There was a time when touchscreen devices were expected to be chunky. Then the iPhone and the HTC Touch came along and changed all that. Now, users expect eye candy even on their touch-driven devices. i-mate's Ultimate 6150 might strike some as a bit bulky but looks rather smart overall. The main feature of the device is its 2.8-inch touch screen display, which however, looks relatively small when one considers the size of the device and the fact that the phone has a blank inch-long "chin" (lower part). Although the phone has no physical keypad, it has seven keys below it - for functions that include accessing the Windows menu and taking and receiving calls.

As in the case of the Ultimate 8150, there is a joystick located towards the right of the phone rather than in the centre, which is the convention. There is also a scrollwheel on the left side of the phone, just below which is a dedicated Wi-Fi button. The device looks like the Ultimate 8150, minus the keypad solid and smart. But beneath those modest looks lurks a machine that is bursting with enterprise muscle. The 2.8-inch screen responds well to the stylus, with a single tap sufficing more often than not to perform a function. But we would have liked a more finger-friendly interface the icons remain too small for most fingers. Pulling out the stylus for every second function can be a bit of a pain, although the scrollwheel does help alleviate this to an extent.

The phone also comes packed with enterprise apps. There is a full-fledged office suite - you can create as well as edit MS Office files here, and not just view them. There is also push mail and the option to connect the device to a larger display using the video-out cable - very handy for presentations. And this being an enterprise device, there is virtually no end of connectivity options - Wi-Fi,Bluetooth,
infra-red, USB and 3G. Those who really want to quibble can point to the absence of GPS is missing, this device offers nearly everything an enterprise user needs. Further, the 6150 manages a decent turn of speed, thanks to the powerful 530MHz processor.

The 6150 comes with a 2.0-megapixel camera. Although it takes some time to start up, it generally renders good, if not exceptional, results. While relatively clear on calls, the 6150 is perhaps not the best phone for music lovers as the sound seems a bit stuffy. A pleasant surprise is the FM Radio - something not often seen in enterprise phones. Videos can be played on Windows Media Player. For surfing the Net, there is Internet Explorer. which turns in a handy performance, although we would recommend Opera Mini or even doling out extra cash and getting Opera Mobile.

There is also the regulation copy of MSN Messenger for 1M users. The battery life was a bit iffy and the device needed charging every day, but it would be unfair to draw conclusions in that regard because what we had was an engineering sample of the device. Although no official price has been released, we expect the device to be priced in the vicinity of Rs 35,000. A bit expensive perhaps, but then it does deliver quite a lot. Among the pure touchscreen Windows Mobile devices, we can only see the 02 XDA Flame (Rs. 39,990) providing competition to the 6150.

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TECH SPECS:-
Size: 118.5 x 60.5 x 15:5 mm Weight: 152 grams
Memory: 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, microSD card Battery: Li-lon 1530 mAh
Screen: 262, 144 colours
Talktime/Standby: up to 4 hoursl up to 150 hours Bluetooth/lnfrared: Yesl Yes
Phonebook Capacity: Shared
Speakerphone: Yes
Camera: 2.0 megapixel
Frequency: GSM 850/900/180011900 MHz, UMTS Others: Windows Mobile 6 (Professional), Internet Explorer, Wi-Fi, Mobile Office, Windows Media Player .