Goodbye iMate 9502, Hello HP!

I was recently asked by a fellow YouTube member why I have such a strong bias towards Apple. In the past I probably would have agreed with this person, but recently I have begun to feel differently about Apple.

I just happen to be a fan of Apple by circumstance. My first experience with a personal PC was an old IBM ThinkPad in 2002 that ran Windows 98 with a 7GB harddrive and limited RAM! I wanted to use iTunes with it, but I needed to at least have Windows 2000 so I bought XP. Wrong idea! The sheer size of XP and its system requirements was too much for the old hardware of the IBM, so it regularly slowed to a crawl whenever I used iTunes with it. Downloading ONE song took literally a couple minutes, but I got used to it because I thought it worked that way for everyone else with iTunes. I eventually bought my own Apple iBook and was surprised at the FAST speed of how iTunes worked with my iPod. Since then I was hooked on Apple ever since and even worked at an Apple store! :)

But lately, I am not so convinced that Apple is the best of the best anymore...especially since the release of the spartan MacBook Air and the slightly impressive iPhone. Little by little I am beginning to be open to the PC since I have started classes at ECPI College of Technology. I have actually returned the iMate Ultimate 9502 and got my $850 back and put it toward the purchase of a PC...yes a PC. I bought a 12" HP TX2110 tablet notebook and am right now configuring it for use in school. I am already amazed at what kind of functionality I have with this HP at the price that I have paid in comparison to my expensive MacBook! Macs are known for their clean lines and sleek design, but I think this comes at the price of less functionality. PC laptops offer MANY more hardware features which differ amongst many manufacturers and give the customers a broader range of choices. For a little over $900 I have so many features in this new computer it is ASTONISHING...and it now looks like a goldmine in comparison to my MacBook Pro! I will even go as far as to say that I feel a little cheated by Apple. To pay so much money for this MacBook Pro just to have it upstaged on paper by this HP tablet is really appalling. This is the same case for the iPhone! $600 for an iPod/feature phone hybrid that can't even shoot video or create word documents or send MMS?! You have got to be kidding me!! I am beginning to think that all this time I might have been drugged by the Apple Kool-Aid, but only time will tell as I start my journey with my first personal PC.

Who knows. Maybe one day I will become a PC fan and switch over to the Zune! :)

I think it is all about going for what works best for me whether it is Apple, PC or Linux. I am really looking forward to what may unfold with this new HP.


TRENT
Sent from my MacBook Pro

iMate Ultimate 9502 second thoughts

Though there are apparent reasons as to why I may not be crazy about this new iMate gadget, there is still a part of me that is drawn to its bulky charm and breathtaking VGA resolution. Oh my soul! This VGA resolution is absolutely flawless and clean and smooth and sleek, and I am somewhat on the fence as to whether I should stay loyal to my HTC TyTN 2...sad but true. The last time I can recall this kind of resolution was with the Toshiba G900 which was sadly burdened by glitches. To finally have a Windows Mobile device that WORKS and FUNCTIONS for the most part with VGA is definitely a milestone in the smartphone industry, and I feel fortunate to have this 9502 in my hands right now.

Previously I had been critical of the large form factor of this recent addition iMate Ultimate lineup, but I have come to see it as a benefit. Much like my E90, this model certainly has a good amount of heft that provides a solid foundation for handheld typing. Despite the smaller dimensions of the qwerty buttons, the iMate is a pleasure to type on since the rounded tops of the keys provide a good surface for using fingertips instead of fingernails. Having this kind of heft in a device does give a certain amount of assurance in regards to its durability, but I don't plan to test this with a floor drop any time soon! :)

Sometime today there was another issue I came across with a smartphone, but it was not from the iMate Ultimate 9502. It was from my Nokia E90. While spending some time at Panera I wanted to take advantage of the free wifi available, so I attempted to login to the network on all of my available mobile devices: Nokia E90, iPhone and iMate Ultimate 9502. Whenever there is an attempt to log on to the Panera network, one is brought to a screen which prompts the user to press a hyperlink to gain access. While the iPhone and iMate had no trouble in accessing the wifi, the E90 ran into an issue where it could not get past the login screen and it remained in limbo. If it weren't for my installed SIM card granting access to AT&T's EDGE network, web surfing on the Nokia E90 at that moment would have been impossible. Oh well...one point for the iMate and zero for Nokia. :(

Another issue arose with the YouTube site access via Opera Mobile. YouTube had changed the format of its layout for the incoming messages board and for some reason I can no longer access it on the E90. Needless to say, this hampers my productivity with my smartphone usage and the Nokia S60 web browser is losing its luster...FAST! Little by little the charm is beginning to fade at this point from the E90 and it seems that none of its features can redeem it...except for the camera, widescreen and stereo speakers.

But at the same time I have to really sit back and evaluate my primary needs for an efficient smartphone. While the Windows Mobile Professional OS has MANY benefits which also include Mac synching via Missing Sync software, there is an allure from the Nokia E90's feature set that I cannot ignore. These features that I have come to be hooked on happen to no longer be needed in the grand scheme of my smartphone usage, especially since the purchase of my Canon PowerShot SD750. However, there is still the benefit of having a versatile convergence device in the E90 with both a qwerty and a numerical keypad.

Not to consider the iMate Ultimate 9502 to be the perfect candidate, there are some drawbacks with this device as well that must be addressed. The battery life is already questionable in comparison with the TyTN 2 due to 3G, I have found no available interface like that of the HTC home plug-in and I have noticed that the Google Maps My Location feature is not enabled on the 9502. But despite these negative points I do like the VGA resolution of the screen and Opera Mobile has never looked better even on the TyTN 2.

One more thing that puts me in a dilemma is whether or not the capability of the 9502 is worth the $850 paid to mobileplanet. The answer is an absolute no. While the VGA screen may be a worthwhile addition to any Windows Mobile device, this 9502 feels like a duplicate of my TyTN 2 and lacks innovation of models like the iPhone and the upcoming Xperia X1. As much as I would like to hold on to this thing, I think that it is all the best to let it go.

TRENT
Sent from my iMate Ultimate 9502

iMate Ultimate 9502 pictures