A phone and computer in one
Written: Feb 22 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful. Smaller than expected. Great audio, wifi, Bluetooth and EDGE connectivity.
Cons: Could have a faster processor and more built-in memory.
The Bottom Line: An beautiful expensive toy/productivity tool but worth it if you like the best of what is out there right now.
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| mbridges30's Full Review: i-mate K-jam Smartphone |
After years of dealing with the frustration of juggling between cell phone and PDA, I bought a Palm Treo 600. It was ok (not great) until my daughter decided to take it for a bath.
I looked around for a suitable replacement and was eyeing the Treo 700w, but it wasn't going to be released in Canada for ages. Another option was the HP 6715, but there was no information on its release date.
After looking at various good review sites(geek.com and mobiletechreview.com) I decided that the i-mate K-JAM looked like a good option: the slide out keyboard was an interesting alternative to the Treo mini-keyboard, the screen was large and Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) had been getting pretty good reviews. So I plunked down my US$700 and purchased a unit from GBTMobile.com.
These units are in high demand, so it took 2 weeks of waiting to receive it, but when I did finally get the K-JAM, I was extremely impressed.
The form factor is small, but thick to accommodate the keyboard, and the design is beautiful. The screen size makes the Treo and HP 6515 look very skimpy. The screen change from portrait to landscape when the keyboard is opened is very cool. WM5 is great and is very similar to the Windows PC software and includes mobile versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint (just transfer your regular files off your computer and voila).
One of the coolest features that I hadn't expected was the audio and video functions. This is a very souped-up mp3 player and even streams audio over the 802.11g Wifi connection. Why would you spend $500 on a video iPod when you can get this for $700?
I initially didn't even have a data plan with my service provider (Rogers) and just surfed and streamed from home and work. With the EDGE data over wireless network, you can browse the internet and listen to audio streams as well. The phone is unlocked for use with any GSM provider.
Although the phone comes bundled with the free VoIP software Skype, it doesn't really work because of inadequate processor power.
As you probably can tell, I love the phone, and really no longer need to fire up my laptop any more when I'm away from the office. Having said that, I am a geek and bought this for the fun of it, not as a power user or business road warrior. However, I have been in the past, and I would say that this would easily go head-to-head and probably exceed anything that Palm, HP or RIM has on the market now.
My only complaints are that at 200mhz, this isn't the fastest kid on the block, but it is adequate for most of the functions available on the phone (except Skype). The case that the phone comes with is useless, and I bought a pretty good custom leather case from a PDAir supplier in Hong Kong (around $17). The built-in memory is skimpy, but easily overcome with a 1 or 2GB mini-SD card.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 700
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Epinions.com ID:
mbridges30
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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