The CEO of smart phone maker i-mate has spoken out over the company's recent troubles in Dubai and insisted that the business and brand will continue to live on.

UAE's i-mate closes down

At Mobius in Seattle there are on display all the Imates with the 6.1 version.

AkihabaraNews has the photos:
http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news_gallery.php?id=16010&img_name=Mobius_Seattle_006.jpg

Now let's see when we'll get the new Roms.

The x150 Ultimates waiting for some improvements can get their first official Rom Upgrades from www.imate.com.

It's the February 22nd version.

CTIA Wireless 2008 keynote speaker Robbie Bach, boss of MS’s Entertainment and Devices Division, announced the newest version of Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows mobile 6.1 in Las Vegas yesterday.

Most of the improvements are incremental, but support for System Centre Mobile Device Manager 2008, available immediately, and Exchange Server 2007 SP1, promises security akin to a desktop firewall. The aim is to drive large scale mobile phone deployment by businesses.

‘People want a single phone that’s flexible enough to meet their needs throughout the day,’ said Bach. ‘The innovations we’ve added to our Windows Mobile software ultimately make it easier to manage your world.’

Meanwhile, Microsoft came up with a big list of everyone who’s really into Windows Mobile 6.1 and the products are already using it:


• Mobile operators:

• Alltel Wireless: HTC PPC6800, HTC Touch

• AT&T: Samsung BlackJack II, MOTO Q 9h global, Pantech duo, AT&T Tilt by HTC

• Sprint: A new Palm Treo and updates for the Mogul by HTC, Touch by HTC, MOTO Q 9c, Samsung ACE

• T-Mobile International: T-Mobile MDA Ameo 16 GB, T-Mobile MDA compact IV


• Device-makers:

• ASUS: New phones including the P320, ZX1, P560, M536 and updates for the P527, P750, M930

• HTC: A new Touch Dual for the U.S. and updates for the AT&T Tilt, Touch by HTC, Mogul by HTC from Sprint, TyTN II

• i-mate: 8502, 9502, 8150, 6150

• Intermec: CN3

• Motorola: MOTO Q 9c, MOTO Q 9h global, MC70, MC9000

• Pantech: Pantech duo

• Samsung: BlackJack II

• Toshiba: Portégé G810,Portégé G910


Windows Mobile 6.1 will be available to mobile phone partners from Q2. The Explorer update will be available in Q3, and the first Windows Mobile phones with the new version installed by the end of 2008.

Here is the MobileCityOnline.com's stock alert:

Today's Date:
3/21/2008
Inventory Notification:
Now In Stock
Item # :
i-mate Ultimate 6150 Smartphone (unlocked)
Price:
$729.99
Dear Subcriber,

We are pleased to inform you that the  i-mate Ultimate 6150 Smartphone (unlocked) is now in stock. You are being notified because you signed up for our "Stock Alert" service for this item. Click on the link above to view and/or order this item on MobileCityOnline.com.

Custom i-Q
What is i-mate Custom i-Q™?

Custom i-Q is a FREE service to all i-mate ULTIMATE™ customers enabling the user to remotely customize their device from any PC with internet access.
Note: mobile operator charges will apply to Custom i-Q when customised build is sent to device over the air

Anyone want to see a beautiful 3d game on the WM6 ? Full HW acceleration ?

What game am I talking about ? It's about the Flame's original games: Siege and Call of Duty 2

The solution ... read and discuss here:
http://www.ultimates.biz/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=109&post_id=710#forumpost710

After a long wait we do have the ultimates roms. In two flavors too: English and Arabic

This means that Imate is really improving the user experience.

Let's see the improvements:
- improved battery to 6.5 hours of talk and 4.5 videocall
- faster wake-up from stand by
- xt9 for 8150 disabled by default
- improved Wireless Manager
- better WiFi, Bluetooth
- better responsivness when answering calls
- improved performance in terms of speed and stability.

HOWTO:
- get your specific ROM from ftp://ftp.xda-developers.com//Uploads/Upload/Official i-mate x150 Phase II ROM
- create a txt file romlocklist.txt with the IMEI and the rom lock code in this format: IMEIcode,ROMlockCode
- copy FIRST the romlocklist.txt then the eum file to your formatted SD card
- ensure you have at least 80% of battery before proceeding
- reset your device by using the camera+softreset combination
- wait for the restart/completion

Enjoy

Will there be new devices from i-mate in 2008 that we don't know of ? Probably..