I-mate vs. Qtek
From HowardForums Wiki
HTC has many different brands, but most of these are sold to specific carriers. If you are looking to buy a HTC device in North America or are not buying a locked device from a carrier you are probably looking at either i-mate or Qtek. Because so many people choose between these two devices, we created a page devoted to the differences between these two devices to help people make a decision. This page is VERY general and not every Qtek or i-mate device follows this pattern but the current models (Universal and Wizard) do follow this pattern.
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Cost
Although the varying costs of the two devices are never certain. At the time of this posting, a Qtek device can be bought for around $50-100 cheaper than i-mate. That's not to say you won't walk into a store and not find this price difference, but currently you are able to find a Qtek device for less than an i-mate device.
Advantage Qtek for having lower prices
Rom Updates
Qtek and i-mate ROM updates are available from their websites. The i-mate site is Club i-mate and the Qtek site is Qtek. The Qtek site is available in many different languages. They do release WWE (World Wide English) ROM's, which will quickly appear at other sites like XDA-Developers (most of us believe an English site will be available in the future). A negative about i-mate's Club i-mate is with used devices. If you buy a used i-mate, Club i-mate charges a $60 fee for new users if the previous owner already registered with THAT device with Club i-mate. Even if you are buying new this might hurt you when you try to resell it.
No real advantage here, but if Qtek starts an English site that includes ROM updates they will clearly be better.
Third Party Applications
Right now, i-mate includes Skype, Antivirus and other programs, which automatically install onto their devices after each hard reset. While it is possible that you see this as a benefit, space is not yet unlimited on these devices like it is on computers and the programs tend to waste space, while being of little value. It would have been much nicer if i-mate put this on the CD and let us choose whether to install them.
Advantage Qtek for not including useless applications in the extended ROM.
Warranty
Qtek has a longer warranty than i-mate. The warranty on a Qtek device is 2 years, while the warranty on an i-mate is 1 year. They are both serviced at the HTC Service center in Houston, so the only real difference is in length.
Advantage Qtek for having a longer warranty.
Availability and Supply
The North American supplier of i-mate is a company named Portix, which is affiliated with Expansys (their addresses are different suites in the same building in downstate Illinois). Qtek devices are typically distributed by Sound Solutions. Resellers often work with one supplier and that may dictate, which one you purchase, but some sellers like MadMonkeyBoy work with both. i-mate devices typically are available sooner than their Qtek counterparts. The i-mate JASJAR (Universal) and i-mate K-JAM (Wizard) could be purchased weeks before the Qtek devices were available.
Advantage I-mate for earlier availability. If you buy from a particular supplier the advantage may change though based on what they have in stock.
HTC USA
5950 Corporate Dr
Houston, TX 77036
(713) 774-7888
Color & Style
The newer Qtek and i-mate devices have different color schemes. As always, color schemes come down to personal preference. I don't think much of them, but for some people it makes a big difference. They ignore everything else and buy the cutest one. Check out the different pictures :)
Advantage: Your Choice. Color is a matter of personal preference.
Conclusion
When choosing between i-mate and Qtek, there really isn't a big difference. Choose the color you like, whichever one is in stock, or whichever one is cheaper. If you have a choice between both in the same time frame and at the same cost and don't care about color, then Qtek is probably a better choice, but it is a negligable difference and I wouldn't worry too much about choosing between each one.
