iMate have announced their WM6 phones, and one of them is the long waited replacement for my Universal.

The thing that I like about the specs are that they can work as Windows SideShow devices. That’s great. They have also got MediaCenter functionality.

What does that mean? For a start they have the ability to be used as MCE remotes, now that’s handy. But the killer? They are Media Center Extenders meaning that over WiFi (support 802.11 b/g/e/i) or a 3G connection you can watch TV, recorded programs or listen to music.

The devices will use Windows Mobile 6 Professional, have 520Mhz Marvell Bulverde CPU’s, VGA (640×480) touch screens, 128Mb Ram, Bluetooth 2 (with EDR), 2MP Camera, XGA TV Out, and full speed USB 2.0 interface.

I can’t wait, and just as I was thinking about looking at a replacement for my MDA Vario Pro. I’ll wait for a UK operator to launch these first. iMate are launching in June, so it should be the middle of the year when the operators pick them up,