Windows Mobile device manufacturer i-mate has denied rumours that the company is up for sale, but admits having a "strategic review" of the options given the lacklustre performance of the last 12 months.

This morning the FT reported that i-mate was on the market following a profits warning from the company, attributed to delayed chip deliveries and the fact that some devices couldn't be sold in the US thanks to a supplier losing a patent battle.

As far as we know only one chip manufacturer has recently lost a patent battle to such an extent that their technology cannot be imported into the US - so it would seem that Qualcomm is to blame for at least some of i-mate's problems.

But it's not been a good year for the company, which seemed to overextend its reach in attempting to launch too many models which then got delayed, and in some cases still aren't available. ®

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