Any interest in the i-Mate JAQ3?

I know that some of my peers have got themselves i-Mate JAQ3’s to play with and review but I wondered what level of interest there was in this device?

The JAQ3, manufactured by TechFaith Wireless, is fairly similar to the Samsung Blackjack and not a million miles away from the HTC Excalibur (HTC S620).

Several people I know that have an HTC S620 like the device but have commented that they wish the S620 was PocketPC OS rather than Smartphone. The i-Mate JAQ3 may well suit those people wanting the form factor of the S620/Blackjack but the added advantage of PocketPC OS.

I am hoping to get myself a JAQ3 as I am one of the people that likes the form factor of the Excalibur but I’m not a fan of the Smartphone OS. One thing that worries me is the apparent size of the JAQ3, it looks like a large device. If you take a look at the image below (borrowed from The Unwired) you can see how the JAQ3 compares to the HTC Universal and the HTC Hermes. The other thing that bothers me is the lack of 3G.

i-Mate JAQ3 Specification:

EDIT: You can now buy a JAQ3 from Clove Technology and with our voucher code you can save £20! See this post for more details.

I’d be very interested to hear you comments about the JAQ3, especially if you already have one!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, i-mate, JAQ3, Tracy & Matt]