Podcasting With The CEO of Imate - WM5, New Products, And More

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.gogadget.net/2005/05/pocketinfo-podcast-4.html' target='_blank'>http://www.gogadget.net/2005/05/poc...-podcast-4.html</a><br /><br /></div>"We had a podcast with Jim Morrison, CEO of Imate, about the future <br />things of Imate (in English). Things discussed are:<br />* How they started<br />* What distinguishes them from their competitors<br />* What they see as they future<br />* What products they are going to produce in the future<br />* The possibility of upgrading to WM5 (none yet)<br />* The new devices comming from them<br /> - new device with WiFi, BT, GPS (no Phone) in July<br /> - New devices and applications on 21 of september"<br /><br />An interesting Podcast for those who are into this innovative company and its products. I still rank my i-mate as one of my top devices that I've used, and I know some people around these forums that would only part with on over their dead torsos. Take a listen and find out about their new additions to the i-mate family.

[alex_kac]

I hate podcasts. I have no desire to sit and listen in real time to people talking for a period of time. I'd rather read a transcript in half the time. Sorry...just a rant because of all the stupid podcasts lately of info I'm actually interested in that when I hear its a podcast I just move on.

[Pixelnose]

So that's what Jim's been up to. Did he end his Podcast with The End?

But really, I don't really admire iMate as a company simply because they care as little for customers as every other PPC maker. For instance, let's take the Jam. Here's the smallest ppc, so let's kill it. Let's not put out any WM5 upgrade for it, but rather expect customers to buy new PDA's once a year or so. And let's continue to advertise it on our site as a product that is not in fact obsolete. 0X

Don't they understand that we're more likely to buy from a company that supports its devices rather than screws customers over? I know iMate is not in any way unique here, but that's my point. They're like every other ppc hardware company.

In fact, while the Jam is a fine device, they didn't make it, HTC did. And iMate's Windows based firmware installers are among the worst out there. Does not back up your existing ROM but instead zaps the device and asks questions later. It's not the safest way to map out such a program.

But anyway, the whole point of this is that they're just a ho-hum PPC reseller. Nothing special there. :roll:

[snayar]

I second that!!! 0X

[zetsurin]

But anyway, the whole point of this is that they're just a ho-hum PPC reseller. Nothing special there. :roll:

I agree. If these companies expect me to suddenly forget that they already drop support for my $1000 device in less than a year (half to be exact!) then they have another thing coming. I got burnt by Toshiba on the e570 and like many others voted with my wallet and look what happened with them, so I don't know what makes HTC think they are different. I don't think the smartphone market will go anywhere if this kind of thing keeps happening. It makes far better financial sense to just buy a cheap mobile phone in future for me and just use my PC for all the other functionality, I've managed perfectly well before I bought my HTC device. Sure I am a gadget freak like everyone else here but I also engage my brain when I decide what is worth spending my money on and the current model of expecting us to pay $$$$ so often fails for me. If the market requires that from me to survive and grow then it's doomed.

I would be more than happy to pay for a WM2005 upgrade for my device, but not simply upgrade my perfectly capable and functional device to get the new OS.

[mv]

Maybe this is a silly question, but what i mate does? because HTC makes all the hardware... and the jam is being sold by different carriers and by different names. So what do they do? Put a sticker on phones made by others and expect us to find them too cool? :devilboy:

Uh, I hate podcast too. I just want a extract I can read. Podcast? no way. Just a cool name for something waay to old, a recorded interview. WOW. That existed a century ago.

God i´m angry today. :oops:

[Jason Dunn]

I actually like podcasts - I read enough as it is, so they're a nice change - but the bursts of static in this one are too painful...I only made it halfway through before I had to quit. Doing a podcast with good quality audio is surprisingly hard to do!

[Paragon]

I'll 4th or 5th the fact that iMate are at best ho hum as a supplier. Their customer support is absolutely terrible. Little old Qtec get their ROM updates out faster, and speaking of speed, since day one their serve for downloading ROM updates has been dead slow. So slow, usually less than 20 kbps, that it is normal for it to drop it's connection several times before you get a complete download. In two years they haven't bothered to improve it. Something that is easily fixed, and helps their customers.

They fill a great spot in the market selling devices that may not be otherwise available from a local carrier. This is good, I just hope they try to improve their customer support.....I'm quite tired of hearing them tell us that a fix for whatever issue will be out "next week"

.....I dislike podcasts too. I just don't have the time to sit and hear the whole thing, I want to browse an article and pick out the parts that interest me.

Geez....I'm angry today as well. ;)

Dave

[alex_kac]

Geez....I'm angry today as well.
Must be the dark side of the force clouding things...

Blame Lucas. :)

[Paragon]

Geez....I'm angry today as well.
Must be the dark side of the force clouding things...

Blame Lucas. :)

Hehe, that must be it Alex.....so in an effort to be less angry I just listened to the WHOLE podcast.

Jim Morrison....I always knew that he never really died....he's now the CEO of iMate...anyway he did have a few intersting things to say:

-The new WM 5.0 imate devices (Universal) will be released on Sept. 24th at the GITEX show in Dubia. This makes sense since this is what they have done in the past as well.

-There will be NO WM5.0 upgrades for current imates (at least for now :roll: )

-They will be releasing a new non phone device with Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS

-They have a new multi media software coming out in Sept. as well. I didn't really catch that much about it though?

- Don't look for an imate with a hardrive in the near future.

- JAZZ----Did I hear something near the end where he mentioned something about their new JAZZ line????

[Jon Westfall]

Gee, I apparently was the only person who was ever happy with i-mate!

[zetsurin]

I find it interesting that HTC and co. (oh well, I guess it's HTC really I am complaining about) finally make a Pocket PC phone that fits comfortably in the average pocket and doesn't look totally silly when held next to your head and then releases a larger, bulkier successor(?). Bear in mind as well that the HTC Universal is slated to have 64MB ROM, so appears to offer little in the way that WM2005 requires that the JAM doesn't already provide. Or do they have something else in the works? And if they do it better be a lot better than simply the same thing with 100MHz more and built in WIFI as most JAM owners can do that by overclocking and using a sandisk WIFI card...

Sorry guys, I'm a new Sith lord as far as my opinion goes on these Pocket PC devices (heck, any smartphone that doesn't get future software support for a releastic period) now :twisted:

[ricksfiona]

I'm 50/50 whether device manufacturers should offer software upgrades. I have an iPAQ 5550 with WM2003 and it's works rather well. Would I like to upgrade to WM5? Absolutely! There are certainly an interesting amount of enhancements I would like to use with my iPAQ.

However, like someone said earlier, their device is working just fine with the current software. Mine is too. Is it going to make a big difference in day-to-day operation? No.

It seems like many of the people who frequent this site purchase new devices all the time. There are people with 2 - 3 PPC and a few Smartphones. First, this baffles me since I can't figure why someone would have more than 2 PPC's and more than 1 Smartphone. Two, if people are constantly buying new devices, why should they care if their older device is not getting upgraded software? They'll buy a new device soon enough. Some of the older devices may just not be able to run the newer software. You don't expect an Intel 486 processor to run XP. Right?

New devices are coming out all the time and when it comes to PPCs, I buy the device for what it is. There is always something newer and better 6 months down the road.

[zetsurin]

I do understand where you are coming from, however...

Is it going to make a big difference in day-to-day operation? No.

Well, it would for me. The Bluetooth stack isn't reliable enough and doesn't support the features I was under the impression it was supposed to. I guess that's my punishment about rushing out and buying the device as soon as it hits the shelves instead of first waiting and listening what owners had to say. If WM2005 rectifies some of these (which I think it does) issues, it most definitely would make a difference for me.

You don't expect an Intel 486 processor to run XP. Right?

True, true. However, to make the comparison more inline with an analogy it would be like saying that whatever CPU was available 6 months before the release of XP could no longer be considered possible to run XP.

Anyway, if WM2003 updates came out that rectified the issues I have it would be OK, provided 3rd parties don't start doing WM2005-only releases (which I personally doubt)... I'm not holding my breath though.

[Pixelnose]

Wow I thought I was alone in my rantings. I suppose this rant here is more about HTC - but why kill HTC Magician? Like most of yall are saying - it's smaller than a p900 so it doesn't look ridiculous to use as a phone, and the latest firmware has really improved phone sound quality to bring it more in line with what a cell phone sounds like. So why not continue that product line and update it with wifi and more memory, rather than just kill it outright?

It's like they (these smartphone resellers and manufacturers) would all just as soon as have us all go out and buy Treos or p910s.

I emailed imate about it was told that the Jam would not be able to handle WM5. I'm skeptical there.

The launch of Microsoft® Windows Mobile 5.0 is great news for the i-mate™ community as this more extensible platform will allow us to provide innovative new products more easily than ever before and further enhance the i-mate™ customer-centric experience.

We need several months to add combine additional elements, such as the radio and Bluetooth hardware and software, we require to produce fully integrated PDA's and Smartphones. We will be launching some exciting new products that run on Windows Mobile 5.0 later in the year. We have made an assessment of our current devices and it is unlikely that current products will run Windows Mobile 5.0.

[Phoenix]

I second Paragon - Imate's service is absolutely HORRIBLE!!!

Great devices, but useless customer service.