The smartphone market is rapidly becoming one of the more desirable sectors of the mobile phone industry due to the high amount of features and the relative portability of what is essentially a mobile office.

i-mate is one of the more experienced makes in this field, so you would expect something above the norm when any new model is announced. Their latest, the Ultimate 9502 won’t disappoint with either its design or the spec sheet.

The 9502 is a device packed with as many features as a typical high-end smartphone could be. On the list of features (amongst others) are 3G HSDPA capabilities, Wi-Fi, integrated GPS and a 3.15 MP camera with LED flash and auto focus. As smartphones are traditionally the lowest performer on camera quality, this will be competing with the recent TYTN II for the title of the best camera equipped to a smartphone.

With such a large range of features, there is little chance of the 9502 being anything less than a little hefty and that is definitely the case as the 9502 weighs around 200 grams.

Where the innovation part comes in is in the design of the main part of the handset. A 2.8” VGA touchscreen display is placed pretty much in the centre of the device, and although from the outside this looks slightly odd, there is a reason behind it. The touchscreen slides out to reveal a QWERTY keyboard directly underneath for easy typing.

Unlike the more recent HTC devices, there is no update to the touchscreen interface and a stylus is used as always on the Windows Mobile 6 Professional platform. It would have been nice to see if a less out-of-date OS had been integrated, but judgment will be reserved until it has been released and a more thorough test can be carried out.

With such a wealth of features, there’s likely to be a market for the 9502, and if the vast amount of features are integrated correctly, then this could be one to watch out for.