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Until recently, Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices had to have
screen of between 3.5" and 4.0". The i-mate JAM (HTC
Magician) is the first
device to scale the screen size down while keeping the standard 240x320
resolution. The screen is only 2.8" diagonally, making its size
dramatically smaller than any of its Pocket PC Phone Edition
competitors. This makes the JAM a sleek and small device that is
not much bigger than an average cell phone. The JAM still packs all
the features of Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Phone Edition
with a similar user experience. The JAM is the first Pocket PC
Phone Edition device that actually has allowed users to replace their
phone with a PDA/Phone combo device that does not require huge
pockets. A special thanks goes out to "Convergent
Technology", who has continued to supply me with i-mate products to
review.
Basic Internals
The i-mate JAM is built around the Intel Bulverde (XScale)
processor running at 416 MHz. The device is powered by Windows
Mobile 2003 Second Edition, and provides 64 MB of RAM and 64 MB of ROM
to the user. The JAM is a PDA/Phone combo device and includes
tri-band GSM/GPRS wireless. Also included is Bluetooth and an SDIO
slot. The battery holds 1200 mAh of power and the screen displays
16-bit color at 240x320 pixels but is only 2.8 inches. The device
includes a 1.3 mega pixel camera. It is 4.25" x 2.28" x 0.71" and
weights 5.29 ounces.
Device Style
In some ways, the JAM looks like a mini PDA2k. The
front face has a metallic finish on it and is rounded on the corners to
create a sleek look. The screen takes up most of the front face of
the device, with the speaker for the phone at the top and a simple set
of buttons grouped together at the bottom (two buttons for phone
control, two quick launch buttons, and a rounded square directional pad
with a separate action button). On one side of the device is the
power button, IrDA port, and the stylus, which is rather hidden in the
groves on the sides. The sides are grooved for gripping.
Personally I would have rather had the power button on the other side as
when I was holding the device, I tended to want to press the power
button with my right thumb instead of my pointer finger. The other
side has the up/down control and two buttons, one for camera controls
and the other for voice recording or quick launch. The up/down
control is a particularly awkward slider and I did not find to to be
very useful for navigation. Instead I used the more powerful
directional pad. On the
top of the device is the SDIO slot as well as a spot to hook a wrist
band if you are worried about dropping your device. The bottom of
the device has a standard mini USB port for syncing and a port for a
headset. On the back of the device is the 1.3 mega pixel camera
with mirror and the removable battery with a SIM card slot underneath. In
all, the device is about the size of my palm. I have big hands,
but for most people the size of the device makes it very easily
graspable, especially in comparison to larger Phone Edition devices.
As a PDA
Initially, the JAM does not exactly look like a PDA. It seems a little too small to actually be a Pocket PC device...though
maybe that is just because I am so accustom to "larger" devices. At first you may expect it to simply have a lower screen resolution,
allowing for less to appear on the screen, but the resolution is the
same so the same amount can fit on the screen, but it is just smaller
than a standard Pocket PC screen. While this nice for size, it can
create some problems with it comes using the JAM as a PDA. The JAM
is very easy to hold which makes it good for being able to write and
tap, but the smaller screen means precision is important. It takes
some getting used to to be able to tap precisely on some of the smaller
buttons. Also, if you plan to use a writing converter like
Transcriber, the screen size is significantly reduced so less can be
written before space runs out on screen. I sometimes have problems writing big words on a standard
Pocket PC's screen, so I had similar trouble with the JAM, but at least
I was able to use the functionality of Windows Mobile 2003 Second
Edition to turn the screen into landscape mode. The on screen
keyboard has the numbers removed to make the keys bigger for
tapping. Also some of the other keys are moved for the same
reason, so going from a "larger screen" Pocket PC to the JAM can be
slightly confusing if the on-screen keyboard is used as the input
method.
As a Phone
One thing that makes the JAM a very appealing device as
a phone is the size. Until the JAM, PDA/Phone combo devices have
been rather larger, especially in a comparison with a standard cell
phones. The size of the JAM makes it very easy to hold, even in a
long conversation. Its weight is about the same as a standard cell
phone. When using it as a phone, I found that it was a little
difficult to find exactly where the speaker was in comparison to my ear.
After using the PDA2k which has a very defined speaker, I would have
hoped i-mate would have made the speaker more than just a little slit at
the top. My standard cell phone has a speaker that is simply a
slit and I hate it. However, the sound quality of the JAM is
pretty good. You can hear relatively clearly. The microphone
is also good and well placed for getting a good signal back to the
person on the other end of the line. The unprotected screen was
mildly problematic because users like me which hold the phone up against
there face may tend to tap the screen while talking. Also the
screen would get oils on it which had to be wiped off. This can of
course be remedied by not holding the phone as closely your face, but it
is something to be aware. Another method for solving the problem
is to use a headset. The JAM come with a stereo headset, but
before trying that one I tried a mono headset I had from another
Smartphone. Interestingly, it did not work like it should have as
the JAM still used its own microphone (not the headsets) and after eight
minutes the call was disconnected. A very interesting bug to say
the least. The JAM does not have a button keypad like a standard
cell phone which means all dialing must be done from the touch screen.
In some situations I found having to dial on the screen, particularly on
the small sized screen of the JAM, annoying. Dialing by contacts
is another method for dialing. I found this to be a lot better
method for calling at least the known contacts.
Expandability
The i-mate JAM includes one SDIO card slot, which allows
primarily for memory and WiFi expansion cards. I used the SanDisk
Connect 256 MB + WiFi card for connecting the JAM to my WiFi network
when I was at home or near and access point. This allowed me to
use WiFi instead of the cellular data networks. It would have been
nice if they WiFi were included like the Bluetooth, but I suppose there
need to be something to add in the next edition of the JAM. What I
do like is that SDIO was included as opposed to miniSD like with the i-mate
SP3 and SP3i Smartphones. This makes it easier to add expansions
other than just memory. Bluetooth also helps with expandability.
I was able to use the JAM with a Sony Ericsson Bluetooth headset instead
of having to use the included wired connector.
Camera
While the camera is a 1.3 mega pixel camera, it
is only 4.8mm which means it has a very small lens. This makes
picture clarity not great, but ok. It is good enough if are
viewing the pictures on the device, but the pictures are not really of
printable quality or viewing on a larger screen. While it is a
Pocket PC device and not strictly a phone, the camera quality is about
the same as any other camera phone. Below you can see examples of
two pictures I took. The first was taken indoors and the other
outdoors.
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One thing that is really
cool about the camera on the JAM is the software that comes with it.
The camera application runs full screen. No task bar at the top,
completely full screen, making the whole screen one big view finder.
This makes complete sense because Pocket PC devices have such large
screens, the whole thing would really be utilized instead of just a
small portion.
Screen, Battery, and More
Screen readability is very important, and with the
smaller screen size on the JAM, there is a question if the screen is big
enough for easy readability and quality. One nice feature is the
ability to change the font size. Because the resolution is the
same as other Pocket PC devices, the same amount of information will fit
on the screen, but it will all just be smaller. This does mean
that the quality is better as there are more pixels per inch. The
screen is very vibrant, which is important at least in my book. It
is also important to me that I can run my device with a slightly lower
brightness level than the top setting. I was able to do that with
the JAM successfully in almost any conditions. The only time my
screen was at full brightness was when the camera forced it to be.
This also means a better battery life for the device. Power was
not a major problem while using the JAM. I was able to use the JAM
for about three days with moderate use. If I was using it more
throughout the day and working on WiFi networks with an additional SDIO
card, the battery life would of course be less. Unlike many
devices currently on the market, the JAM using a standard mini USB
connection for both power and syncing. When doing the review I did
not even need to take the cable out of the package since I already had
one for use with another device. While you cannot connect USB
accessories, I think it is important they used a standard connection
type that is not proprietary to only the JAM or the i-mate product line.
Also included in a box is a simple case, which is great for a variety of
applications. It is almost exactly the same as the case for the
SP3. Some may not like it because it can be hard to get the device
out of the case as it holds it in very tightly. Finally, on the
device there is additional software, including modem software (to use
the phone as a modem), fax software, xBackup, and photo contact
software.
Final Thoughts
The i-mate JAM packs a powerful punch and puts a huge
dent in the PDA/Phone combo device market. The JAM is small and
sleek, fitting most users size requirements, and features a full
resolution touch screen with all the power of Windows Mobile 2003 Second
Edition. The device does not include WiFi, which many users may
not like, though expandability options are available to add WiFi to the
device. The JAM was a well thoughtout and successfully deployed
product. It fits a need in not only the PDA/Phone combo market,
but also in the general PDA market as well. Priced at just under
$650 at retailers like "Convergent Technology", the i-mate JAM is a relatively expensive
device in the PDA market, but an extremely competitive device in the
PDA/Phone market. You will likely not find a better device for the
money that is able to fit as easily into your pocket as the i-mate JAM.
Dave's Score - 9.0
This means, this product is about as close to
"the best" as you can get. This product embodies
quality in its design and application, and is something I would use.
Though you still should consider it for yourself, most would
probably be happy with this product even if they were unable to try
it prior to purchase.
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