Is the 810-F the tradies' best (i-)mate?

Stephen Withers
Monday, 16 February 2009 04:32

IT Industry - Market

The storage capacity is on the light side at 2.2G, and there's no mention of memory expansion.

"It is all about performance; whether it's the ability to perform in extreme conditions, or the performance under its skin," said CEO Jim Morrison.

"For adventurers looking for a phone to match their lifestyle, it’s the perfect answer."

The lifetime warranty is an attractive touch, even though it is subject to the phone receiving an annual service. That's unusual for a phone, but reliability under harsh conditions relies at least partly on the case remaining sealed, so it's not an unreasonable requirement.

On the software side, the 810-F runs Windows Mobile 6.1.

Owners can take advantage of Secure i-Q, an i-mate service that provides for the remote locking or wiping of a lost or stolen phone from a PC.

We can't help wondering if the 810-F isn't the mobile phone equivalent of the mullet ('business in front, party behind'). After all, Morrison did observe that "We designed the 810-F to meet the needs of those people who work in the office during the day, but want to go surfing after work.  Or, a contractor working in the tough environment of a building site who also goes fishing on the weekend."

The 810-F is one of many new phones being announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.