I-Mate To Customers: No WM 2005 Upgrade For You

[Jon Westfall]

<i>"We have mentioned to our customers that 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."</i><br /><br />This excerpt comes from an email sent to one of our longtime readers, Paragon, regarding his query on the possibility that current i-mates would get a 2005 upgrade. While I can sympathize with those users who own current i-mates, I really can't say I'm surprised at the news. Windows Mobile 2005 seems to me to be a much major upgrade than 2002 - 2003 or 2003 to 2003 SE, and because of that, manufacturers are probably hard pressed to take hardware suited for one platform and make it work on upgrade of that platform. <br /><br />But I guess we can always hope - anyone going to keep holding their breath that i-mate will change it's mind?

[PPCRules]

I don't mean to sound completely pessimistic, but I'd be surprised if even those who have made "promises" will all deliver on them, or deliver on them in a reasonable timeframe. I'm afraid many device owners will still be waiting well past the end of the year.

I'm not an i-mate owner, but I wouldn't recommend anyone expecting someone to change their mind and deliver an update after saying rather clearly they won't.

[Chris Spera]

I also don't think they will change their minds. However, the Blue Angel (PDA2k) will run WM5. There were many reports of a Blue Angel running WM5 at TechED, last week. (See this tread at XDA Developers (http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=22813).)

So at least the system ROM is out there. Now, whether its a full functioning ROM, i.e. the camera, phone and other radios work, remains to be seen. There is a movement on that site to get one of the devices, download the ROM to an SD card and then analyze it to see if it can actually be made to work with existing radio ROMs.

While I'm not holding my breath on THAT one either, I am very, VERY disappointed in vendors who are so quick to obsolete their devices. The PDA2k, and all HTC Blue Angels, aren't quite a year old yet. I bought mine in December 2004, and am disappointed to know that they won't have an upgrade for a device that isn't a year old yet.

This practice, more than anything else, will REALLY make me think when I purchase another PDA Phone. If its not the device I want, I will most likely wait until one with the most features I am looking for hits the market.

The HTC Blue Angel (PDA2k) is a great device. Don't get me wrong... It should last me a while, provided the keyboard doesn't start sliding all over the place. I was just hoping that it would remain "current" for longer than a year...

[whydidnt]

This isn't really super surprising, and I understand all companies have to make decisions on what they think is best for their customers. i-Mate has been pretty good about releasing incremental updates for the PDA2K, so I can't complain too loud.

However, they are still selling these devices today. You would think they would offer a support period where the OS is kept current at least during the time they are still offering the devices.

Maybe it's just a translation thing, but I find it almost impossible to believe that the current set of devices won't run WM 5. There are reports of rogue Jam's already running the software, and I have my doubts that the bluetooth and radio hardware is that much different from what they'll be using in their new devices. I'd rather they just say, it takes several months to create a stable OS upgrade for this type of hardware and we have decided our resources are better spent on new devices. For some reason It always ticks me off when I hear companies spout questionable "facts" such as "it is unlikely that current products will run Windows Mobile 5.0". It just makes me question their integrity enough to make me pause before rushing out to buy another of their new devices.[/code]

[Paragon]

Maybe it's just a translation thing, but I find it almost impossible to believe that the current set of devices won't run WM 5. There are reports of rogue Jam's already running the software, and I have my doubts that the bluetooth and radio hardware is that much different from what they'll be using in their new devices. I'd rather they just say, it takes several months to create a stable OS upgrade for this type of hardware and we have decided our resources are better spent on new devices. For some reason It always ticks me off when I hear companies spout questionable "facts" such as "it is unlikely that current products will run Windows Mobile 5.0". It just makes me question their integrity enough to make me pause before rushing out to buy another of their new devices.[/code]

In all fairness to iMate, that is exactly what they said.

We have mentioned to our customers that 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.



I'm not defending or arguing anything, just stating what they have said. I don't think iMate has ever said that the devices won't run WM5.0. They have only said they won't be offering it.

Dave

[jeisner]

Imate didn't offer OS upgrades on the previous model (2003 to 2003 SE) so I am not surprised they won't offer OS upgrades for this model.... In fact they never even got Bluetooth stable on the previous PPC phone, all they said in the end was that the PDA2K is out and they aren't offering fixes for the old model (so I guess buy new problems).... Honestly their tech support is terrible I have a PDA2k as work supplied it as with the previous model, but I would never waste the dollars on a product from imate if I was paying myself...

[Raphael Salgado]

This is not to say that Qtek, who carries the S100, O2 with their XDA II mini, or the MDA with their Compact won't provide a Windows Mobile 5.0 upgrade, even though i-mate has abandoned their JAM.

Remember, i-mate doesn't actually create devices, HTC does, as they have been doing all this time with since devices as early as the iPAQ's. All these guys do is slap their brand name on it and call it their own.

So, all is not lost if i-mate has a piss-poor attitude for their current customer base.

[whydidnt]

In all fairness to iMate, that is exactly what they said.

We have made an assessment of our current devices and it is unlikely that current products will run Windows Mobile 5.0.



I'm not defending or arguing anything, just stating what they have said. I don't think iMate has ever said that the devices won't run WM5.0. They have only said they won't be offering it.

Dave

I guess I read the quoted line differently than you - What does "it is unlikely the current products will run on Windows Mobile 5.0" mean to you? Like I said maybe it's a transalation thing, but it sounds to me like they are saying it won't work on their current devices, not that they just don't want to do it.

[Paragon]

I guess I read the quoted line differently than you - What does "it is unlikely the current products will run on Windows Mobile 5.0" mean to you? Like I said maybe it's a transalation thing, but it sounds to me like they are saying it won't work on their current devices, not that they just don't want to do it.

Hmmm...I see exactly what you mean. I never read it the way you se it. Maybe it's because I heard a podcast by Morrison where he talked slightly more indepth, and stated that they had decided not to offer an upgrade, so maybe I'm hearing those words when I read it.

The way you are reading it makes absolute sense, probably more than the way I have read it.

Dave

[zetsurin]

It makes me chuckle a little after I have just read another news item that says 'Microsoft did it right because they licensed out the OS to 3rd parties to let them decide what to do with it', and then reading this.

After this happening yet again to a device I owned, I just left the PPC scene. I won't say what I bought instead as that will incite flames and Microsoft bibles being produced. I'm quietly waiting before I return to the PPC scene when a more consumer friendly business model arrives (if one does). I prefer to either be able to purchase a device that either works perfectly out of the box, or at least have a sense of hope that it will receive updates to rectify the shortcomings. In the PPC market, I have no sense of that as a consumer.

Just my 5 cents worth.

[Janak Parekh]

After this happening yet again to a device I owned, I just left the PPC scene. I won't say what I bought instead as that will incite flames and Microsoft bibles being produced.
Up to you, but I'm genuinely curious as to what other handheld platform you picked that provides upgrades to new-generation OSes. Neither Palm or Symbian do it as far as I can tell.

--janak

[iant54]

I have an i-mate Pocket PC and a Loox 720. I'd already decided before this news to upgrade the i-mate, possibly to an E-ten m600 (though I'm not too happy about the stylus storage being in the base).

[Pixelnose]

I posted this exact email that I received from I-mate as well, about a month of so ago, but it was ignored.

Yeah, the smartphone manufacturers are telling us they can't be bothered, and that they'd all prefer we go buy treos or p910s. I'd love to oblige them, except for an dislike of both of those respective OS's. Still, I'd swallow that dislike, if I didn't actually need an i-Mate Jam-like device.

Juni has an hx4700, so it's nice to have someone in the house with a Qvga phone edition device to test the skins. So to sum up, I'm pretty well screwed. Sometimes I well and truly hate PDAs.

[zetsurin]

After this happening yet again to a device I owned, I just left the PPC scene. I won't say what I bought instead as that will incite flames and Microsoft bibles being produced.
Up to you, but I'm genuinely curious as to what other handheld platform you picked that provides upgrades to new-generation OSes. Neither Palm or Symbian do it as far as I can tell.

--janak

I bought something that functions properly without me needing to wait for the improvements that provide things like a decent phone (I did back my post up with that comment in the content as I knew such a post would arrive ;), or the ability to have non-volatile store supported correctly by the OS. WM2003 Phone OS is a joke in the Phone regard, and it only starts looking useful with WM2005 yet it will no doubt still fall short for single handed operation.

[PPCRules]

After this happening yet again to a device I owned, I just left the PPC scene. I won't say what I bought instead as that will incite flames and Microsoft bibles being produced.
Up to you, but I'm genuinely curious as to what other handheld platform you picked that provides upgrades to new-generation OSes. Neither Palm or Symbian do it as far as I can tell.

--janak

Linux changes all the time, although I don't count that a plus. So paper and pencil is probably the most flexible option, if one is unable to tolerate today's electronic devices. (Actually, I sometimes wonder if I'd be better off with paper and a little work to keep that more organized.)

[Janak Parekh]

I posted this exact email that I received from I-mate as well, about a month of so ago, but it was ignored.
Sorry, we don't always notice every post. You should use "Submit News" under Contact to submit things like this. :)

Yeah, the smartphone manufacturers are telling us they can't be bothered, and that they'd all prefer we go buy treos or p910s. I'd love to oblige them, except for an dislike of both of those respective OS's. Still, I'd swallow that dislike, if I didn't actually need an i-Mate Jam-like device.
Except, as per my previous post, neither the Treo or the P910 have upgrades.

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

I bought something that functions properly without me needing to wait for the improvements that provide things like a decent phone (I did back my post up with that comment in the content as I knew such a post would arrive ;), or the ability to have non-volatile store supported correctly by the OS. WM2003 Phone OS is a joke in the Phone regard, and it only starts looking useful with WM2005 yet it will no doubt still fall short for single handed operation.
If you're insinuating you got something like the Treo, you'll get no disagreements -- in fact, one of the former Editors of this site carries a Treo and is a Microsoft MVP. Don't assume we're one dimensional. The hardware formfactor is tough to beat, for sure. WM2003PE is certainly useable (I carried an i700 for about a year), but it's not one-handable.

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

Linux changes all the time, although I don't count that a plus.
Well, "Linux changes" is nebulous. Sure, major new kernel releases are published every 12-18 months, but that doesn't mean it's going to affect how a PDA based on Linux operates. Does anyone know if Sharp has offered major upgrades to their Zaurus units?

(OK, you can probably hack a Linux PDA more than you can a Windows PDA, and for those who have the time and desire, that might be an attractive option. However, I don't think that's an option for everyone.)

--janak

[whydidnt]

After this happening yet again to a device I owned, I just left the PPC scene. I won't say what I bought instead as that will incite flames and Microsoft bibles being produced. I'm quietly waiting before I return to the PPC scene when a more consumer friendly business model arrives (if one does). I prefer to either be able to purchase a device that either works perfectly out of the box, or at least have a sense of hope that it will receive updates to rectify the shortcomings. In the PPC market, I have no sense of that as a consumer.


I understand your frustration, but you have piqued my curiosity, since I'm not aware of any Mobile Device platform that provides regular updates to devices. Certainly Palm doesn't. I doubt you could get a Treo 600 flashed to the latest version of Garnet. I haven't heard of any significant updates to any Symbian based Smart Phones, when newer versions are released, and I haven't seen big updates to Linux version devices.

Am I missing something? Which platform does better than WM at providing operating system upgrades? Almost every WM manufacturer typically releases at least one ROM upgrade with fixes or enhancements to the original ROM.

We can argue all night that they should also make available OS upgrades when they are available, and I would agree 100% with you. The difference is that I don't see any other handheld platform doing anything different, so I'm not sure how that part of the experience is going to be better on a different device. Now if your new device does a better job of meeting your needs today, then I say you made the right decision and good for you. I think your kidding yourself if you think your new device is going to have OS upgrades for the next few years though.

[jeisner]

When referring to imate you shouldn't be asking which manufacturer provides OS upgrades but rather which manufacturer doesn't replace their models in 9 months of release without even bothering to fix MAJOR bugs in their previous models. And upon release of the new models dropping all support for the rather expensive PDA/Phone you bought only 6 months earlier...


Am I missing something? Which platform does better than WM at providing operating system upgrades? Almost every WM manufacturer typically releases at least one ROM upgrade with fixes or enhancements to the original ROM.