It’s a known fact that whatever PDA I get, you can be sure that we will get every type of accessory under the sun for it - since it’s a lot cheaper than pimping my Honda CRV, I spend whatever spare change I have on pimping my PDAs! Rawr!

Ok so here’s the latest to our “Pimp Your 8502″ edition, the iMate Ultimate 8502 Leather Case (Book Type). Like its flip type version already featured this week on the blog, you can use you iMate Ultimate 8502 while having it securely covered in the case. Unlike the flip type, it opens like a book.

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

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

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

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.

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!

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

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing, originally uploaded by Silvia de Luque.

So this is how I feel right now after calling up Telstra to find out “exactly” when the iMate Ultimate 9502 would be released. After being put on hold for 15 minutes, the Telstra sales consultant came back to me with the unofficial news (couldn’t find official news on the system but had word from another colleague keen to get his hands on a 9502) that Telstra would be releasing it in….April…

Maybe if I speak to someone who knows more it would help…time to dig up my little black book to see if I have any contacts in Telstra Mobile Products etc.

The wait continues…

[photopress:imate_9502_review_ubergizmo_image.jpg,full,centered]

UberGizmo have been able to get their hands an iMate Ultimate 9502 for review. The two outstanding attributes of the iMate 9502 for them were:

1. Video Display : 640×480 VGA
2. External Keyboard /Display Abilities : Apparently you can hook up an external USB Keyboard! Love the idea as it saves battery not having to use a bluetooth keyboard.

imate Ultimate 9502 Review on UberGizmo