Cingular BlackJack

Marketed by Cingular as the "BlackJack," the Samsung i607 is a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Smartphone engineered to run on Cingular's 3G high-speed data network. The BlackJack was designed from the ground up not only to integrate phone and data into one small package, but with a contemporary lifestyle in mind. Utilizing quad-band GSM/GPRS and 3G mid and high-speed CDMA technologies, the BlackJack can provide fast data connections directly to the device or to a laptop PC connected to it. And like the 3G-capable Cingular 8525 I reviewed, you can use the BlackJack's phone and data capabilities at the same time.

In my brief tests, the BlackJack's 3G service averaged impressive download speeds of 778 Kbps in day-to-day use with peaks as high 1032 Kbps. This makes streaming content via the Cingular Music and Cingular Video services an enjoyable experience.

A thin, lightweight Smartphone with an innovative keyboard

The BlackJack is somewhat similar in size and design to the popular Motorola Q Smartphone, but it is a fraction of an inch narrower and weighs about half an ounce less. Like the Q, it has a landscape 320x240 pixel color screen and a small QWERTY thumb keyboard designed for one-handed use. The embedded numeric keypad has an innovative design that helps to eliminate mistakes. Instead of placing the numeric keys on three adjacent columns, Samsung has placed a row of regular keys between each column (see image).

Like most Windows Mobile devices with phones, you can utilize keyboard shortcuts to activate certain features. For example, FN+B turns on Bluetooth, FN+C launches e-mail, FN+M launches Cingular Music, FN+W launches MEdia Net, and FN+V launches Cingular Video. One unique feature of the keyboard that facilitates the BlackJack's one-handed use is the holding down of a key, which delivers the secondary character without the need of the Fn or Num Lock keys. This is one of my favorite features on the device.

Above the keyboard is the traditional direction pad flanked by the Call and End call buttons, Start menu and OK buttons, and the two buttons that activate the soft key functions. The Call button can be held down to toggle the speaker phone on and off, and the same action with the End button will lock the keyboard.

The BlackJack has a scroll wheel located on the right edge of the unit with a fairly firm select action to prevent accidental activation when pocketed. A quick, short press of the thumbwheel will provide an execute/select command, while a long press will run the Quick Launcher for quick access to several applications and settings. A black button located conveniently beneath the scroll wheel lets you easily navigate the menus with your thumb. This can be reprogrammed to launch any application you want with a long press (the default setting will launch the camera).

The BlackJack has a textured, rubberized surface which helps reduce the possibility of dropping the device. Combined with the rounded edges, the rubberized texture makes the device comfortable to hold. The layout of the buttons on the left and right edges make the device more suited to right-handed use. Left-handed use is possible if you use the index finger on the scroll wheel and the thumb for volume control.

Other features

The BlackJack incorporates Bluetooth 2.0, which supports a wide variety of headsets. The device does not have a standard headphone jack for cabled headsets. Instead, there is a proprietary multi-use port that is also used for both the headphone jack and (with use of an included cable) the device's power connector/USB data cable hidden under a covered door on the left-hand side of the unit. A standard 2.5 or 3.5mm headphone jack would have been a better idea, which would have allowed you to connect to off-the-shelf headsets, external speakers, etc. However, the built-in speaker does do a more than adequate job. Also located on the left side of the device is a rocker switch jog wheel that adjusts the volume and, when pressed in, activates the voice record feature.