Oh don’t you worry my fellow 8502 owners, we haven’t forgotten you!

If you’re sick of taking your iMate Ultimate 8502 out of the holster case everytime you use it, then you’ll be glad to see our newest addition to our catalogue – the iMate Ultimate 8502 Leather Case (Flip Type). Not only does it give your 8502 excellent protection when it’s in the case but also when you are using it!

Features of the Mr.Gadget iMate Ultimate 8502 Leather Case (Flip Type)

• Removable 360 degrees belt clip included
• Made from cowhide leather
• Opens and closes with magnetic studs,for ease of use
• White stitch finishing,making this case look more beautiful

iMate Ultimate 8502 Leather Case (Flip Type) @ Mr.Gadget Australia.

Attended ASUS’ Melbourne Roadshow yesterday and was able to get a spy-shot of the new ASUS Lamborghini ZX1 that is due for release here in Australia in the next couple of weeks. Don’t know why we weren’t officially allowed to take photos when there are photos of it all over the web…

Compared to my iMate Ultimate 8502, I found it to be slightly wider and thicker. The ASUS UI was also quite easy to use – very much like the HTC TouchFlo system with the interface optimised for finger-gestures. Jay Chu, ASUS Product Specialist, informed me that the ASUS Lamborghini ZX1 will come with everything a road-warrior needs: ASUS Bluetooth Headset and ASUS GPS software (using Sensis maps).

Summary of features of the ASUS ZX1 Lamborghini:

- Tri-Band HSDPA
- Quad-Band GSM
- 3 Mega Pixel Auto focus camera
- GPS built in
- QVGA Screen
- CPU 400MhZ
- 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM

Was hoping that this device would actually live up to its name and be the fastest on the market, however specs are on par with everything else currently on the market…

Here’s a picture of Ted Chen, Managing Director of ASUS Australia.

Our iMate Ultimate 8502 Screen Protectors have finally arrived and I’m now relieved to have some decent screen protection. Now I can finally do some serious stylus work!

Mr.Gadget designs and precision cuts each protector to the screen size of the iMate Ultimate 8502 PDA display. The screen protectors can be removed and reapplied without leaving any residue on the screen surface. Mr.Gadget guards against scratches, dust and fingerprints, providing a “Brand New” look for your mobile LCD display even after years of use.

Features of the Mr.Gadget Screen Protector for the iMate Ultimate 8502:

Lifetime Limited Warranty
We believe we have the best screen protectors in the market and back this claim with a Lifetime Limited Warranty. How many other screen protector brands offer this quality guarantee?

Anti-Scratch & Durable
Under normal daily usage, a could last for a long period of time without affecting its smoothness and transparency because of the stiffness of the SPUC material.

Incomparable Clarity
Mr.Gadget screen protectors are highly transparent screen protector which presents the highest resolution and most vivid colours of your LCD display.

Silicon Adhesive Coating
Glue-Free, silicon coated screen protector leaves NO RESIDUE when you remove it from your LCD display.

Tailor Made to your Device
The Mr.Gadget screen protector is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution; we have dimensions of your device so that it will fit perfectly to your LCD screen – NO TRIMMING or CUTTING required!


Washable and Reusable
Wash the Mr.Gadget screen protector with water to remove strong dirt. Dry the screen protector thoroughly before re-applying it back to the LCD screen. However, a piece of scotch tape/masking tape is very useful to remove minor lints and fingerprints that are left on the silicon-adhesive coating.

Smoothness
The Mr.Gadget screen protector is bubble-free when it is applied completely. Its glossy finish highly simulates the texture of the original LCD screen.

Order your iMate Ultimate 8502 Screen Protector : Mr.Gadget Australia

imate Ultimate 8502 photo, originally uploaded by mrgadget_oz.

Here’s a picture that I took with my iMate Ultimate 8502 as one of our readers said he was having problems with the inbuilt camera. I think it looks ok for a 2MegaPixel PDA camera!
I’ve been using it for the last 2 weeks mostly for Address Book contacts and it’s been fine.

Thoughts?

As many of your regular readers know, I have recently acquired an iMate Ultimate 8502. It is the best Windows Mobile I have had to date, mostly due to size, weight and inbuilt GPS.

For those looking to pimp their 8502 check out the links below:

1. Mr.Gadget iMate Ultimate 8502 Screen Protector
Comes with a 2-year warranty and will protect your screen from scratches and other damage. Silicon based, made in Japan and comes with cloth.

2. SPB Shell 2.0
Based on the TouchFlo, and works like a treat

3. Mr.Gadget iMate Ultimate 8502 USB Synch ‘n’ Charge Retractable Cable
From a tiny to 10cm to 1metre, bring this USB charge cable everywhere.

3. Cyberon Voice Commander
Better than Microsoft Voice Commander (MVC doesn’t work properly on 8502) and reads SMS and Emails too!

4. SPB Pocket Plus
Integrates well with SPB Shell and jazzes up the Today screen even more. I bought this particularly for the proper close app facility.

5. SPB GPRS Monitor
Measures amount of data downloaded so you can manage your tight data plan

6. Travroute CoPilot 7.0 GPS Software
Although Text-To-Speech is missing love the new interface

7. SPB Insight
Keep up to date with the latest news from your favourite sites. SPB Insight is a feed reader (RSS/Atom).

8. Free PocketPC Software
If you’re after free Windows Mobile, be warned it’s free so you get the good and bad, check this site out.
Even has a free Bible for those interested!

If you have any more you think I should add, comment below!

24 hours after unboxing my new iMate Ultimate 8502 I thought I’d make a video and share it with the world!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWqy-LN_PeY]

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I know, I know for the last couple of weeks I’ve been saying that I had my heart set on a iMate Ultimate 9502, but after revisiting the size and weight options I decided that the iMate Ultimate 8502 would be more suitable for me this time. I also liked the idea of not having to unclip my leather case to type out a detailed SMS or note. Besides the iMate Utimate 8502 has all the same specs without the slide-out keyboard with the bonus of being lighter and thinner.

So off I went at lunchtime to visit the only Telstra Store in Melbourne that had 8502s, Tshop Bourke Street. The 9502s are expected later this week. Kris, the Tshop assistant was helpful, organised my upgrade from my chunky JasJam and finally escape with the store’s first iMate Ultimate 8502.

Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5.0 took around 5 minutes to sync all my contacts, calendar, tasks and notes. All went smoothly without any hitches. Now comes the task of reinstalling all my software…Microsoft Voice Command will be my first!

First 2 hours impression:
Likes
- Clear sharp screen
- Thinness and lightness (compared to my Jasjam)
- Performance is responsive
- Little Joystick
- Tiny QWERTY keyboard is actually decent to use
- No crashes yet
- Not-cheap looking holster case
- Secure stylus that doesn’t slip out easily
- Side volume control buttons

Dislikes
- No GPS software packaged in
- Can’t find the reset hole
- Default Voice Dialling software is so eighties
- Want an extra button so I can assign Microsoft Voice Command to it
- Camera quality (need to take more photos)

John Chan from CNet gives us some insights into the soon-to-be-released iMate Ultimate 9502. On the upside, the abundant connectivity options, QWERY slide-out keyboard and VGA each get a tick. On the downside the i-Mate Ultimate 9502 weighs 200 grams – that’s 24 more grams than my current iMate Jasjam. Although heavier, it is 6mm thinner so it sort of balances things out. Looking forward to getting double the RAM (128MB) and ROM (256MB) on the 9502 too!

Here’s his summary on the iMate Ultimate 9502:

The i-mate Ultimate 9502 can possibly be the very definition of a top-of-the-line Windows Mobile handheld. One problem we have with it is that none of the devices in the Ultimate series are available. We can’t look at and judge the 9502 because there is no track record. As of now, i-mate cannot confirm the availability of the 9502 in our region yet, though we understand the company should be setting up shop in Asia Pacific very soon. Hopefully, the 9502 will come sooner rather than later so we can finally tell if its title is justified or just a self-proclaimed brag.

I’m sure John’s been informed that the iMate 9502 Ultimate will be in Telstra Shops this week.

We’re busily getting all iMate Ultimate 9502 accessories organised so I can pimp yours and mine!  Watch this space.

i-mate Ultimate 9502 Preview – CNET Asia

Two good sources have confirmed that the iMate Ultimate 8502 & 9502 will be available for purchase this coming Tuesday 25th March!

I tried calling the Bourke Street, Melbourne TShop so that I could reserve one but they’re like us…too busy to answer phones! We both need more staff!

Post a comment when you get yours to give us your first impressions. Don’t be shy.

Gizmodo Aus

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Ok word on the street is that iMate Ultimate 9502 & 8502 Windows Mobile PocketPCs are already in Telstra stores ready to go. Whether they’ve been put on the shelves yet is another mystery that will be revealed in what could be hours.

Until the Xperia X1 and Nokia N96 get officially released in Australia, this is the PocketPC / Phone of 2008…

Thank you Asian-Nikon Man for the tip!

Edit: 10/03/2008 I called up Telstra to confirm where I’m at with my current iMate JasJam contract. The good news is that I am ready for an upgrade, the bad news is that the consultant didn’t know the exact date when the iMate Ultimate 9502 will be released…will keep you posted.