i-mate Ultimate 9502 Challenges the Sidekick Slide

The Motorola Zante, which we have come to know as the Sidekick Slide from T-Mobile, is quite the beautiful device. It’s got a QWERTY keyboard hidden beneath a large color display, but as luck would have it, the Sidekick Slide isn’t the only phone to take on this form factor. The recently announced Ultimate 9502 from i-mate has a physical design that is very similar to the Sidekick Slide, complete with the horizontally-sliding display and QWERTY keyboard.

This new messaging device appears to have several advantages over its T-Mobile counterpart however. When you check out the spec sheet (warning: PDF link), you’ll notice that the i-mate Ultimate 9502 is rocking tri-band 3.5G connectivity, quad-band GSM/EDGE, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. The integrated GPS also grants you access to mapping, navigation, and “a wealth of location-based services.”

Other features include Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional, 3.0 megapixel camera, secondary VGA camera for video calls, 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, video output, and microSD expansion. No word on pricing or availability.