New AT&T BlackJack II

AT&T BlackJack II

The original BlackJack was as close to the "ideal" of what I want in a Windows Mobile phone than I've ever come. Sure it didn't have GPS, WiFi, or decent battery life (with the standard battery), but it was attractive, thin, snappy in terms of performance, and easy to use from a form factor perspective. I was elated when I heard tell that AT&T would be issuing a successor to the BlackJack, dubbed (fittingly) the BlackJack II. I have high hopes for this device, and what is to follow is a thorough evaluation of the successor to my favorite device yet. Read on to see if it's a worthy successor!

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For comparative purposes, I'll show the specs of the original BlackJack (in parentheses) following each spec for the BlackJack II. The device packs a 260Mhz (220MHz) processor, with 256MB (128MB) ROM, and 128MB (64 MB) RAM. It has a 2.4" (2.3") landscape QVGA screen, with a front rotary scroll wheel (side scroll wheel) and a slot for a microSD card (ditto). It also has Bluetooth 2.0 (ditto) and has a SiRF Star III GPS receiver built in (no GPS).

Sleeker, smarter, and even simpler to use than its predecessor, the BlackJack II by Samsung is the only mobile device you’ll ever need. Available in four colors—black, wine red, pink, and blue—the BlackJack II features Windows Mobile 6.1, built-in GPS support, a 2.4-inch display, a full QWERTY keyboard, a front jog wheel for easier scrolling, world roaming capability with tri-band HSDPA, and a 2.0-megapixel camera.