MWC: i-mate news: 810-F (comparative shots), Project Centurion etc.

[Menneisyys]

While the booth of i-mate was really-really big, they had little to show to the world, except for, of course, their new Windows Mobile smartphone, the ruggerized 810-F. (You could only see the old stuff – that is, the 8502 and the 9502 - given the poor economic situation i-mate is in (http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1495651), no wonder they couldn't come up with anything else) in the rest of the booth; and, of course, the Project Centurion, which is a touchscreen-less, very small, credit card-sized (!) MS Smartphone reported on it at, for example, MoDaCo (http://www.modaco.com/content/smartphone-standard-news/284663/mwc-2009-i-mate-project-centurion-set-to-become-worlds-smallest-smartphone/). Of course, as it's just a WM Standard device, I don't think a lot of people would actually shell out the money for it. If only it was a touchscreen-based one...).

At first, when I saw the device and still didn’t know what it’s capable of, I immediately thought “Sheesh! The design of this model is even worse than that of i-mate’s four released models (the 8502, 9502, 8150, 6150). How come this thing is THIS thick? And, how come its casing looks like plastic made by a cheapo tool?”


Of course, after learning its merits, I no longer thought the device was that bad. On the contrary - for a Windows Mobile touchscreen QWERTY phone, it’s pretty much a feat i-mate has managed to produce a size this much.


The QWERTY keyboard turned out to be pretty nice too - I could enter text at about the same speed as on my BlackBerry 8800.


Let me show you some comparative pics of the 810-F, comparing it to the BB 8800. As you can see, it's considerably thicker, but the other dimensions are roughly the same. (All photos taken by me at MWC; as usual, click the images for a much larger & better-quality version.)


http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9484.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9484.JPG)

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9485.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9485.JPG)

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9486.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9486.JPG)


I can only hope the new model won’t suffer from the problems of the previous ones (8502, 9502, 8150, 6150); for example, the lack of SDHC support.


You might also want to check out my i-mate MWC article of last year (2008) (http://www.smartphonemag.com/cms/blogs/3/mwc_i_mate_s_new_devices) for my report on the 8502 and 9502, which, again, were both showcased (again).


Finally, some (other) shots of the i-mate booth:


http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9481.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9481.JPG)

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9487.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9487.JPG)

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9488.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9488.JPG)

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9489.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9489.JPG)

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/TH/IMG_9491.JPG (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022009MWC/IMG_9491.JPG)


Here’s what the others tell about the 810-F (not much yet):


http://www.mobilewhack.com/i-mate-810-f-rugged-smartphone/

http://www.t3.com/news/brain-meets-brawn-with-the-i-mate-810-f-smartphone?=38080

http://www.mobiletopsoft.com/board/4759/i-mates-810-f-winmo-smartphone-to-offer-lifetime-warranty.html

http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=6297

http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/02/11/i-mate-810-f-the-toughest-windows-mobile-61-smartphone-ever/

http://www.intomobile.com/2009/02/13/i-mate-810-f-aka-hummer-shows-its-face.html

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/22153/23177/i-mate-launches-810-f-tough-smartphone.phtml

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/201271/imate_launches_810f_military_phone.html

http://www.pocketpcblast.com/articles/2009/2/2009211-i-mate-810-F.html