There is no doubt that iMate's Ultimate series offer a lot more than your conventional Windows PDA. We reviewed the Ultimate 8150 in Feb 2008, and this time we got our hands on Ultimate 6150, which looks quite similar to the 8150, but without a keypad.

The 6150 is by no means a small and light PDA. The black matte finish metal body and 152 gram heft make the device feel sturdy. The large 2.8-inch touchscreen has a VGA (640 x 480 pixels) resolution, double the normal 320 x 240. As a result, you'll instantly notice the sharper fonts, icons and graphics. The VGA screen is sort of like a trademark of the Ultimate series, differentiating it from the crop of numerous Windows Mobile devices.

Another big differentiator is the XGA video out (cable is supplied). You can connect the device directly to a projector or a large flat screen TV to display video, photos and even PowerPoint presentations. For ease of use, you'll find several keys (on the front and on the edges), a jog dial and a 5-way joystick.

This device features a 520 Mhz Intel processor, 2 MP camera, FM Radio, and for connectivity it has WiFi, 3G, and Bluetooth. The 2MP camera is above average, but nowhere near the quality of a good CyberShot phone or Nokia N70. But all is not hunky-dory with the device-it does have a couple of problems. The navigation was sluggish at times, especially when you are switching between menus or using advanced features and that too when the device is powered with a 520 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM and NVIDIA graphics acceleration. Another issue is battery life; I cannot understand why even with its powerful battery of 1530 mAh we could get just 4 hours of continuous talk time. Start power-hungry applications such as WiFi and power will drain out even faster.

Except these flaws, this one is an excellent device. At the price and weight, it should have included a built in GPS receiver too (making it more worthy of the Ultimate tag). Buy it if you want a powerful business tool, don't need a keypad and have money to spare. Else, you could wait for the price to drop a little. Finally, if you must buy now and price is no object, you may also consider the HTC TyTn II, which includes GPS, a full QWERTY slide-out backlit keyboard, 3.15MP camera but drops the TV out functionality.