I-Mate JAMA - Jammed !. Review on I-mate PDA Smartphone

Its a beauty - sleek - compact - smart - eye-catching - stylus operated - windows based PDA smartphone with a price that'll make you reach out for it..just 13,750/- with bill and 1 year warranty. Best thing for my college going kiddo who's another gizmo geek ( chip of the ole block )

Current-Update (03 March 2008 )Its finally working fine

so far after the 3 rd replacement. We lost the stylus and the battery got rotten within a Year. Replacement battery cost a whopping Rs.1500/- and a new stylus for Rs.300/-. Don't buy these I-Mates or HTC mobiles.Reasons below

(Update Sept 2007)Only hang up is that when you click

on the 'x' to close an open programme, it only minimises the

application which keeps running in the background and hogs up precious

memory. You try opening 2 or 3 applications and your cell will crawl.

Some geeks have found a solution to this issue and you can search for

the same on google.

Now, the last thing (warranty) is what you will definitely need if you wanna opt for this 'Jammed'device. Maybe, it was my pot luck that the piece I got was from a defective lot .. I got it replaced not once not twice but thrice in a span of just 15 days .. and that too from .. hold your breadth .. ALFA !

Battery talk time is the specifications shows 4 hours but tends to run out of juice much earlier if we use in GPRS mode (why else would I buy if I didn't plan to use GPRS on a PDA ?) Standby time is barely 36 to 48 hours.We have to recharge it almost every day.

Yes, ALFA, the hottest joint and a 'Mecca'for mobile phones at IRLA, Mumbai.and they were helpful as well as sympathetic (Did they have a choice ?) 'cause every second buyer of this device was coming back with a 'Jammed' device.

I did have to do a lot of running about from ALFA in IRLAto KAIZER Services at Crawford Market (their authorised service centre) which too were beseiged with so many frantic customers huffing and puffing up to their office with bewildered looks and ashen faces at the thought of good money going down the drain.

But, then again, we were pleasantly surprised when we were told that it would take about a couple of days to get these pieces declared DOA(Dead On Arrival) after which the retailers would replace them. It took 5 days to get the DOA approvals from the manufacturers (who I think have dumped these defective pieces into INDIA hoping to dispose off and encash as many as possible) But then the trickle of irritated and PDAsavvy customers trekking in with their complaints had them on their backfoot and being fully aware that INDIA is a market that cannot be ignored they had to relent and save face by accepting their manufacturing defects and replacing them quietly.

And remember they have quite surreptitously also started flooding the market with their products under an entirely new brand name also .. Dopod .. yes same manufacturers .. check out their websites and you will know what I am talking about https://dopod.com.

Oh and let me hazard another guess.. that other yummy looking HTC touch .. I wouldn't be surprised if its again the same guys..I won't bet on that .. but -just holler if you smell somethin' fishy !

More about this phone .. If you are aware of the death wish BLUE Screen of Windows 98 and ME and XP .. then you know what I am talking about .. these I-mate JAMA phones also gave me the same death screen to give me the jitters everytime they started to conk off.

And no amount of tweaking and reading the manuals and doing the soft re-set and then the hard re-setwould have any effect. In the end it was the pilgrimage to the retailer and the authorised dervice centre at Crawford Market that could only resolve the issue.

I also tried my Airtel prepaid internet ( just 15/- per day for unlimited GPRS) to check the browsing experience - its good but the screen is seemingly small to enjoy. At best, one can access and send urgent e-mails or MS Word and MS excel files.

I even tried their 24x7 365 days online help service - No response !

I then attempted their 'chat-on-line' for live help - No response !

I'd personally recommend NOKIA E61 ( about 9000/- bucks only ) for internet afficionados.

All Bill Gates has managed to do is spawn a generation of WINDOWS dependent desperadoes .. I guess its time to take a bite of the real McCoy .. Apple ! .. I mean the I PHONE - they are always a generation ahead.

If you have a better experience .. please share in the comments and your ratings. I will keep updating the review commensurate with my practical experience of this device ( I am still stuck with it )

Till then Buyer Beware !

Regards

Raja