You might remember long-time Windows Mobile player i-mate shutting down shop in Dubai a few weeks ago. It happened in a fairly abrupt way, and now we know why. CEO Jim Morrison claims to have been the victim of a $15 million fraud committed by one of his board members.

“This is the first time I have ever wanted to murder someone. Eight years of my life I put into this. Personally, I have lost about $6m cash.”

Yow. All 120 employees have been laid off as a result, and it’s seeming unlikely that i-mate will be able to recover from this grievous blow. Those of you packing an i-mate, it may be time to seal that sucker up and save it as a collector’s item.

[Arabian Business via Cellular-News]

i-mate, a long-time Windows Mobile phone dealer, has shut down its UAE offices and laid off all staff. We had seen these guys with new, working products at MWC, and shipping orders were being made, but apparently retail partners have been told privately that i-mate is now out of business. The closure wasn’t entirely uncalled-for – between delisting from the UK stock market, execs resigning, and US layoffs, this is a long time coming. It’s too bad we’ll never see how their tough smartphone would have done in the market, but honestly, it’s the i-mate girls I’ll miss most of all.

[ITP via Engadget]

Windows Mobile smartphone maker, i-mate, has recently announced that its Windows Mobile smartphones are hitting Uruguay. As part of its partnership with distributor and vendor LAOR, the handset maker will offer its Ultimate range of devices to ANCEL customers (mobile division of ANTEL), Uruguay’s leading telecommunication company.

Together, the companies have introduced i-mate’s popular smartphones to the country, including Ultimate 8150 and Ultimate 9502. Both devices are positioned on the high-end spectrum, packing such things as WiFi, GPS, large screens, FM radio, QWERTY keyboard, and more.

Commenting on the announcement, i-mate’s CEO Jim Morrison said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer i-mate mobiles to customers in Uruguay for the very first time. i-mate products are amongst the most advanced and fastest mobiles available in the world. In fact, there is no other mobile available today that can match the extent of functionality in every i-mate Ultimate mobile.”

The model name for i-mate’s upcoming super-slim Windows Mobile smartphone conjures up images of an American Express credit card. And so it should. The not-yet-announced i-mate Centurion’s name is something of an ode to the credit card that inspired its size and form-factor. Barely thicker than half a deck of playing cards and almost exactly the same dimensions as your run-of-the-mill credit card, the i-mate Centurion is one small, yet powerful, smartphone. In fact, the Centurion is the new world’s smallest Windows Mobile smartphone!

i-mate was gracious enough to give us a sneak peek at this upcoming smartphone. Still recovering from the PR debacle that was the Ultimate smartphone lineup, i-mate is looking to regain credibility in a mobile market that had threatened to leave them behind with their Ultimate series smartphones.

Despite its almost impossibly small frame, the i-mate Centurion packs a respectable wallop. The full QWERTY keyboard underscores the Centurion’s draw a a fully-featured Windows Mobile smartphone. And, given the small size of the handset, the Centurion’s display was surprisingly usable and well-proportioned to the rest of the device. The camera on the backside was said to be of the 3-megapixel variety, although we didn’t have a chance to test it out.

The Centurion is still in development, as evidenced by the ill-fitting plastic pieces that belied its hand-made nature. i-mate says they’re aiming to go live with the i-mate Centurion by early Summer 2009, and will be pushing for a $550 price point.

If you’re looking for a teeny-tiny Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone that might just fit in your wallet (granted it’s big enough) with all the functionality of bigger, brick-like smartphones, the i-mate Centurion is a sure thing.

i-mate will most likely introduce a new device at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The so called Hummer will wear “810-F” badge and will sport such things as Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard edition, HSDPA support, QVGA screen, GPS, WiFi, full QWERTY keyboard, 2 megapixel camera, and a 624MHz CPU. As always, the trick is in the details, which for this occasion include rubberized housing and some hex screws. As a result this is one of the most rugged smartphones available on the market, and also comes with a lifetime warranty.

The exact release date is unknown at this stage, and so is the price. Something tells me that life-long guarantee will reflect on your wallet, though…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

If HTC (TouchFLO 3D), Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) (Xperia Panels), Samsung (TouchWiz) and Asus (Glide) can have their own customized UI apps that sit on top of Windows Mobile, so can i-mate. The idea is of course to make smartphones running Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s mobile OS easier to use for an average user.

That being said, recently we’ve spotted i-mate releasing an UI app for its line of Windows Mobile smartphones called i-mate Go, which is based on the VITO Winterface and which honestly reminds us on iPhone’s UI. It features large, colorful icons and is easy to personalize (you can check our previous post about Winterface from here).

The new UI will be shipping with new devices, and in the meantime owners of Ultimate 9502, Ultimate 8502, Ultimate 8150, Ultimate 6150 and JAMA 101 models are advised to grab it and make their devices easier to use. Here’s a link to the page on i-mate’s website from where they can grab i-mate Go.

[Via: PhoneArena]

We’ve almost missed this one, but since it’s important, we’re running it nonetheless.

Apparently, while HTC’s marketshare and profits are rising, things are not going that smoothly for the Windows Mobile smartphone maker – i-mate. Recently, the company’s CEO Jim Morrison stated that they plan to have the company de-listed from London’s AIM stock exchange and effectively make it privately owned. This move will save i-mate some $2 million in listing expenses.

Back in March, i-mate laid off most of its U.S. staff in an effort to cut costs and the company recently reported a loss of $10.8 million for the prior 6 month period. The U.S. offices were established as part of a planned assault on the North American market that never materialized…

[Via: MobileBurn]

i-mate’s Ultimate lineup of mobile phones is definitely a mobile enthusiasts wet dream. At least in theory. With no US wireless carrier-support and nary an FCC seal of approval to speak of, i-mate hasn’t exactly broken into the US high-end handset market. So, no matter how high-end the i-mate Ultimate lineup may be, there’s just that little issue of getting the handset into consumer hands.

But, that may all change with the FCC’s approval of the i-mate Ultimate 8502 Windows Mobile Professional-powered handset. As evidenced by the FCC’s label to the right, the Ultimate 8502 has been cleared for duty in the US by the almighty FCC.

The i-mate Ultimate 8502 boasts a veritable what’s what of high-end mobile phone features that any true cellphone lover can appreciate. Features like HSDPA/HSUPA (in other words, HSPA), GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 2 megapixel camera, TV-out, and QWERTY keyboard secures the i-mate Ultimate 8502 a spot among the Windows Mobile smartphone elite.

The candybar form-factor is sure to appeal to the broadest possible mobile phone market, so it makes sense that i-mate decided to push this particular Ultimate handset through the FCC’s labs. It would be nice to see the i-mate Ultimate 9502 get the FCC’s nod of approval – with a full-VGA display and 3 megapixel camera, the Ultimate 9502 is a monster of handset.

Still, it’s nice to see i-mate making some headway into the US market with the Ultimate 8502.

FCC

We’ve been waiting for i-mate to get their Ultimate lineup up and running for some time now. The Ultimate devices are ready to rock, but delays and carrier resistance has caused i-mate to miss its target window for a US launch.

i-mate was banking on the Ultimate lineup of handsets bringing them out of the semi-obscurity they’ve always enjoyed and into the global limelight. Their Ultimate devices are impressive (if a bit homely), but it’s been a long time in getting those devices out to the public. In fact, it seems that it’s been too long in coming.

With  costs mounting and revenues failing to keep up, i-mate has reportedly served pink-slips to most of its US division. Last Friday, i-mate chopped the entire engineering, QA, and tech writing departments off the i-mate payroll – leaving only a barebones staff to run the i-mate online portal in hopes of more US-sales. Even the Chief Software Officer and VP of Sales and Marketing took a walk after the massive employee firing on Friday.

The Ultimate 8502 and Ultimate 9502 are serious players in a crowded smartphone market, we hope i-mate stays around long enough in the US to prove themselves.

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

Remember new i-mate Ultimate 8502 and 9502 smartphones? Well, it’s Autralia-based Telstra that will be the first mobile operator to carry them. The two companies have reached an agreement under which Telstra’s customers will get an unfair advantage over the rest of us to try out the new super powerful Windows Mobile smartphones. In addition, Telstra also scored exclusive rights to exclusively offer the two devices on the continent. Too bad the first few people that buy either the Ultimate 8503 or 9502 will have to spend a small fortune — AUD$999 and AUD$1099 respectively — to own them. That’s starting from “early March” this year when they actually hit Telstra and their Licensed Shops…