08-16-2007, 03:00 PM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,111
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i-Mate Ultimates Down To Two
"It seems that i-mate has canceled arguably the three most interesting versions of its Ultimate line: the 5150 slider, 7150 QWERTY flip, and 9150 numeric flip. Remaining and now apparently scheduled for October production are the 8150 numeric candybar and keypadless 6150, devices that could be considered pretty uninteresting by the time they enter a market rife with 3G capable Windows Mobile 6 hardware."
Bad news - while this is based on an unconfirmed report, I'm inclined to believe the source. i-Mate's new products since the break in the relationship with HTC have been less than stellar, and the Ultimates would have gone a long way towards improving their product lineup, not to mention their reputation among gadget fans. I must admit I'm more than a little curious as to the reason for this (alleged) cancellation - was it complexity of the devices? Production costs? Or did i-Mate run out of development funds? Whatever the reason, if true, i-Mate will disappoint a lot of people.
UPDATESeems like the report was premature - CNet Asia have checked with i-Mate who state that the three "missing" models will be released later. When exactly that will be is at this stage still unknown, though the 6150 and 8150 are still slated for October this year.
UPDATE 2: i-Mate have issued a clarification. According to this report from Pocket PC Dubai, the Ultimates will be released in a 6-12 month time frame from now.
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"A planner is a gentle man, with neither sword nor pistol.
He walks along most daintily, because his balls are crystal."
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08-16-2007, 03:19 PM
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08-16-2007, 04:49 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by netboy
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I remain hopefull then!
These look likely to be the only machines I'll be considering now that the G900 is out, a bit shakey, and was only ever tri-band anyway!!
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08-16-2007, 05:35 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 71
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Rumors / stories like these bring to mind the much anticipated Motorola MPx full keyboard that never made it out after over a year of publicity. I would run from iMATE & stick with HTC devices due to the time it's taken them to get the devices out. I'd be a bit scared of their future support. I like the 7150 & the 9150's specs but according to Brighthand, these devices are being delayed again. I emailed MobilePlanet a few weeks ago to see when all of these devices would be available & they replied early September.
I think I will be going with the Kaiser if HTC doesn't dumb it down when it does come out. I really would like a replacement for my Axim x50v but the 8125 I tried out was awful slow & the screen sucked compared to the x50v's VGA screen. The Ultimates look awesome but I am scared of the company & am tired of waiting for their release.
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08-16-2007, 06:46 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 309
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Oh, that is maybe cause nobody , or few, would buy these ultra-expense�ive phones. Maybe if they put symbian on them, they would appeal to more people. :twisted: :twisted:  :devilboy:
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This site should go the way of msmobiles.com. Forget WM and start talking android. Androidthoughts.com
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08-16-2007, 07:00 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by mv
Oh, that is maybe cause nobody , or few, would buy these ultra-expense�ive phones. Maybe if they put symbian on them, they would appeal to more people. :twisted: :twisted: :devilboy: |
No don't be silly. I have an E62 too, and it's great, but I still want one of the Ultimate series ... XVGA out is one of several features I really want, plus there's oodles more software options.
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08-17-2007, 08:39 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,111
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by netboy
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Updated  though I don't know if I'd call i-Mate car salesmen.
BTW, I've dealt with Clove before and they're a reputable firm with a good track record. Given how long its been taking i-Mate to actually produce these devices, I'm not holding my breath - I'll believe they exist when they're on the market, not before.
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"A planner is a gentle man, with neither sword nor pistol.
He walks along most daintily, because his balls are crystal."
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08-17-2007, 05:14 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 16
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It did cross my mind, when I first saw the specs for the ultimate line, that they were too good to be true. They were all very thin for what they packed. Like the poster before me, I wouldn't be surprised at all if most of these turned out to be vaporware.
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08-17-2007, 05:35 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 554
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by jamijam
It did cross my mind, when I first saw the specs for the ultimate line, that they were too good to be true. They were all very thin for what they packed. Like the poster before me, I wouldn't be surprised at all if most of these turned out to be vaporware.
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iPhone has even better specs, and how thin it is? My guess it's economics, price of dev, production, marketing would exceed a price that i-mate could comfortably charge without giving a heart attack to a customer.
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08-17-2007, 05:56 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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[quote="virain"]
iPhone has even better specs ... quote]
In what respect?
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