i-mate Ultimate 8150 Review

Introduction:

Not until long ago, the Windows Mobile devices were considered useful just for work only. Only in the past year, they started offering better entertainment features.

The models from i-mate’s Ultimate series fall in the group of the old devices, targeting the prosumers. In this review we will discuss 8150, which is a brother of 6150 with the main difference being the presence of a hardware keyboard in the first one. The key feature of these two phones is to enable you to connect to a monitor/projector and have PowerPoint presentations without the need of a laptop or a PC. This is made possible by the VGA cable slot.

The package includes:

• i-mate 8150
• Leather case
• Manual
• Guide
• Software CD
• Spare stylus
• Charger
• Wire headphones
• Monitor/projector cable
• Data cable

Since the model has functions and interface identical to the ones of i-mate 6150, in this review, we will only discuss its appearance and performance.For the detailed information, you can find it in the 6150's review.


Design:

The shape and the size of the phone are the same as of 6150 or in other words, it is massive and unattractive. Actually, there are only two differences between them. Firstly, the touch display is smaller (2.6“), but still has a VGA resolution and offers better-saturated and clear colors. Unfortunately, its also that hard to use in direct sunlight.



You can compare the i-mate Ultimate 8150 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The second difference is the presence of a numeric keypad. Its buttons and the navigational ones as well are large but without a clearly expressed relief, which makes them hard to use. Besides, they are back lit in a very intrusive and tiring the eyes blue color. The joystick almost doesn’t stick out above the other buttons and is extremely inconvenient.

On the left side, we see the 3-way button-wheel, which is easier to use and is our preferred method of navigation. This side houses also OK button, which in contrast to its twin located on the front panel is activated when pressed once, cannot be used as “delete” and is hard to push. Also here, we see the microSD slot, the shortcut to the Wireless manager and below them, the hardware restart button, accessible only with a stylus.

On the opposite side is located the VGA cable slot, used for a monitor or projector connection. It is protected with a rubber cap, which is very hard to open. Next to it are the miniUSB connector and the small, hard to press camera key.


The top side houses the power button and the IR sensor. The stylus is hidden in the left corner. It is very user-friendly, which is quite an important fact since you’ll probably use it frequently.

The 2-megapixel camera with LED flash and small mirror is logically located on the back. If you remove the big metal lid, you will see the battery and the SIM card slot below it.

Overall, the appearance of i-mate 8150 will hardly attract attention, which is sad, because we’ve already seen a few very good looking Windows Mobile solutions on the market.

Performance:

The results from SPB Benchmark and the tests are quite surprising– although i-mate 8150 and 6150 have absolutely identical specifications they perform rather differently in some aspects. On paper, the results are decent, without seriously falling behind compared to the other models of its class. Unfortunately, in everyday heavy use, the slow speed with which the applications start is very annoying.

There is no need to mention that for a business phone, the sound quality during a talk is very important. In this very aspect, the device performed terribly. The sound is loud but painfully sharp and sometimes hard to understand anything. At the other end of the line the voices are heard quite monotonous but overall readable.

The bad sound quality makes the loudspeaker useless too.

According to the official data supplied by the manufacturer, the battery has to be able to provide 4 hours of talks or 6 days in standby mode, which is not much for such a device.

Conclusion:

You should only buy i-mate 8150 in case that it is imperative for you to have a device, able to connect to a monitor/projector for playing presentations or if you are used to working with a hardware keyboard. Unfortunately, those two elements of the phone are disappointing. The buttons are not comfortable and annoying, and the outdated method for document viewing (same in 6150) will make you give up on the idea of making presentations with the help of your phone. Let’s not forget that on top of everything we have bad sound quality.

Unfortunately, if you care about the monitor connection, there are no other quality alternatives on the market at present. As far as Windows Mobile devices with a regular hardware keyboard go, we prefer HP iPAQ 614, because of its high operating speed.