (Human Interface Device profile). i-Mate says this allows the phones to transmit stereo music, use external keyboards, or act as wireless modems for a computer.
  i-Mate's Ultimate 8502 (left) and 9502 (right) The Ultimate 8502 and 9502 are both powered by a 400 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200 processor, and are equipped with 128 MB of RAM and 256 MB of flash memory. From there, however, they diverge somewhat.
The Ultimate 8502 comes with a 2.6-inch touchscreen and a 37-key QWERTY keyboard. It also offers a fixed-focus 2 megapixel camera, according to i-mate.
Somewhat larger and heavier, the Ultimate 9502 features a 2.8-inch display that slides to expose a 39-key QWERTY keyboard. Its main camera steps up to 3 megapixels and has autofocus, according to the company, while the other side of the device offers a VGA-resolution camera for videoconferencing.
Key features and specifications listed by i-mate for the Ultimate 8502 include:- Processor -- Qualcomm MSM7200, clocked at 400 MHz
- Memory -- 128 MB RAM; 256 MB flash
- Display -- 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen
- Keypad/controls:
- 37-key QWERTY keypad
- power button
- send and end buttons
- Camera button
- volume up and down
- 2 x software programmable buttons
- 2 soft-keys
- start and OK buttons
- 5-way navigation
- 360-degree jog wheel
- soft-reset button
- Camera -- 2 megapixel camera with LED compensation light
- Wireless interfaces:
- WAN -- dual-mode UMTS & GSM/GPRS/EDGE WCDMA/HSDPA (2100, 1900, 850 MHz); GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g
- WPAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- Other I/O:
- USB 1.1 (connector includes power charging)
- Video out port; adapter supports HD15 VGA connectors
- Expansion:
- Dimensions -- 4.6 x 2.2 x 0.6 inches (116 x 55 x 15 mm)
- Weight -- 4.9 ounces (140 g) with battery
Key features and specifications listed by i-mate for the Ultimate 9502 include:- Processor -- Qualcomm MSM7200, clocked at 400 MHz
- Memory -- 128 MB RAM; 256 MB flash
- Display -- 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen
- Keypad/controls:
- slider LCD exposes 39-key QWERTY keypad
- power button
- send and end buttons
- messaging and Internet buttons
- Camera button
- volume up and down
- 3 x software programmable buttons
- 2 soft-keys
- start and OK buttons
- 5-way navigation
- 360-degree jog wheel
- soft-reset button
- Cameras:
3 megapixel autofocus camera with LED compensation light
- VGA camera for videoconferencing
- Wireless interfaces:
- WAN -- dual-mode UMTS & GSM/GPRS/EDGE WCDMA/HSDPA (2100, 1900, 850 MHz); GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g
- WPAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- Other I/O:
- USB 1.1 (connector includes power charging)
- Video out port; adapter supports HD15 VGA connectors
- Expansion:
- Dimensions -- 4.6 x 2.4 x 0.7 inches (116 x 60 x 17.8 mm)
- Weight -- 7 ounces (200 g) with battery
Both devices are said to come with with a 30-day trial edition of the i-mate Suite, the company's software for backing up data to a remote "data vault" and accessing files on desktop PCs.
i-Mate's release also touted the inclusion of Custom i-Q and Secure i-Q software, though this is not listed on the phones' data sheets. It's said that, like Trust Digital's Smartphone Security and Microsoft's Mobile Device Manager, this allows configuring devices via a Web interface, and pushing software upgrades to them over-the-air (OTA). Secure i-Q can be used to wipe remotely from a lost or stolen device.
i-Mate has not disclosed pricing for the Ultimate 8502 and 9502, but the devices appear to be available now.
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