Blog posts tagged with 'imate'

So our search for the Nirvana Smartphone, or companion device at CTIA 2008 comes to an end with this post.  Our friends at i-mate have gotten us another device to put through the Hotel Acid Test.  In this case an i-mate Ultimate 9502.  I'll let you check out the full specs on their website, but this device packs VGA 640x480 resolution onto a 2.8" screen.  The clarity of the screen is very good, allowing you to clearly read the text, but again, some may need to pull out the reading glasses when not connected to an external monitor.  Stand-alone pics below: 

Pic 1: 9502's browser connected to Web Interface.

Pic 2: 9502 connected to a published desktop.

So how did it do in our Hotel Acid Test, not bad.  While the VGA resolution is a little tight on the native screen, it works well when output to a larger monitor.  As with the 6150, there is no noticeable latency when outputting the video to the TV.  The 9502 uses a RCA audo video cable to output to the external monitor, and it's not quite as clear as the 6150 which uses a VGA cable, but still very usable.  The icons are a little fuzzy, but I'm having not problem using this setup.  You also get a fade-in effect of the letters when typing, but again, not a big deal IMO.  Again, the network connection is 3G WWAN on ATT, and latency while using Word is not an issue at all, very responsive. 

Pic 3: 9502 connected to hotel TV using RCA audo/video cable. 

You are currently limited to the 640x480 resolution even when attached to an external monitor, which is fine for most Win32 apps, or desktops.  But it sure would be nice to have 1024x768 or larger functionality down the road.  The VGA 640x480 resolution could also be less than optimal if connecting to an overhead projector while giving a presentation. 

But in general, I'm liking this device as well.  Seems to have a good mix features that's making using it with XenApp for this post rather comfortable.  Very quick and responsive as I'm typing this post.  Maybe not the ultimate Nirvana Smartphone, but definitely a potential contender in today's market.  I can definitely see certain road warriors leaving their laptop at home if they have this in their pocket. 

Being this is my last post, I had to try my favorite test on a mobile device, viewing a 3D AutoDesk design from XenApp on a mobile device over ICA, you gotta love SpeedScreen!  We gotta get another video of this demo out, but this time running to an external monitor!  A still shot shown below. 

Pic 4: AutoDesk Design Review delivered by XenApp to the 9502 output to the hotel TV.  I cut the flash on this pic so the screen didn't wash out as much. 

Unfortunatley, you get not sense of the performance with a still pic.
Got some comments on this use case, give us your feedback. 

The next find on our quest for the Nirvana Smartphoneis the i-mate Ultimate 6150 (i-mate 6150 web site) shown below.   The 6150's native screen resolution is VGA 640x480, making it natively more suitable for displaying Win32 apps via XenApp than most QVGA screens. 

Pic 1: 6150's browser connected to Web Interface ready to authenticate.  

Pic 2: 6150 running a full published desktop at 640x480.  I probably should have cleaned the screen before taking the picture

So what makes the 6150 a Nirvana Devicecandidate (Original Nirvana Device Post), it's got video output natively built into the device.  The 6150 comes with a VGA adapter cable that connects into the side of the device, so you can then connect it to a monitor that accepts VGA input.  The 6150 comes with software that when activated changes the device resolution to 1024x768, turns the 6150's screen into a touchpad mouse and displays the 1024x768 output to the connected monitor.  Unfortunately, the cable that I have with my demo device is only about 4ft long and did not reach to the table that was working from, so I'm using my Bluetooth mouse and keyboard instead.  Might be something for the i-mate team to look at. 

Pic 3: 6150 External output software.

Pic 4: 6150 connected to the hotel's flatscreen TV, running a published desktop from XenApp.  MS Word is open and I'm working on this text using this setup.  The 6150 is the at the base of the TV in this pic.

All of the work to create this post will be using the 6150 connected to a published desktop in my hotel room using the flat screen TV as an external monitor (except for photo resizing which I will do with my OQO, being I don't have photo shop installed on our XenApp demo server).   Seems like a real world use case to me.

In general, I like the 6150, and it is the closest device I've gotten my hands on to date to hit Chris Fleck's Nirvana deviceconcept.  Personally, I like devices to have a QWERTY keyboard on the native device as well, and I hope to get a chance to try the i-mate 8150 down the road, which does have a QWERTY and VGA out capability.  I also like the fact that the VGA feature is native to the device, so I don't need to carry anything extra but the VGA cable.  Flip side is that unlike the Redfly (Celio Redfly post), if I don't have a monitor handy, let's say in the airport, I'm restricted to the native screen of the 6150.  Hey, if i-mate gives me a really long cable, maybe I can plug into one the TVs in the airport that always running CNN

So how do I rate the 6150 as a Nirvana device candidate, again I give it an "I like it".  I think I'd like the 8150 even better with the QWERTY keyboard, but in terms of it being a smartphone that I can run XenApp applications natively and then attach it an external monitor to extend the usability, it passes my initial hotel acid test.  At the end of the day, a Nirvana SmartPhoneis a personal choice.  So if you're interested in the concept, I'd say that the i-mate 6105 is one to have a look at. 

As always, give us your feed back on this topic.  I've got a few more entries on more devices from the show to come.  Hopefully one will be the Nirvana Smartphone you're looking for to use with XenApp or soon XenDesktop, and you can leave the laptop at home on that next business trip.  As with all of the devices being tried, we will get some more hands on time with them when I get back to FTL.  We'll try and update if we find anything new.