The most convincing argument we saw for the completely touch-screen i-mate Ultimate 6150 was during a roundtable discussion at the Smartphone Summit, a conference held before the semi-annual CTIA 2007 show in San Francisco. Another smartphone company executive attempted to make a speech using a slideshow program, but had problems getting the slides to start. And the projector kept blinking on and off. For the next presentation, the host asked if any presenter was using a mobile device, to give them time to fix the laptop. I-mate's Nicole Buchanan, VP of the Americas Region, took out her i-mate Ultimate 6150 and ran the slideshow, in XGA resolution, directly from the phone. It was a moment that couldn't have been scripted more favorably for the company just entering the smartphone market in the U.S. in a big way.
The Ultimate 6150 may lack a keyboard, but it is still a complete smartphone. You might expect it to be more like a PDA, without much connectivity, but instead you get tri-band HSDPA, EDGE and GSM for world-traveling 3G that will actually work on AT&T's network, though don't expect to see it in stores, as the phone will be sold direct and unlocked. You also might expect some pared-down hardware, since this will be the lowest-end phone in i-mate's American Ultimate line-up. Though we would definitely miss the hardware keyboard, the phone still packs a video card for XGA output, a beautiful VGA screen, a 2-megapixel camera with auto-focus and a front-facing VGA camera for eventual videoconferencing capabilties, if AT&T gives the okay.
Okay, so the 128MB of RAM may seem a bit light, but i-mate thinks it should be enough to run the device's thin client-like features, which will really be the selling point for these devices. Each i-mate Ultimate phone will be able to act as a direct link to your Windows PC. When you connect a keyboard, mouse and external monitor to your phone, you will be able to access all of your programs and files from wherever you are, and it will feel almost like using your full-fledged desktop PC. Almost. In fact, we saw a demonstration of this technology, and it looked great. The software can give you a window into your PC from the handheld's VGA screen, or can use an external monitor, and both seemed to be working smoothly. However, we'd like to spend more time with the phone, on the road and under less than ideal (read: EDGE) conditions before we render our final verdict. i-mate says that the technology was developed for the much-slower dial-up modems that our ancestors once used, so we're hoping to see the 6150 and its brethren keep up.
Still, the features has such untapped potential that it could create a whole new category of handheld devices. What we find interesting is the potential market. Sure, business customers will find this an intriguing choice, but we wonder if consumers, or the emerging prosumer market, might find this an interesting option as well. In any case, the Ultimate 6150 might not be the best choice for everyone, as its lack of a keyboard will hurt the messaging and Web browsing experience. Though i-mate has improved the look of the on screen keyboard somewhat, it was still a pain to type on, even on the 6150's large, hi-res screen.
We're also very curious about the front-facing camera on the new Ultimate phones, including the 6150. i-Mate reps made it clear that the feature is ready for Latin American markets, with some carrier support, but not for the North American scene, and this hinges on AT&T. It will be interesting to see how AT&T reacts to opening up its networks to some very high-bandwidth traffic from a device that was purchased unlocked. We don't think that i-mate will be any competition for the high market-share devices like the Moto Q and the Samsung BlackJack, but it will be interesting to see how a state-of-the-art manufacturer like i-mate pushes AT&T, and eventually T-Mobile, into utilizing and perhaps opening their HSDPA networks for the kinds of features that Europeans are already taking for granted.
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