November 20th, 2006
i-mate JAQ3 is the world's thinnest Pocket PC Phone Edition
Credit: MoDaCo.com
There are several Windows Mobile Smartphone devices with QWERTY keyboards available today for you to choose from, including the Cingular Samsung Blackjack, T-Mobile Dash, Samsung i320, and Motorola Q. The Treo 700w and 700wx are Phone Edition devices with this type of keyboard arrangement, i.e. not requiring you to slide open the display, but there haven't been many other competitors with this type of form factor. Arne at the::unwired posted an announcement for the i-mate JAQ3 Phone Edition device that is available now from the i-mate website in the Middle East. This device is not to be confused with the ugly and strange i-mate JAQ device that was released a few months ago. I highly recommend you check out the MoDaCo.com review of the UBiQUiO 501, which is the same device as the JAQ3.
I have been getting by fine with my T-Mobile Dash and the non-touch screen Windows Mobile Smartphone OS, but at times I do miss the fully functional Pocket PC Phone Edition power and the JAQ3 looks like a good alternative. It is the thinnest Pocket PC Phone Edition currently on the market and has integrated WiFi and Bluetooth 1.2. Strangely though, it only supports GPRS for data which is probably the Achilles heel since EDGE is available just about everywhere today and GPRS is a bit too slow. The device comes from TechFaith Wireless, who is a fairly new competitor to HTC.
Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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