i-mate JAM PDA phone, SP3i Smartphone US pricing
Ever since news broke that i-mate is setting up shop in US, we had been real curious if this will lead to better pricing of these two hot models. So Da Boss made some pricing enquiries with one of the appointed distributors for i-mate’s products, Portable Add-ons USA of Fountain Valley, CA and came up with this:
Prices are for unlocked units without carrier contracts, and they are immediately available for purchase … from Expansys USA. Yep; that’s where those price links will take you to. Surprised? Apparently Da Boss was informed (to the source’s best knowledge) that specialist retailer Expansys owns wholesaling setup Portable Add-ons (PAO) back in ye olde England. When PAO decided to spread its wings it landed in the US with Expansys US is helping out with sales and fulfilment until the PAO gig is up and running.
We figure that since Expansys has existing i-mate links and support for sales in EU countries, that it would naturally have priority distribution rights over others when i-mate decided to work the US market direct. Setting up a separate entity in Portable Add-ons USA to handle the US distribution is a smart move by Expansys for benefits we would not want to speculate.
Alas - our hopes for better prices compared to what Expansys USA offers … is now gone 