I mate, the well-known specialists in Windows Mobile device solutions, has launched one of the most exciting revolutions in PDA phone design - the i mate JAM. Being rated as an award-winning product for the smallest PC Phone design, this i mate mobile phone is aluminium-crafted in a small, mid-tier device with an exceptional audio quality. However, despite offering owners access to online music and Internet, the tiny JAM hides a massive set of features in its small form.
Owners' first overall impressions about the JAM were even more that just positive. In fact, think of an average Pocket PC's size, then reduce it by about a third, and you have a general idea of the JAM's dimensions - for the record, 5.8cm wide, 10.8cm deep, 1.81cm high, and 160 g in weight. The QVGA touch-screen is somehow small at its 2.8in. across the diagonal, but it's much easier to prod at one-hand than larger screens, and measuring 240 x 320 pixels, it can be operated in both landscape and portrait orientation, thus displaying a clear, bright and sharp image even in the indoor conditions.
The JAM has an attractive silver appearance that feels solid and looks nice. There is a lot of surface around the screen that gives the device an elegant look. The amount of empty space in the phone's design obviously means that there is a shortage of buttons, however, it has everything you need - a 5-way directional pad, Pick Up and the Hang Up buttons, as well as buttons for calendar and contacts. On the one side you have the notes button and the camera button as well as a volume control. On the right side (looking at the front of the device) you will find the stylus silo. The stylus is weighted well and has an unusual black end that matches the rounded curves of the device. Forward of the stylus is the power button.
Even though it lacks a keyboard, the i mate JAM is powered by a 416MHz Intel XScale processor, 64 megs of RAM (of which 57.41MB is available to the user), Bluetooth, and SD slot supporting SDIO. The RAM is powered by a 7.6MB part of ROM that will inevitably be used for backing up data, so, if you're not a constant user of e-mail or SMS services, this i mate mobile phone could work well for you.
The phone is a tri-band GSM/GPRS unit, Bluetooth (1.2) compatible, and it comes with the usual set of Windows Mobile applications installed in ROM (like a fax application, Java support and Winddows Media Player 10), plus some extras from i-mate. It runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software which includes standard packages such as Pocket Outlook, Phone, Internet Explorer, MSN Messenger and Games.
Like all Pocket PC phones, the JAM can play MP3s using the included Windows Media Player 10, while its 1.3 megapixel digital camera and a small mirror for self-portraits sound really exciting (that's a very good resolution by phone standards)! The JAM shoots video in MP4 format and both the video and audio quality are very good. The i mate mobile phone has a large on-screen dialer application with numbers that are visible enough to dial using a finger. This screen has a call send/end button, a speed dial button, call history button and a hold button that appears when in a call. You can make calls with one press using the speed dial function - speed dial can hold up to 99 numbers (1 is assigned to voicemail).
The JAM's battery is impressive at its decent capacity of 1200 mAh. It lives under a large door on the back of the unit and when you slide that door down and off, a switch automatically turns off power to the PDA, ensuring that your data remains intact. This means that each time you remove the battery door, even if you don't take out the battery, the phone will reboot.
Now, you might ask yourself: what is it that makes this i mate mobile phone so special and unique when consumers have such a big choice? The answer is obvious - the size of this device makes it a "killer phone" for the average user who wants a smarter phone than normal, but does not want the software bulk of a full Pocket PC. All in all, the JAM seems to be a bridge between a smartphone and a handheld.