Ideal Mate?

GIZMO GALLERY

At 2007 CES Las Vegas, iMate announced the availability of its new PDA-like mobile phone, the PDAL. Technically it's no different than what we already have in market but for iMate, this is an innovation in terms of looks and design.

At 112mmx 56mm x 17mm, the device is thinner but taller than the iMate JAMin. This is set to be one of the devices that will be distributed by iMate but not manufactured by HTC.

PDAL costs Rs 24,990 and delivers the familiar applications of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC. It's a classic PDA-like model which offers great stylus functionality, complete with a 5-way navigation button and portrait/landscape orientation for users' viewing preference. It comes very close to looking like an O2 XDA, albeit a lot lighter at 116 grams.

The Good PDAL runs an OMAP 850 processor at 200MHz which makes applications (Office suite, camera, emails, etc.) load fast. Switching between running programmes is effortless and besides the start-up time (which is normal), the performance is good.

Even the camera, in particular, starts almost the moment you open it, unlike other HTC devices (iMate JAM, JAQ, HP 6900 series) or the likes of Nokia and Sony Ericsson, which take a couple of seconds (or more) for the camera to open.

The PDAL sports a popular memory size of 128MB ROM (read-only-memory) and 64MB RAM (random access memory), which actually is the best option for devices running Windows Mobile 5.0. In a phone that has 64MB RAM, around 44MB is utilised in storing data while the other 20MB is kept aside for operating system needs.

But if you have decided to store a lot of temporary files, cached web pages (which happens quite fast in case you surf extensively), the phone will work a tad bit slower.

The PDAL has a microSD memory slot, so the memory capacity can be increased. This quad-band capable device shuns 3G in favour of EDGE, but includes 802.11b/g WiFi connectivity if you have an access point nearby. Bluetooth is the third connectivity option.

iMate has plugged most of its pitfalls of its last smartphone model, the Smartflip, that had a 64 MB ROM, 1.3 megapixel camera, no Wi-Fi, a moderate battery life of up to 4.5 hours and a semi-moderate flip phone design. PDAL has the classic features of a top class smartphone, with highlight of the device, being the battery life at a rock solid 7 hours.

The Bad The painful bit is when you try to key in mails or navigate while browsing. A 2.4-inch screen does not help. You will find yourself wishing for a screen that resembled Nokia E61 (2.8 inch) or the like.

Nokia, with its first generation of PDAs and smartphones, has ensured one gets real-time message delivery through a number of push e-mail solutions. iMate PDAL, however, gives you only Pocket Outlook and Push Mail (used with Exchange Server 2003).

Nokia's smartphones also come with a browser that displays thumbnails of the full web page so that you can easily navigate to a certain point on the site, rather than having to scroll all over the place. I miss that browser.