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[GrYph0n]

It is really interesting to come back and read everything that we had to base off of six months ago when the rumored specs surfaced, until now that they are out. I will try to update and address any concerns that are posted within this forum. If I leave something out, or you have any other questions then feel free to ask.

First lets talk about the specs...
WM 5
Quadband GSM (GPRS, EDGE)
Bluetooth
1.3 Megapixl Camera (No Flash)
TI OMAP850 195MHz
64MB RAM/64MB Flash
LCD 240X320TFT (QVGA 65536 Color)
MicroSD Slot

Now that's covered, lets get into some of the other things asked here over the last six months.

Firstly, the speaker on this thing is pretty loud. I am able to watch movies and listen to music in cramp quarters with A LOT of background noise at all times (on ship), and I don't have to use headphones to hear it. The speakerphone works well too. Now I have not tested the headphones yet, but as of now your only option is the ones that came with it since there is only one port that is used both for USB and the headphones, and no it is not the standard mini USB, it is thinner. I am sure that it will only be a matter of time before someone makes an adaptor for headphone though, or you can just use Bluetooth (not sure if it supports that profile but there is always Bluetunes).

It is pretty much the same size of the new Razr V3i, actually a little smaller with hand and hand comparison. It does keep with the high standards that are expected with an HTC device

I really see this phone launching WM phones into the mainstream and past the business / geek users. Of course it will all depend on how it is marketed. They have a pretty good marketing campaign in the Dubai, but that is also I-Mates headquarters. I am curious to see the marketing strategy that they will use in the U.S. once it hits the market.

Right now flat retail is about $518 (US). I got mine with 1GB MicroSD for about $535 in store. Keep in mind though, that is about the average price of a smartphone, then you have to factor in all the rebates once a Carrier picks it up. Personally though, I don't have any regrets at this point for spending that kind of money on this little beauty.

I was surprised to see that I-Mate wasn't the first to start selling. Actually they were third and started sales to the consumer market on the 13th of June (picked mine up shortly after while in Dubai, U.A.E.).

Last rumor I heard from one of my sources is that Cingular may launch this phone in the U.S. in the September / October time frame, but that isn't including any possible delays they may come up with.

Now about the frustrations about them using microSD. Honestly that was a big thing to consider before getting this phone. All up until the point that I found out that I could and did get a San Disk 1GB microSD card for around $30 (US). Now if it were something that was going to be expensive then I could see it being a problem, but it was next to nothing for 1GB, and these things are tiny (about the size of my pinky nail), and works perfectly with the SD Card adaptor in my laptop.

After using this phone over the last week (unconnected use, meaning I won't have internet until I am back in the states), I have overcome the biggest drawbacks. A few of it's main faults are the non-standard USB/Headphone plug (this phone only has one port), MicroSD (not really a draw back considering the low prices, but it is located under the SIM card, but SIM and microSD are not under battery), and there is no Wi-Fi, but personally I don't consider that too much of a let down. After all it does have EDGE, which should be fast enough for me with the screen size. Granted Wi-Fi would have been nice, but not needed, besides it would have just drained the battery that much faster.

Speaking of battery life, I am pretty impressed so far. While in port I had the radio on and had pretty good signal at all times, and I would get through a full day (no calls $2.29 per minute) of moderate use (using currency converter, programs, apps, camera, games, etc.) and I would only loose about 8% of it's charge. Here on ship I have the radio off and use heavily (it is my main source of entertainment), and I can get through two to three days off of one charge. With that said, I charge my phone when it gets down to about 50-60%, so I could stretch it out even further.

Over all I think that this phone is awesome, and it does everything that I expected. I may sound a little too hyped, but this is my first WM 5 phone coming out of the SMT5600 that I used for almost 2 years (Yes the same phone as well).

The phone feels solid in my hand, and I love the fact that it is more of a flat black with no gloss so it doesn't display smudges and fingerprints. It is taking a while to get used to the keypad though, the buttons aren't raised to I have to be a little more careful when "feeling" for the right button, but the keypad light is great so it is just a matter of time to get used to button location. The Media and external keys can be set to lock on close and/or time limit (Can be set to never). To unlock you simply hit any button, then the camera button when prompted

I think that the bottom line is that it is a thin flip phone that looks the look, has all the features and none of the bugs (that I have encountered so far). Let me know if you have any questions or want any other information, I will do all that I can from out here, but there may be spells of inactivity as connectivity and bandwidth are very limited out here in the middle of the ocean.

Here is a picture taken with the phone (sized down). For more, check my blog.

Isn't it enough to make you drool a little, all those in one case