Design and price
Similar to the HTC TYTN II with its pull-out keyboard, the slightly overweighted Ultimate 9502 doesn’t fit as snugly into your pocket, especially if you’re using the supplied leather hard case with it.

The 9502 casing is similar to the 8502 in that it’s solidly built and doesn’t feel flimsy, while the touch screen on the 9502 takes centre stage. We wouldn’t call the unit overly sexy, but it does have that slick PDA feel about it and would be more than suitable for business users.

The buttons on the 9502 feel a little more functional than the 8502, including a handy explorer button (for instant browsing) and a multi-directional scroll pad, which is good for navigating web pages.

For an extra $100 more than the 8502, the Ultimate 9502 is available outright at $1099, exclusive to Telstra. 24 month plans are available for $55 & $100 respectively.

Best features: where the 9502 beats the 8502
In our review of the Imate 8502 , we mentioned the unit’s key drawbacks: low screen resolution, poor Foxtel Mobile quality and an annoyingly overcrowded keyboard that felt like it was designed for those little people guarding pots of gold at the bottom of rainbows.

Thankfully, the Ultimate 9502 has improved on each of these specific features:

1) The Ultimate 9502 has virtually doubled the viewable resolution from 640x480, compared to 320x240 on the 8502. This increase in resolution makes viewing video content, e.g. Foxtel Mobile or the Bigpond Music Channel much more watchable.

2) Bigger screen equals more viewing pleasure; 2.8” on the 9502 vs. 2.6” on the 8502. That may not seem like much on paper, but the horizontal flip screen helps make the 9502 feel much bigger than its predecessor.

3) Slightly better battery life: The 9502 features a 1660mha battery vs. 1530mAh on the 8502. This means you can expect a little longer talk and standby time. Although we advise that using GPS, wireless and/or Bluetooth apps can quickly diminish the battery life of either unit very quickly.

4) The 9502’s slide out keyboard features a much improved pull-out QWERTY keypad, enabling tricky touch typing with a little practice. That’s a big leap over the 8502’s smaller and more crowded keys.

5) The 3.0 MP camera on the 9502 takes much improved pictures. It’s a quality upgrade from the lesser 2.0MP lens found on the 8502.