Smart Phone company imate is set to expand there distributionoperations in Australia beyond Telstra.
Smart Phone newcomer i-mate is targeting online retailers, mobile distributors, second-tier and third-tier carriers, and retailers with an expanding selection of Windows Mobile-based cellular phones, said imate Marketing Manager Allison Caruk.
“We are the Smart phone of choice for people in the know and we have achieved great results through our Telstra relationship. We are now moving on to new distribution opportunities in line with global expansion plans. As a result of this we are looking at hiring additional people in
The company, whose Dubai-based parent launched operations in 2001, already offers Windows Mobile-based smart phones and PDA phones via Telstra’s distribution channel.
Caruk said. The parent, Carrier Devices, designs the phones and contracts out their manufacturing. In entering the Australian markets last year, i-mate believes it can succeed because of its focus on Windows Mobile devices. “We are the leading experts” in Windows Mobile-based converged devices, she claimed. The company has no plans to offer smart phones or PDA phones based on the Palm or Symbian operating systems. I-mate will also provide thousands of applications downloadable from its Web site, some for a one-time fee and others, such as security and virus-scanning applications, for a monthly fee.
The company differentiates itself by offering free downloads of select games, ring tones and wallpaper to the phones via connected PC from its Club i-mate site, where users can also download ROM-code updates. Users will also get 24/7 support over the phone and via live online chats as well as a free unlimited hosted e-mail account.
The company’s first two phones are the SP3i, based on the Windows Mobile Smart phone operating system, and the JAM, based on Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition and said to be the slimmest PocketPC phone in the world at 4.25 inches by 2.28 inches by 0.71 inches. Both are triband 850/1,800/1,900MHz GSM models with GPRS Class 10 wireless data.
In coming months, the company plans to expand its selection with three to five devices, including models built on the latest version of Windows Mobile, Caruk said.
Both current models offer Bluetooth, voice recorder, integrated antenna and camera, with the SP3i offering VGA resolution, and the JAM offering 1.3-megapixel resolution. The smartphone features a miniSD slot, and the PocketPC model features an SD card slot that accepts memory cards or a Wi-Fi card.
Other SP3i smartphone features include a 2.2-inch color display, joystick-like control, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and MMS. The JAM PocketPC phone features 2.8-inch color touch screen, virtual QWERTY keyboard and handwriting recognition.