The end of the Road for i-mate

Earlier this year, i-mate laid off all of their US staff, and as of a couple days ago they have notified the remaining staff that they would be taking an indefinite unpaid leave. That can’t be a good sign. i-mate busted onto the scene in early 2003 with a rebranded version of HTC’s Tanager.  They spent the next 3 years selling rebranded versions of HTC’s devices. Since the relationship between i-mate and HTC fell apart in 2006, i-mate has struggled to design and manufacture quality smartphone devices. Their most recent device was set to go on sale in August but never shipped to partners. According to ITP.net, the Dubai office is locked and calls to the company are not being answered.

While I’m not really surprised to hear this news, it does make me a little sad that one of Microsoft’s original partners in the mobile space is no longer able to operate.  It’s clear that they made some poor decisions and the breakup with HTC didn’t work out as nicely as it should have. Ultimately, i-mate was the primary source of many of my devices in the early days.  They were known for getting devices out the door quickly while still offering quality products.  They didn’t have the extra time spent dealing with carriers requirements and customizations. So they could get the phones out and in your hands faster.

In recent years it’s been pretty hard to get your hands on an i-mate device in North America. If you did manage to get your hands on a device, you ended up paying a pretty hefty premium for it. Carrier branded devices became significantly cheaper to own – even if you bought the phone outright.

Goodbye i-mate.

About Mike Temporale

Mike Temporale has written 497 posts on Mobile Jaw..

Mike Temporale grew up fascinated by computers since an early age. His first hands on with a computer came when he was 7 years old and a travelling lab of Commodore PET computers made a stop at his school. Hooked on the new world these devices offered, he took any chance possible to get in front of a computer. When Compaq launched the iPaq 3600, he was hooked again. This time on a whole new world of mobile computing. Today, Mike spends his day helping clients deploy and manage their mobile device around the world. From installing custom software, to locking and securing data, and everything in between. He is also the Editor in Chief at Mobile Jaw - a site focused on today's mobile world.

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