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I-mate Jam
The first thing you'll notice
about the I-mate Jam is that it lacks a QWERTY keyboard. But
while the I-mate Jam is definitely a smart phone, as its name
suggests, this baby is all about multimedia. We got our hands on
an unlocked version of this triband (GSM 850/1800/1900) smart
phone and, using a Cingular Wireless SIM card, were able to put
it through its paces. The lack of a dedicated keyboard took some
acclimation and is destined to be a point of conflict, but we
were happy once we were up and running. Compared to other I-mate
products, the Jam feels good and sturdy in your hand, and since
there's no dedicated keyboard taking up room, there's tons of
space for its huge screen. Shipping with Windows Mobile 2003 SE,
the Jam has Mobile Media Player 10.0, which makes getting
multimedia content onto the device a cinch. Kudos aside, since
the I-mate Jam has yet to get picked up by a carrier here in the
States, you'll pay a premium for it. At the time of this
writing, unlocked phones are going for upward of $600, but if a
carrier ever picks it up, it will be less expensive with a
service agreement.
Design
Compared to the I-mate SP3i, the I-mate Jam's overall shape is
reminiscent of a traditional PDA's, albeit one on the smaller
side (108mm by 58mm by 18.1mm). The I-mate Jam's most striking
feature is its large screen: 2.8 inches diagonally or 240x320
pixels with support for 65,000 colors. It also has a sleek
silver and black design, and we had no problem fitting the Jam
in a pants or even a shirt pocket.
Below the screen is a five-way toggle that is flanked on its
left with a Talk key, and in turn, a dedicated key to access
your contact information sits below it. To the right of the
toggle is the End key, and further down, you'll find a calendar
button. Because the Jam is a full-fledged PDA, you'll do most of
your navigating with the included stylus. For text input, the
I-mate Jam has a soft keyboard that pops up when you activate a
feature that requires data input.
To make a call, you simply hit the Talk button; Windows Mobile's
phone interface pops up, and you use the stylus to tap the
numbers. While some users find this annoying, others don't mind
it at all. As for the other controls, on top of the device is
the SD slot. On the right side is the power button, the sleeve
for the stylus, and the IR port. On the left side is the camera
button, a volume rocker, and a key to activate the voice
recorder. On the back of the device, you'll find the lens for
the 1.3-megapixel camera and a tiny mirror for taking
self-portraits. On the bottom are the USB port and the minijack
for the included stereo earbuds that ship with the device. As
with other smart phones, the headphone jack doesn't accept
standard headphones.
We like that the Jam's battery can be charged through your
computer's USB port or with the included power adapter. The
device also comes with a belt holster and stereo earbuds that
let you listen to music, watch videos, or talk hands-free.Features
Running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, the I-mate Jam
boasts all of the PIM applications you'd expect from Windows
Mobile-based PDA (address book, calendar, in-box, and so on) and
Pocket versions of Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer. Since the
Jam is a multimedia smart phone, we were pleased that it shipped
with Mobile Media Player 10.0 Mobile, which provides for
seamless integration with the desktop version of Media Player
10.0. Additionally, Media Player 10.0 Mobile is capable of
playing WMV and WMA files (video and audio, respectively), as
well as MP3s, and it supports album art. While the Jam's screen
is nice in and of itself, you can switch it from Portrait to
Landscape mode on the fly, which is often handy for viewing
multimedia content or taking landscape pictures.
The I-mate Jam's 1.3-megapixel camera can capture still photos
in four resolutions: 1,280x960, 640x480, 320x240, and 160x120.
The camera also sports several brightness settings, including
auto, incandescent, fluorescent, and night. Users can also add
special effects such as Sepia, Grayscale, Cool, or Negative. The
camera is capable of shooting video in 320x240, 176x144, and
128x96 resolutions, and the same effects are available with
still images and videos; the latter is saved in either MPEG-4 or
Motion-JPEG AVI.
Once you're done shooting your masterpieces, you can send them
via MMS or e-mail; transfer them to your computer via IR or
Bluetooth; or save them to the SD card and transfer them that
way. You can also assign photos to contacts. Photo quality was
about what we expected. They're fun but not necessarily
printworthy. And since the Jam lacks a flash, shots taken in
dark environments left much to be desired.
The I-mate Jam ships with 128MB of shared memory. It's billed as
a multimedia device, and we would have preferred it to ship with
more internal memory or at least an SD card, though the 128MB of
memory is more than enough for your PIM data. Similar to its
little brother, the I-mate SP3i, the Jam didn't ship with
integrated Wi-Fi. It does, however, have Bluetooth and an IR
port. Since we tested an unlocked model, the Bluetooth
functionality wasn't hobbled. Additionally, the I-mate Jam ships
with a speakerphone that you can activate once a call is in
progress.
One issue with buying an unlocked smart phone is that you don't
necessarily benefit from being able to simply use a wireless
provider's connectivity software right out of the box (think
Cingular Xpress Mail). Of course, if your company runs GoodLink
or Exchange ActiveSync, this isn't a problem. Also, if you need
it for only POP mail, then you're good to go.
Performance
We tested the triband (GSM 900/1800/1900) I-mate Jam in the San
Francisco Bay Area using Cingular Wireless service, and call
quality was good on both ends. The included stereo headset was
great for both phone calls and listening digital audio files. We
also appreciated being able to use a wireless Bluetooth headset.
We paired the I-mate Jam with the Logitech Mobile Freedom
Bluetooth headset with no problems. |
