Home > Consumer Reviews > i-mate JASJAR GSM/GPRS Pocket PC/Mobile Phone

All things considered I think that this is a very clever and generally well designed box of tricks

I have always used a keyboard clamshell based PDA right back to the introduction of the Psion series 3a, I stuck with Psion untill their demise, and then bought a Hewlett Packard Jornada 720, I have a genuine use for these devices and they are not just a toy. The embedded software on the Jornada was no longer supported and it is very big, so I bought one of these on a contract, and all in all, I am impressed.

As a phone it is a little alkward to use, but my main use of it is for data/e-mail/web, and as a PDA, and as a phone...its ok, but not as convenient as a little pat as you go

I cant agree that it is slow, I think that in the main, web browsing is very impressive, and the E-mail side of it is about as good as you can reasonably expect get given its size, I would give it 5 stars for E-Mail...the keyboard works very very well, and is in many ways a bit better than the larger k/b on the Jornada old 720/680 series, but still not as good as a psion series 5

The rotating screen worries me, as it is vulnerable when not completely rotated...be careful!!, but as a concept it is neat, and the image auto-rotates to fit when you flip it

I use a leather case zip which allows me to use it in situ without removing it...not the slip case supplied, as I would worry about dropping it

The Sim Free price is expensive, and you will cry if you break it, so get some accidental damage cover (houshold insurance ?)...oh and one more thing, as an MP3 player it is very very good because it accepts a standard size headphone jack (3.5mm I think)...not one of those tiny ones like on an XDA11 etc

I dont recommend gizmos for the sake of it, but if you can afford it, it is hard to think of anything else as useful as this, you can use it for Sat Nav as well with a kit...but just buy a Tom-Tom

I recommend this gizmo (almost without reservation)

I purchased this item through a telephone network provider, at a subsidised cost and it has been working beautifully. It is also a gem to look at.
My principal complaint is of its functionality as a telephone - an obvious problem, but one that I had not considered before my purchase.
If the JASJAR is carefully placed in its case in your pocket and the phone rings, you can plan on at least 15 seconds before you have it in hand and ready to answer. More if you want to unfold it to find out who is calling you. I have missed many calls because of this already, and its quite infuriating.

I would still recommend it to anyone who needs an all-in-one, easily portable device. Truly one of its kind.

I only have one battery for it, but it does tire quickly when the phone and mp3 players are used. a second battery may be a good idea.

Being a person who travels alot this is ideal for me. I hooked upto WIFI no problem and have used SKYPE VIA WIFI on this Pocket PC works great. SKYPE comes aleady loaded onto this pocket PC. Also you can get the network setting for free from the IMATE website for MMS WAP GPRS 3G and mobile Internet. I also used MSN via WIFI and 3G Pay As You Go Orange. Theres only one problem and that battery life but same with all pocket PCs. Could not do with out this device now MSN on the moves great and when you find a WIFI hot spot make some free phone calls with SKYPE to anywhere in the world. Ace +

Finally, a device that does everything -- and I mean everything. From wifi to 3G you'll never be disconnected (in the UK, at least); I advise getting a contract that allows for a lot of data, with good 3G coverage, because this beauty is really worth it. I find Skype works perfectly, although you really do need a headset (it comes with a wired earpiece).

It's quite large for a phone, it's slightly smaller than my Nintendo DS but bigger than any other gadget I've had, but the keyboard more than makes up for it -- a smaller device would be impossible to type on. It's just about as small as it can be while still being comfortable to use. Also, the screen brightness and clarity is top notch - mine even came with a screen protector - although don't rely on the built in camera to be much use.

If you're a data user like me then you'll love the fact you can never be far away from your email. The keyboard makes typing really easy, far far easier than pecking out letters on a touchscreen, although the swivel screen means you can use it like a traditional portrait PDA too. I've not had a problem with battery life - it charges via USB so if you're never far from a computer you can keep it topped up.

If you have large pockets (or you're female like I am and thus carry a bag!) it's an ideal buy -- it'll replace your phone and PDA and maybe even your laptop too. Beautiful piece of kit.

As a phone it's pretty sucky because it's fairly slow. If you are going to make full use of the integration with your PC and use word, excel and outlook it is very cool. It is neat being able to have your documents and pictures automatically transfered to your machine and for you to be able to edit word and excel documents out away from the computer. The keyboard is pretty good for data entry and you can do handwriting too. Even the limited sketching can be quite cool.

Broadly speaking if you need to be able to enter data quickly and accurately quite often it's a cracker. As a smart phone it's not ideal. I have decided to switch to a smaller form factor when I renew my contract. It's been grand but I have found the cool bits don't outweigh the sucky ones.

Ups

o Can run quite a few applications
o Hot swappable memory card
o Proper headphone socket
o Office integration and syncing with the computer
o Keyboard means you can enter a lot of information quickly and accurately

Downsides

o General lag
o Large and heavy
o Media player user interface makes playing music a pain
o Treating the memory card a second class citizen. Applications like the media player don't look at it for music unless you point it at it.
o Can only use the handsfree with the set of headphones provided or bluetooth because if you plug in ordinary headphones there is no way to get the mic bit.
o Checking to see if you have had any calls is difficult because you have to take it out of the case, open up the screen and then turn it on. You cannot leave it in the case with the screen facing outwards because then it is not locked and cause those awkward trouser calling friends moments you hear about afterwards.
o Can only sync with 2 machines properly (you can transfer files with any number) and you need activesync installed on the machines.