I-Mate SP5...

GuruJockStrap · 13 Feb 2006 at 01:35

Current contract is up soon and I'm considering what phone to upgrade to next.

Was considering the Orange SPV C600 when I came accross this:

The I-Mate SP5

Like the look of this phone and its packed full of features like Wi-Fi! No 3G but I'm personally not too bothered about that.

Had a look round and can't see it listed on contract with the main network providers. Have seen it SIM Free for around £300 though.

Has the phone been out long? Has it reached the main operators yet? If its not available yet, any ideas when it will be?

rG-tom · 13 Feb 2006 at 01:47

i think the sp5 is just the c600 in a different body

Orange removed wifi as it was probably deemed to much hassle trying to explain it to people lol.

Tom.

GuruJockStrap · 13 Feb 2006 at 01:59

Thats a shame about the Wifi removal then.

Really liked the look of the SP5.

guess I'll have to wait for the Nokia N80 then but that won't be cheap on an upgrade!

Scottland · 13 Feb 2006 at 09:01

It's available on O2 and Voda, but not directly. If you look on *****************.com it has it listed, it's also known as the Qtek 8310.

Tunney · 13 Feb 2006 at 09:44

i-mate sell rebranded HTC phones. They don't generally sell their phones through operators, since the operators generally pick up HTC's phones and rebadge themselves.

The SP5 is basically the Orange C600, with WiFi and without the Orange branding. You can sometimes get it on contract, but the deals won't be so good.

GuruJockStrap · 13 Feb 2006 at 11:34

So literally zero chance of getting an SP5 on an Orange upgrade then? Poo.

Tunney · 13 Feb 2006 at 12:02

As an upgrade direct from Orange? No chance what-so-ever. You'll either have to settle for the WiFi-less C600, start a new contract with a 3rd party dealer or wait for the N80.

Kappa · 13 Feb 2006 at 12:25

you can get it on vodafone, it is called the Q-Tek v1240. I asked for a price and on the lowest tariff it is £25, bargaintastic! If this thing had 3g i'd definitely get one, but only just pondering at the moment.

jhmaeng · 13 Feb 2006 at 13:25

I'm betting that Orange removed it to protect their voice and data revenues - they must be worried that people would otherwise look for a hotspot, then go Skype-tastic to their overseas friends when Orange would otherwise have a chance of getting some revenue.

Same with browsing charges - when you're browsing over GPRS, Orange get (quite a lot, I must add) revenue whereas Wi-Fi would get them nothing.

The M5000 is an exception of course, but presumably because they wouldn't sell any units if they removed the Wi-Fi option since it's such a business oriented phone/PDA.