An i-mate Branded HTC Universal

[Darius Wey]

<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050626-i-mate.jpg" /><br /><br />I took time out this week to walk the floors of MEDC in Sydney where I was able to get some great information on upcoming software and hardware. So, here's the first report. After talking to a reliable source, I discovered that popular Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone manufacturer, i-mate, has made plans to release an HTC Universal under its own brand name. The way I see it - this move will definitely promote greater adoption of this device, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region and the North American region. No word yet on when it will be released and how much it will cost.

[Jon Westfall]

This is just an educated guess, but if I-mate stays true to their previous routine, it will come out in October-November, and cost around $900.

Jon.

[szamot]

I don't know if I would agree with the $900 prdiction. Even Expansys does not sell their devices that expansive, and Expansys is not cheap by any means.

[Paragon]

No word yet on when it will be released

According to the CEO of iMate it will be officially be launched on Sept. 24th at GITEX (I hope I have that right) in Dubia. In the past this exactly what iMate have done, and it has been available in Dubia at that time, then around the world in the next few weeks.

[Jon Westfall]

I don't know if I would agree with the $900 prdiction. Even Expansys does not sell their devices that expansive, and Expansys is not cheap by any means.

The original i-mate PPC was initially listed on clubimate for $850, however you couldn't get it from clubimate for the longest time (no stock). Alternate methods (Such as the one I used) easily took it up to $900+ to get your hands on it within 3 months of it being released.

Now that they have north american operations, perhaps it will get easier for us.

[Paragon]

Even Expansys does not sell their devices that expansive, and Expansys is not cheap by any means.

Hmmm....I bought my PDA2k from Expansys in the first release for $895.00 USD.

I'm willing to bet pretty good money on the iMate (unlocked) Universal being over a grand USD.

[Pdaholic]

Man, I love the HTC Universal. But no way in haites I'm gonna pay $900 for it. Not that I couldn't, it's just that I would feel like bashing my own head in if I lost such an expensive device. :evil:

[Janak Parekh]

I'm willing to bet pretty good money on the iMate (unlocked) Universal being over a grand USD.
I'd hold off on that bet for one reason: if it crosses the $999 threshold, sales will drop substantially. I know this is supposed to be a mini-laptop-like-unit, but I think most of the public will be scared away, despite its power, and as such they may have to price it a bit more aggressively than that.

In any case, the price will eventually decrease, but I'm sure the unlocked phone won't be cheap initially. I'm curious what frequency bands they'll offer; if it's 900/1800/1900, it'll be much less useful in North America.

--janak

[Darius Wey]

I'm curious what frequency bands they'll offer; if it's 900/1800/1900, it'll be much less useful in North America.

If I recall correctly, the Universal's base specs are tri-band GSM/GPRS/WCDMA, so you'd be right on that 900/1800/1900 prediction.

[Janak Parekh]

If I recall correctly, the Universal's base specs are tri-band GSM/GPRS/WCDMA, so you'd be right on that 900/1800/1900 prediction.
I've heard two versions will be released -- a 900/1800/1900 and an 850/1800/1900. We'll see.

--janak

[bnycastro]

I hope a Universalm comes out (m for mini) hehehe I want something smaller!

[Phoenix]

I'm really looking forward to this device. Availability of October/November (if this turns out to be true) would be great. I just hope Imate offers it in black!

[Daimaou]

Well I have mine already booked and will come from Dubai ;) I cannot wait until then !!!

PS to Janak I will fly to NYC shortly after having hands on my new PPC, I will let you play with it and find out how to setup GPRS ;)

Cheers

[Janak Parekh]

PS to Janak I will fly to NYC shortly after having hands on my new PPC, I will let you play with it and find out how to setup GPRS ;)
No fair! :cry: ;) I think Suhit and I will have to wrestle the device away from you and run away with it.

(Just kidding. :P Suhit and I would never agree on who'd keep it ultimately.)

--janak

[suhit]

PS to Janak I will fly to NYC shortly after having hands on my new PPC, I will let you play with it and find out how to setup GPRS ;)
No fair! :cry: ;) I think Suhit and I will have to wrestle the device away from you and run away with it.

(Just kidding. :P Suhit and I would never agree on who'd keep it ultimately.)

No fair is right. Although, I am more optimistic about who would wrestle the device away successfully. :twisted: ;-)

Suhit

[Jon Westfall]

Hmm, NYC is about a 10 hour drive for me. For a HTC Universal, I'll offer to referee the match between Janak &amp; Suhit, provided the Ref gets to hold the unit in escrow... :devilboy:

[Paragon]

Nah, I think you should have someone from a neutral country hold it. ;)

Dave (I am Canadian) Evans

[Darius Wey]

Nah, I think you should have someone from a neutral country hold it. ;)

Dave (I am Canadian) Evans

No way! Give it to the guy who lives in complete isolation! Hint, hint... 8)

[Janak Parekh]

Hmm, NYC is about a 10 hour drive for me. For a HTC Universal, I'll offer to referee the match between Janak &amp; Suhit, provided the Ref gets to hold the unit in escrow... :devilboy:
:rotfl:

You guys are all welcome to visit us. For those of you who can't make it, I'll make sure Suhit brings 'round his Canon 10D and takes the highest res pictures possible. 8)

--janak

[Paragon]

Nah, I think you should have someone from a neutral country hold it. ;)

Dave (I am Canadian) Evans

No way! Give it to the guy who lives in complete isolation! Hint, hint... 8)

No way! Perth is NOT isolated...Bilibong ( a million flies can't be wrong) WA. maybe...but not Perth. ;)

Dave

[Darius Wey]

No way! Perth is NOT isolated...Bilibong ( a million flies can't be wrong) WA. maybe...but not Perth. ;)

:razz: :D

[Janak Parekh]

No way! Perth is NOT isolated...Bilibong ( a million flies can't be wrong) WA. maybe...but not Perth. ;)
It's more isolated than London, for sure. :P And it's a whole lot cooler right now. I think the Universal might melt by the time you make it home. ;)

--janak

[Paragon]

No way! Perth is NOT isolated...Bilibong ( a million flies can't be wrong) WA. maybe...but not Perth. ;)
It's more isolated than London, for sure. :P And it's a whole lot cooler right now. I think the Universal might melt by the time you make it home. ;)

--janak

It's hotter than blazes here right now. Our swimming pool is 84 degrees!

[Daimaou]

... I just rang my friend in Dubai to make sure that the first one he will will be for me... I m just a little bit impatient, but also, we may have other models coming within 2006 from HTC... so...

[Jason Lee]

So what if the universal requires a new 3G USIM card like some other new 3G phones? I don't think those of us in the US will be able to get one of those.

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/3965.html

:(

[Paragon]

So what if the universal requires a new 3G USIM card like some other new 3G phones? I don't think those of us in the US will be able to get one of those.

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/3965.html

:(

This is becoming a rather worrisome point. Although it it seems far from a certainty, I have seen several reports from people seeing units in North America, and all of them have reported they did not have a SIM card in them. It seems kind of weird to me that you would show off a new converged device and not put a SIM in it to highlight how it works. Maybe one, but every report??

I doubt it would be outside anyone's NDA to say I have one or have used one in NA and it had a working non 3G SIM card.....anyone? ;)

Dave

Dave

[Daimaou]

On the first 3G Phones that I had (2 years ago) USIM Card was not mandatory now... I am on a CDMA 1X EV-DO phone and in Japan no sim card on that. Well in Japan it was like this now... for other countries it will maybe the same

[stevelam]

Nah, I think you should have someone from a neutral country hold it. ;)

Dave (I am Canadian) Evans

No way! Give it to the guy who lives in complete isolation! Hint, hint... 8)

Would you really trust someone that comes from a convict island!!!!! (no offence intended!). You need someone who lives on an island with a great name. Look left!!

[brianworkman]

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050626-i-mate.jpg

I took time out this week to walk the floors of MEDC in Sydney where I was able to get some great information on upcoming software and hardware. So, here's the first report. After talking to a reliable source, I discovered that popular Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone manufacturer, i-mate, has made plans to release an HTC Universal under its own brand name. The way I see it - this move will definitely promote greater adoption of this device, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region and the North American region. No word yet on when it will be released and how much it will cost.

Any chance of Imate releasing a CDMA/EVDO version of this phone that would work on Verizon?

[Darius Wey]

Any chance of Imate releasing a CDMA/EVDO version of this phone that would work on Verizon?

Unfortunately, there's nothing public on that yet...

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

No word yet on when it will be released

According to the CEO of iMate it will be officially be launched on Sept. 24th at GITEX (I hope I have that right) in Dubia. In the past this exactly what iMate have done, and it has been available in Dubia at that time, then around the world in the next few weeks.


That's still the plan as far as I know. The i-mate name for the Univeral is Jasjar, too. I have a couple branded ones here with the i-mate logo and Jasjar name.

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

I'm really looking forward to this device. Availability of October/November (if this turns out to be true) would be great. I just hope Imate offers it in black!

From what I understand, the hardware is arleady RTM. It's just a matter of those branding them and bringing them to market to finish up their own tasks.

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

... I just rang my friend in Dubai to make sure that the first one he will will be for me... I m just a little bit impatient, but also, we may have other models coming within 2006 from HTC... so...

Are you thinking of the HTC Wizard, Reimann, and Hertz?

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

So what if the universal requires a new 3G USIM card like some other new 3G phones? I don't think those of us in the US will be able to get one of those.

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/3965.html

:(


I can't say anything about UK SIMs but there's been no issues with using any US SIM cards since the lastest hardware ROM from HTC. I use mine w/ a T-Mobile USIM occaisionally but it's a bit big for a handy mobile phone :!:

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

So what if the universal requires a new 3G USIM card like some other new 3G phones? I don't think those of us in the US will be able to get one of those.

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/3965.html

:(

This is becoming a rather worrisome point. Although it it seems far from a certainty, I have seen several reports from people seeing units in North America, and all of them have reported they did not have a SIM card in them. It seems kind of weird to me that you would show off a new converged device and not put a SIM in it to highlight how it works. Maybe one, but every report??

I doubt it would be outside anyone's NDA to say I have one or have used one in NA and it had a working non 3G SIM card.....anyone? ;)

Dave

Dave

They do work in NA and I've used a T-Mobile SIM in a couple different HTC Universals without any issues. It's just a little big as a mobile phone and I tend to just use it for lower quality digipics or screwing around with the bluetooth.

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

Any chance of Imate releasing a CDMA/EVDO version of this phone that would work on Verizon?

Unfortunately, there's nothing public on that yet...

Actually, I think there are plans but don't remember 100%.

[SkyCaptainBeavis]

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050626-i-mate.jpg

I took time out this week to walk the floors of MEDC in Sydney where I was able to get some great information on upcoming software and hardware. So, here's the first report. After talking to a reliable source, I discovered that popular Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone manufacturer, i-mate, has made plans to release an HTC Universal under its own brand name. The way I see it - this move will definitely promote greater adoption of this device, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region and the North American region. No word yet on when it will be released and how much it will cost.

Any chance of Imate releasing a CDMA/EVDO version of this phone that would work on Verizon?


This was never really a question was it? i-mate demonstrated their, though unbranded at the time, HTC Universal device down at Las Vegas in May.

[brianworkman]

Any chance of Imate releasing a CDMA/EVDO version of this phone that would work on Verizon?


This was never really a question was it? i-mate demonstrated their, though unbranded at the time, HTC Universal device down at Las Vegas in May.

If you are asking me, yes. I have never heard a definite report saying that their is going to be a CDMA/EVDO version of the Universal. I hope that their is though, I will be first in line for one.

Now are you saying they demostrated a GSM version in May or a CDMA version in May?