i-mate unveils pocket PC mobile phones in India

NEW DELHI: Dubai- based i-mate, provider of Microsoft Windows Mobile devices and applications, has announced the launch of hi-tech mobile phones, including i-mate JASJAR and i-mate K-JAM, in India. i-mate has an exclusive marketing tie up with 4G Mobiles Retailing & Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd for the Indian market.

The company claims that its mobile devices are the world's first Windows Mobile 5.0; 3G — enabled GSM / GPRS mini laptop phone with Wi- Fi.

Priced at Rs 64,999, i-mate JASJAR features a full VGA screen, 520MHz Intel processor and 128MB of permanent memory, built-in computer, Antivirus software and Internet telephony software. Priced at Rs 39,999, i-mate K-JAM offers 1.3 mega-pixel camera, QWERTY keyboard, EDGE, 4MB RAM, 2.8” TFT Transfective LCD and mini USB.

4G Mobiles director operations Seeraj Singh Tulsi said, “Five — six months back we had launched i-mate PDA2K and pocket PC phone i-mate JAM in India.

These phones are priced at Rs 42,000 and Rs 29,000 respectively. We have also launched a smartphone, i-mate SP3i in India, which is priced at Rs 16,999.”

Elaborating on the marketing plans, 4G Mobiles chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said, “i-mate JASJAR and i-mate K-JAM are the perfect devices to fulfill the total communication/entertainment requirement of users. The market for these devices is growing at a very fast pace and as per an estimate the current size of such mobile devices in India is over Rs 200 crore — Rs 250 crore and 4G is targeting a market share of 15 percent in the first year itself.”

Tulsi added, “Currently, India has around 1,500 retailers who deal in mobile phones. By December 2005, we are targeting to reach around 500 of them and by June 2006 we plan cover all 1,500 of them.”