14 DAY TRIAL // i-mate came to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with some interesting new devices, all of them powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system. Among the new handsets, we can count the i-mate 810-F, a ruggedized PDA-phone that has been unveiled before the MWC show, as well as two new handsets, both of which will sport Windows Mobile 6.5 at launch: the i-mate Legionnaire and i-mate Centurion.
The company's 810-F comes with a tough, rubberized case that hides a powerful device that is able to deliver to users almost anything they would like to receive from a smartphone. The specification list of the handset shows it as featuring GSM and HSDPA connectivity and a QVGA impact-resistant touchscreen display.
In addition, the i-mate 810-F also includes a full-QWERTY keyboard, GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities, digital compass, Bluetooth, Secure i-Q software, a 2-megapixel camera and a 624 Mhz processor. The handset meets US military standards for shock, temperature, pressure and humidity, and the company sells it with lifetime warranty.
Jim Morrison, CEO of i-mate, stated that the company planned to bring innovation to the mobile phone area. The new i-mate Centurion comes in a credit-card size form factor, with a full QWERTY keypad, but no touchscreen capabilities. The handset is both light and small, yet it seems to be quite usable. The company announced that it planned on selling the Centurion for $550 and that it would come to the market in mid-2009 running under the Windows Mobile platform.
The i-mate Legionnaire is also a tiny device, only it is a touchscreen PDA-phone that is expected to feature a price tag of $500. The handset can be placed into a specially designed UMPC called Warrior, where it acts like a touchpad. The large XVGA display will show all that can be seen on the PDA's screen, while also offering full functionality.
The Warrior can allow for video streaming, it charges at the same time with the phone and also comes with HDMI output. Moreover, it will become available along with the Legionnaire in the third quarter of the year for an affordable price of $199.
