i-mate Ultimate 8502 Preview
This is an unlocked GSM phone which can operate
in the US on AT&T and T-Mobile (without 3G).
Introduction:in the US on AT&T and T-Mobile (without 3G).
Design:
The phone doesn’t follow the new trend where the business devices also offer an attractive design as in HTC Touch Diamond for example. Such a massive and serious smartphone can hardly be defined as stylish.
You can compare the i-Mate Ultimate 8502 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
Display
On the left, we have the 3-way wheel and the OK button. The volume control and the notes/voice commands shortcut accompanied by the camera dedicated key are located on the opposite side.
On the top are the power on/off button and the stylus and the 2.5 mm jack and miniUSB slot, also used for TV out are located on the bottom. Strangely, you cannot use it with a standard monitor. The loudspeaker and the 2-megapixel camera with flash are located on the back.
Interface:
The prototype of i-mate 8502 runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 OS without any personalizations. This is quite a disappointment, considering the fact that a common practice between the rest of the advertisers is to enhance the software in order to make it user-friendly.
It’s the same story with the standard browser in the face of the mobile version of the Internet Explorer. It’s way behind compared its rivals Opera and Safari.
A preloaded GPS navigation software is not present either. Luckily, there are solutions that can be downloaded via the internet.
As it can be expected from a business oriented device, the camera has gotten the minimal attention possible with a simple interface and only a few setting options.
i-mate 8502 looks like a promising solution, especially for people whose work has to do with a lot of travelling and heavy writing of text messages and emails.
We’ll share our impression from the i-mate 8502’s performance once we get our hands on a final unit and review it.
i-mate Ultimate 8502 360 Degrees View:
Things that are NOT allowed: