i-mate Ultimate 9502

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By John Chan
Apr 10, 2008

There are few handsets on the Windows Mobile platform that can match up to the sheer number of features available on the i-mate Ultimate 9502. In fact, there are few devices, regardless of OS, that can boast of having a VGA screen, HSUPA, GPS and a QWERTY keyboard in a single package. If all we cared about was how much stuffing you can fit into a Christmas turkey, this PDA-phone would get an Editors' Choice right off the mark. But we are not that superficial, at least not when it comes to reviews. It may be powerful, but there are reasons the 9502 missed the mark.

Design

The 9502 is big and heavy, no two ways about it. It has dimensions of 116 x 60 x 17.8mm and weighs 200g. For those statistics alone, it will not find its way into many shoppers' buying lists. It doesn't help that the edges of the device are pretty angular, so in a pocket, you'll most likely feel it rubbing against your thigh--that's if you can fit it into your pocket to begin with. The chassis of the 9502 is made of metal, including even the battery cover. There are two areas, the top and the base, which have a faux leather finish. Though it was probably intended to be classy, we found it to be unnecessary and would probably have looked better without.

The VGA display slides out to reveal a QWERTY keypad (click for larger image).

Buttons are found all over the 9502. Aside from the regular directional pad, softkeys and shortcuts below the screen, there are also buttons above the display and all over the sides. In fact, you can't really pick up the 9502 without pressing some button or other. There was one button that was really hard to press though--the power button. We understand how the power button should be designed so you don't get accidental presses, but this one's ridiculous. It's completely flush with the top surface and is incredibly stiff, which is very annoying.

Sliding the screen to the right will reveal a QWERTY keyboard. Unlike many other slide-up PDA-phones, only part of the 9502's front surface moves. The leaves a sort of valley where the keypad sits flanked by some of the shortcut keys and the directional pad. Because of the limited space taken by the keypad, keys are much smaller than those found on the HTC TyTN II. This worked out fine as the keypad is similar in size to those found on products like the BlackBerry Curve and Treo devices. We did not like the layout, though, as the numeric keys are found on the right, displacing many of the punctuation keys (such as the apostrophe) which you expect to find there.

Syncing and charging the 9502 are done using the single mini-USB connector on the left side. There is also a separate 2.5mm audio jack for plugging in a headset. For memory expansion, there is a microSD slot. This is found near the mini-USB connector but hidden under the battery cover so you have to remove that to insert or remove a card. An extendable stylus is found on the top right corner of the 9502.

One of the strongest features of this PDA-phone is its VGA-resolution display. We found this to be sharp and sufficiently bright for regular use, but not bright enough for use in direct sunlight. The 2.8-inch screen is the same size as many other QVGA ones, which means text may look way too small because of the pixel density for those with old eyes.

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