The smartphone market is rapidly becoming one of the more lucrative sectors of the mobile phone industry due to the high amount of features and the relative portability of what essentially amounts to carrying around a mini-office.
I-Mate is one of the more experienced hands in this field, so you would expect something above the norm when any new model from them is announced. Their latest, the Ultimate 9502 won't disappoint with either its design or the spec sheet. Reading between the lines, the specifications are so high that it does deserve comparison with the TYTN II from HTC (for now at least.)
The 9502 is a smartphone packed with the same amount of features as you get in the majority of high-end smartphones. On the list of features (amongst others) are 3G HSDPA capabilities, Wi-Fi, integrated GPS and a 3.15 MP camera with LED flash and auto focus. As smartphones are commonly the lowest performer on camera quality, the Ultimate 9502 will be competing with the TYTN II for the honour of the best camera equipped to a smartphone device.
With such a wide-range of features, there was never going to be a chance of the 9502 being lightweight (hence the title) and that is inevitably the case as the 9502 will weigh around 200 grams upon release.
Any innovation only really extends to the design of the handset itself. A 2.8" VGA touchscreen display is placed directly in the centre of the device and although from the outside this looks slightly odd, there is a reason behind it. The touchscreen slides out to reveal a QWERTY keyboard directly underneath for easy typing.
Unlike the more recent HTC devices, there is no update to the touchscreen interface and a stylus is used as always on the Windows Mobile 6 Professional platform. It would have been nice to see a less out-of-date OS used, but I'll reserve judgement until it has been released and a more intensive test can be carried out.
With such a wealth of features, there's likely to be a place in the smartphone market for the Ultimate 9502, and if the vast amount of features are integrated in the correct way, we could be looking at a real contender.
