BARCELONA, Spain - In a bid to save its marketshare in the smartphone industry, i-Mate has done what not many manufacturers of its category have done before: building a rugged smartphone. The 810-F is designed to the MIL-STD-810F military standard (although not actually certified), but lives up to the old i-Mate legacy.

The 810-F has special offerings for corporate consumers: it can be painted in colours other than the commercial blue. A unit painted orange was available at the stand, but PhoneReport was not allowed to photograph it; however, a dark grey model was captured for this review.

The small, yet bulky phone features a 2.46" touchscreen display with QVGA resolution (320x240 pixels), a full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA, 2.2GB internal memory, a 2 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and an accelerometer. The phone has a 624MHz PXA CPU, 128MB of RAM, and runs on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, to keep with the i-Mate tradition.

Specifications aren't the main concern of the 810-F. The protective components of the phone - waterproof rubber casing, metal screws, impact resistant screen - allow it to sustain damage from pressure, heat, water, humidity, and extreme shock, and still continue operating normally.

Another highlight of this new device is the Secure i-Q service, which can control the security functions of the phone remotely from the web, allowing one to erase all data, or simply lock it, in case the phone is stolen or lost.

One surely does not buy this phone for a normal lifestyle. The materials used in the phone, and now exposed, make it an unconventional phone. The keyboard does not feel normal, and its sheer dimension-ratio is abnormal. The phone weighs 150g.

As said previously, the looks of this device are rather unusual: it has six visible metal screws on the front section, and the entire keyboard is one piece (mainly to protect it from water damage).

The keys are raised, therefore not all comfort is lost.

Many of the slots and ports are well protected in order to keep up with the theme, and they were left uninspected by us. One of these can be seen on the right side of the phone. The 810-F does not support memory cards, therefore the port could be used for another function.

The left side of the phone contains the shutter - a rather unusual place, as it should be on the right side.

The bottom and top sides of the phone have been left blank (respectively).

The speakers, back clip, and the 2 megapixel camera are located on the back of the phone. A series of connectors are also placed in this section to be connected to a possible external battery pack.

The i-Mate 810-F is certainly the ultimate rugged smartphone in the market, having all the features the consumer is used to have in a Windows Mobile-powered device, but still be fully safe and secure - both physically and in terms of data.

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

I Mate Ultimate 8502 Unlocked

US $139.99

21d 1h 12m

I–Mate Ultimate 8502 Windows Smartphone

0 Bid

US $195.25

3d 4h 11m

iMate 810F 810 F Unlocked GPS WiFi Water Drop Proof

US $349.98

6d 10h 27m

New O2 XDA Exec unlocked mobile qwerty Cell phone

US $279.00

11d 18h 15m

New Unlcocked i Mate 810F 3G Phone Water Drop Proof

US $349.98

5d 11m

View Page:   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9

Handango?

The manufacturer is certainly not following many smartphones manufacturers' perspective on device design, but it is likely to join the Android bandwagon. Gareth Phillips, Technology Services Manager of the company told PhoneReport that i-Mate is looking at Google Android, but not for the near-future.

Phillips also said that i-Mate suffered an impact owing to HTC leaving the manufacturing business section of i-Mate. It is known that the company is now building on its own, and contracting Inventec and TechFaith for this purpose.

The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard, and does not incorporate a touchscreen, but a 2" display. The Centurion also has HSDPA, Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera, 800mAh battery capacity, and possibly Wi-Fi.

Below the display, one can find the navigation keys, and the QWERTY keyboard. This is likely to be one of the world's thinnest QWERTY-incorporating devices. The keys felt usable, similar to the Nokia E71, but not as good as the Palm Pre.

The miniUSB port is located on the left side, while the Infrared port and volume rocker are on the right. The back side is completely black, and has a speaker next to the camera. This is rather bad positioning, as sound will not output efficiently.

Just like the Nokia E71, the Centurion also has dark brown and silver colours, portraying a silver strip outlining the front of the phone. The phone will also be available in white.

The credit card-sized is said to retail for US$550, and is due for later this year.

The MPro110 is compatible with a wide range of portable devices such as camcorders, digital cameras, laptops and luckily Mobile Phones with TV-OUT such the N95, MotoZN5, N96 to name a few.

We can only imagine the possibilities that the Mpro110 could bring to Mobile Devices, users will no longer be restricted to the phone screen. Imagine browsing the internet on a 50'' inch display just from your mobile phone and a small projector, or showing pictures and videos to friends and family, or giving a business presentation with just two devices that fit in a pocket. This new technology breaks the only limit that a smartphone has to become a mobile computer, the size of the screen.

I was expecting the first Pico Projector to come at a high price, maybe in the US$800's. But this technology came at a relative low price, US$350 for a revolutionary piece of technology. This is one of the first production models, meaning that in the future more affordable micro projectors will be produced.

Press release:

LONDON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today's busy lifestyles demand devices that keep pace. Technology is continually changing - striving to make communication easier for today's mobile professional. From phones with full spectrum Internet and e-mail capabilities to laptops with portable DVD-player-sized screens, there is an ever-increasing array of options. Yet, until now, projection technology has remained relegated to conference rooms. 3M, a leader in projection technology for more than 40 years, is about to change that. Bridging the gap between portability and practicality, the company is introducing 3M MPro110, a handheld digital projector designed for business, entertainment and versatile field applications.

"The MPro110 takes the power of projection from the board room to any room," said Mark Colin, General Manager, 3M Projection Systems Department. "This development continues 3M's long history as a global leader in both innovation and advanced projection display technology."

Employing advanced optical technology, the MPro110 weighs less than a pound and is roughly the size of a digital camera. When attached to a video capable pass-through device such as a laptop computer, DVD or MP3 player or handheld video game the MPro110 projects up to a 50-inch still or video with true VGA resolution, no-speckle and a high-fill factor. Each unit uses an advanced liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) electronic imager in conjunction with proprietary 3M optics technology. A LED light source makes the MPro110 unusually quiet with no need for the hassle of replacing bulbs. Additionally, the MPro110 is currently the only handheld projector on the market with an integrated VGA input.

The 3M MPro110 is available for purchase, in Canada, at office and audio visual retailers and computer resellers.

For more information, visit 3mmpro.com.

The Hummer's cover is made out of a metal-alloy case, which is screwed on to the phone. The extra cover should be waterproof, and resistant against dust and drops.

The phone runs on Windows Mobile 6 for now, but it should ship with 6.1.  There's HSDPA, WiFi, a 2 megapixel camera, and a 2.5” display.

At a time when competitors are releasing phones with cameras that have resolutions equal to and higher than 3.2 megapixels, with displays with 2.8" or more, and running on newer and more versatile Operating systems with sleek User Interfaces, i-Mate has to change their market approach strategy just as HTC did. The Hummer might contribute to this, but it's still far from what the market needs.

[via BGR]