Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/21/i-mate_jaq_inventec_mercury/
Smart phone supplier i-mate may have turned away from long-time device partner HTC for its next handset, it has emerged. Certainly, i-mate's next major launch, dubbed the Jaq, has appeared on a Hungarian retail site in all its as-yet-unannounced glory.
According to the retailer, called PDAmania (http://www.pdamania.hu/shop/shop.php3?do=2&prod_id=46968&catalog_id=82?www.reghardware.co.uk), the Jaq is based on a 200MHz Texas Instruments OMAP 850 and contains 64MB of RAM. The display's a 2.8in, 320 x 240 job. There's no Wi-Fi, but the handset does have Bluetooth 1.2 and a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio. Expansion comes courtesy of a MiniSD card slot, and there's a 1.3 megapixel camera on the back.
The Jaq weighs 160g including its 1,440mAh battery, and measures 12.2 x 7.1 x 2.2cm. The site says the device will retail in Hungary HUF99,916 (£245/$461/€361).
i-mate itself has yet to confirm the existence of the Jaq or its spec.
The fact that Jaq isn't an HTC-made device goes back to a US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing made by device manufacturer Inventec in February this year. The filing detailed a smart phone codenamed Mercury - we reported on it here (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/07/inventec_mercury_pda_phone/).
The shot of the i-mate Jaq is clearly a branded version of the device shown in Inventec's FCC filing:
HTC's move to establish itself as one of the brands under which its phones are offered positions the company even more stronly as a competitor to i-mate as well as a supplier. ®
i-mate roadmap reveals slick quad-band communicator (6 December 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/06/i-mate_roadmap/
i-mate unveils candybar-sized PDA phone (22 November 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/11/22/i-mate_unveils_latest_smart_phones/
HTC and O2 split over XDA future (22 September 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/22/htc_splits_with_o2/
i-mate touts two new handsets (12 September 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/12/i-mate_spl_jaq/
T-Mobile unveils MDA Compact III GPS smart phone (4 September 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/04/t-mobile_unveils_htc_artemis/
HTC touts record results (30 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/30/htc_results_q2_06_i-mate/
BenQ pursues painted ladies with butterfly-branded handset (23 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/23/hw_benq_butterfly_phone/
UBiQUiO PRePs SLiMLinE qwerty KEyBoaRD SMaRT PhONe (23 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/23/ubiquio_preps_qwerty_smartphone/
Samsung pitches 8GB HDD phone at... golfers (23 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/23/samsung_ships_8gb_golf_phone/
Sony Ericsson previews touchy-feely 3G phone (22 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/22/sony_ericsson_unveils_z610i/
Vodafone to enable v1605 handset's HSDPA in 'Q1 2007' (16 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/16/vodafone_v1605_hsdpa/
HTC roadmap 'leak' signals Muse music phone revival? (15 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/15/htc_roadmap_leak/
T-Mobile Germany unveils 'super 3G' Vario II (9 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/09/tmobile_unveils_vario_ii/
Orange SPV M31000 pops up on carrier's UK site (4 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/04/orange_posts_m3100/
Kinpo preps second-gen iDo smart phones (4 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/04/kingpo_saturn_neon_tin/