i-mate's US outpost implodes, most laid off

We've caught wind from a number of employees -- or ex-employees, as the case may be -- that i-mate's US division in Redmond, Washington has all but disintegrated after a Friday bloodbath that saw the entire engineering, QA, and tech writing departments laid off, among others. Several honchos who weren't cut left anyway, perhaps unwilling to work in a ghost town or as a show of solidarity to their fallen brethren; notably, the Chief Software Officer and VP of Sales and Marketing are both gone, leaving a sales director to be promoted to the lofty title of GM of what seems to be all US operations. Apparently, the Dubai-based firm is in the hurt locker after its inability to get the Ultimate line (also known as "the basket with all of i-mate's eggs in it") fully deployed to retail channels in the time frame it had hoped, and meeting massive resistance from US carriers to carry the devices, it's been left with no option but to leave behind just enough employees to set up and maintain a web-based portal for purchasing unlocked devices in the States. To those who've been handed your walking papers, we wish you the best of luck.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[giantenemycrab @ Mar 1st 2008 2:26PM]

That picture is hilarious.

[mushrooshi @ Mar 1st 2008 5:40PM]

So I herd u liek mudkips.

[low tech @ Mar 1st 2008 7:01PM]

4chan is such a good influence on the internet!

[Motoken @ Mar 1st 2008 2:30PM]

arg, less competition in America, not what we need!

[Dave @ Mar 1st 2008 2:37PM]

wow who DIDNT call this shit being vaporware like 8-12 months ago anyways?

[Dan @ Mar 1st 2008 3:41PM]

Definitely, i-Mate was never an impressive company to begin. As much I dont like HTC for some of the stuff they put out, i-Mate was in no way shape or form competition to them. Hell the Blackberry and Palm lineups were more impressive then what they had. Those devices are bunch of bricks that act like phones.

[Derek @ Mar 1st 2008 7:33PM]

I didn't... but I believe everything I guess...

[Kris @ Mar 1st 2008 9:28PM]

Dave, do you even know what vaporware is? Their devices are NOT vaporware as you can actually buy them.

[Hung @ Mar 1st 2008 11:15PM]

@ Dave

I'm definitely with Kris; Dave needs to look up vaporware. The device is for sale and many sites have reviewed retail models.

@ Dan

Let's compare features.

Blackberry | i-mate
312 MHz processor < 524 MHz
QVGA screen < VGA screen
only one email server, which is constantly down < compatible with corporate email servers
RIM OS = WinMo6 (it's subjective)
No graphics acceleration < dedicated chip from Nvidia

I don't understand how i-mate ultimate phones are poor in comparison to Blackberries. You know that i-mate has been making solid business phones for several years now, right? HTC, i-mate, Inventec, Dopod, O2, TechFaith are all basically the same company, but with different owners. They all make good products and sell the designs to each other. It's the only good exercise of collusion I can recall. It's a shame that we Americans praise stagnant Blackberry and Palm while pioneers such as i-mate barely have any standing.

Blackberry and Palm are unpopular with the rest of the world for two reasons: (1) the products and OS aren't top-notch and (2) foreign consumers care more about how a device functions than how cool it seems and well it conforms. Symbian OS and Nokia products dominate the consumer crowd while HTC and the likes have near complete control over the business market. Blackberry and Palm can't even hope to compete in Europe or Asia, the vast majority of the market.

I'm not trying to make it seem as if you don't know anything about phones, but, let's try to get all the facts first.

[freakmarket @ Mar 1st 2008 3:05PM]

Our carriers in the US have too much say on whats being used on their networks ... if you buy an unlocked phone you are unsupported by the carrier ... "on your own".

All them want you to buy their phones because they build in features/software that make the carrier more money even on top of your overpriced calling plans.

Apple is the only company that's been able to muscle a carrier.

It's frustrating as a consumer to see all the cool equipment available outside the US but won't make it here because the carriers control everything.

[Michael @ Mar 1st 2008 5:16PM]

Just not true. The last couple phones I actually purchased from AT&T stores were both unlocked phones; and I got all the support I ever needed from them.

[Bad Beaver @ Mar 1st 2008 3:04PM]

Awww, now there won't be any of those seemingly StarWars-retro-styled devices? You mean we were deprived of JUST ANOTHER SLEW OF WINMOBILE DEVICES? Boy... the shame...

Sorry for those without jobs now anyway.

[E71 @ Mar 1st 2008 6:58PM]

I feel sorry those who lost their jobs but not for iMate. They could never properly expand into the U.S. anyway -- ULTIMATE FAIL!

[James @ Mar 1st 2008 3:15PM]

Competition in the cell phone industry is tough especially when you’re playing with the big dogs. We need more competition in the cell phone industry to put pressure on bigger companies to improve their productions such as the 3g iphone with gps and HTC phones with all the drivers. Is it really that much to ask for a phone that has everything I need(3g, GPS, wifi, vga screen and whatever else I as the customer want) and enough power and performance to run it all smoothly? I don’t care about the price I’m just tired of all these half a$$ed phones out there. I really wish that a company would let you personally design a phone to the customers liking like dell and others do for computers.

[mattbates @ Mar 1st 2008 4:11PM]

how the hell is it that i've never even heard of i-mate? and i like cell phones too. anyway in response to freakmarket, verizon is opening their network this year. of course we'll have to wait and see the limitations they put on it, but i'll remain optimistic and say it will be wide open, which should be really cool, and might indicate a sea change in the us market.

or it will mean business as usual and verizon will find another way to screw this up like they do with everything else.

[James @ Mar 1st 2008 7:24PM]

@mattbates
Yeah what great new phones is a wide open cdma network going to get? Maybe you can pay a few hundred dollars more for a phone so that verizon doesnt stip away all the phone features?

[Mehul @ Mar 1st 2008 4:00PM]

I cant wait till that unlocking bill passes...

[MastrCake @ Mar 1st 2008 4:21PM]

I-Mate... HTC... I have never liked any of their phones. I had a TMO Dash (by HTC) and it is awful compared to my BlackJack II. I doubt that the I-Mates could 1-up the BJ2, or even the Dash.

Nice job Engadget with the "ULTIMATE FAIL" tag-line. Now all we need to do is train the UT2004 announcer guy to say that...

[Decebal @ Mar 1st 2008 6:08PM]

i'm using the 6150 for more than 3 months now. they just released a new ROM upgrade so I do like Imate.

As for the devices they are simply brilliant BLACK, anodized alluminium, VGA screem, 128 RAM and XGA OUT for your presentation. They have a nice and clean design.

I hope that they will be able to get through since their CEO said that they have the cash to not sell any phone for the next year. Lastly they have a major agreement with an Australian provider (Telstra) for the distribution of their phones.

What's behing the US event is probably the US patent system and the Qualcomm mess.

[Hung @ Mar 1st 2008 11:26PM]

@ MastrCake

Yeah, that's a pretty fair comparison, even though the BJII came out two years after the Dash (pause, NOT). The HTC Cavalier would help make for a fairer comparison, even though it was released 7 months prior.

You said that none of HTC and i-mate's offerings have been to your liking, but have you tried anything other than the Dash? The S620 (even without T-Mobile's polio-inducing ROM) is far from the HTC's flagship.

[AlphaTeam @ Mar 1st 2008 4:30PM]

Wow this is diappointing.

[jasmine landau @ Mar 1st 2008 4:34PM]

noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! i was going to buy one of the i-mate 9502s later this week!!! THIS BLOWS :(

[Michael @ Mar 1st 2008 5:16PM]

I wouldn't worry too much. Just because they are closing shop in the States doesn't mean they aren't going to release them - you will probably just need to get a UK version...

[Abuzar @ Mar 1st 2008 4:44PM]

The one on the top right actually looks pretty good...

[Daniel @ Mar 1st 2008 5:20PM]

Yeah but you have a Zune so no one is listening.

[Abuzar @ Mar 1st 2008 6:44PM]

I think the Zune looks much better than an iPod. That's my opinion, I'm not going to say you're an idiot because you think so otherwise. Aesthetics are such a personal thing so if you like iPod or a Samsung player, etc, more power to you.

I happen to prefer the Zune, and just because I do doesn't make anything I say invalid...

[Daniel @ Mar 1st 2008 7:46PM]

You like the Zune, almost no one else does. Therefore, if you think some other electronic device is good looking, that same demograpic probably won't align with your opinion. Not criticism on your opinions or taste.

[Hung @ Mar 1st 2008 11:30PM]

This is an old picture. The top right one was cancelled long ago (http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/08/16/three-of-i-mates-five-ultimate-devices-canceled/).

P.S. Daniel, you fail, bro. Just quit now.

[trevor @ Mar 1st 2008 11:43PM]

Hey, Daniel, check it out! I found someone who agrees with you!

http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/you_know_whats_stupid

[LJKelley @ Mar 1st 2008 5:32PM]

It probably doesn't help that for years i-mates were just rebranded HTC look alikes. I remember the first Windows Smarphone ever, the Orange SPV (I still have it). And guess what there was an i-mate one that eventually showed up.

[Ricardo @ Mar 1st 2008 6:32PM]

Who needs I-Mate when we will soon have XPeria X1?

[ezpz @ Mar 1st 2008 8:39PM]

As long as the X1 is out within the next few months that'll be my next purchase. If the 9502 shows its head in Australia prior to the X1 and looks half decent there's a slight chance it may win me over.

[Genjinaro @ Mar 1st 2008 9:59PM]

Son of a HAM BISCUIT!! I hate U.S. carriers, we really need that unlock bill to pass, we miss out on any phone worth buying.

The Tilt/iPhone is soo low end in EU/Asia/Dubai compared to the US.

That IU 7150 in the pic there was fuggin awesome in pictures and on paper.

[Danny @ Mar 1st 2008 10:15PM]

I find it strange that when a large project completes, and the product is moved from development to maintenance as it is now fully deployed, it is sensationalized in the way of tabloid newspapers. I was part of the team that developed iQ services at i-mate and I am immensely proud of the work that we did and the applications that we developed: security; customization; and IP text. I enjoyed my 2 years at i-mate and worked with some of the coolest handsets out. i-mate gives the services away free with its extremely powerful Ultimate devices which no other handset providers does. As writing i-mate off, I would not do that yet as I have seen the devices they are working on for next year and they are truly amazing. Also, the CEO’s pod cast at MWC has to be believed as he cannot make incorrect statements or he is in big trouble from the stock market. So rather than gossip over the ranting of some disgruntled employee, think how we can help the smaller companies out there like i-mate compete against the giants. I-mate brings new and innovative devices and services to the market and I am proud to have been a part of that.

[Chris @ Mar 1st 2008 10:31PM]

Hey iMate engineers -- if you are reading this, send me your resumes. I'm hiring Windows Mobile engineers. Check out our company blog at www.outdoorrugged.com and private message "Chris".

[AutoTom @ Mar 1st 2008 11:17PM]

no fist

[boe @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:22AM]

I hope they survive. HTC phones are crap - bad video drivers, disabled GPS, three generations of crappy BT support - even after the fix they don't perform as well as free phones. I really wish HTC could make something as small as these phones with GPS, VGA screens and actually have quality BT support.

[skulldriveshaft @ Mar 2nd 2008 1:16AM]

I'm guessing they canned the people stateside because it wasn't cost effective to keep paying them without some fukin results.

For North America you either need saturation marketing, or techs confessing addiction to your devices, anything else gets drowned into the rest of the mediocrity.

Raise your hand if this is the first time you heard about i-mate having unlocked hardware for sale online? and I suppose the "i-mate" name just doesn't make you think about cellphones/smartphones at all.

[qwho @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:44AM]

I always wanted the one on the top right... it is like my dream device. No carrier has a winmo smartphone that when it is in your pocket, the touch screen and the buttons are protected. It is sopposed to to fold out like a tablet too...

The rest of them, if they had black and white screens, would be mistaken for devices from 1996, ug-ly

[Frank @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:42PM]

As far as I know, US office was only responsible for i-mate Suite and iQ-services, that were just 'value-add', to some, but did not generate any noticeable revenues. As such, it's unfortunate for the people involved, but for the company, it seems like a logical and healthy decision.

The engineers that really matter to the company, are the device engineers based in UK and Dubai. If more resources go to them, I'm sure things will be all right.

i-mate works with several manufacturers, and I happen to really LOOOOVE the Ultimate 8502. There's nothing like it.. and received very good feedback in the US.. Unfortunately, I think it's a Qualcomm patent issue that made it impossible to sell to US market.. Tough luck.. not just for i-mate but also US consumers because this device is SWEEEEtttt!

[stillRoaming @ Mar 4th 2008 10:46AM]

The wacky i-mate CSO has a posting on his blog that seems to imply that he quit first and entire office followed him out! You i-mate engineers must be the most loyal dogs around.

I don't think i-mate develops phones in the USA. Only server based software. Maybe they realised that they need to focus on their phones instead of web-based configuration projects that everyone else is just giving away for free.

They have created some devices with fairly impressive specifications. The devices were all working and being demonstrated at 3GSM. They even had some with active SIM cards so people could make calls right on their stand. They had one device directly connected to a large screen XGA display, plus BT keyboard and mouse. Leave your laptop at home. Get one of these devices if you can.

[Larboard @ Apr 8th 2008 11:47AM]

Interesting comments! The old CSO was the problem at i-mate! He was supposed to lead his team to develop functional software, but didn't. They are actually doing the designs for the i-mate phone in Redmond and are shipping incredibly large shipments to resellers--Hot demand! Don't give up on i-mate, there the ones offering a 2 year warranty on their powerful phones.