i-mate Smartphone Has Intel Inside, Runs Windows 8 Pro--Assuming It's Not Vaporware

According to the Seattle Times, erstwhile mobile device maker i-mate has something amazing brewing: a 4.7-inch phone that runs a full version of Windows 8 Pro--not Windows Phone 8, mind you--and also docks into a station that includes a 27-inch monitor, a wired business-looking desktop phone, and a separate “auxiliary” 10.1-inch tablet.

The phone, called the “Intelegent”, reportedly features an Intel Atom (Clover Trail) processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, 4G network connectivity, and up to 10 hours of talk time on a single battery charge.

i-mate Intelegent
Image credit: Seattle Times

The price tag? $750, for just the phone. If you want the whole schmeer with the dock and everything, it’ll run you a cool $1,600.

Granted, for what the Intelegent promises to do, that’s an appropriate price, and such a system would be a terrific innovation in the enterprise; but more than anything, this sounds like vaporware. Aside from the fact that i-mate is attempting to restart itself after failing last decade, this hub sounds far too demanding for even the most robust smartphone or tablet. Is that hardware really going to drive telephony, a huge monitor, and a 10.1-inch touchpad with any meaningful level of performance?

i-mate Intelegent
Image credit: Seattle Times

That said, we hope that i-mate pulls this off, because if it works as advertised, everyone who works in an office will want one. According to the Seattle Times, the company’s founder, Jim Morrison, said that he has a facility in California ready to crank out 10,000 units weekly, using parts from South Korea, Miami, and Japan, so who knows?