Smartphone Thoughts: From the Perspective of a Pocket PC Veteran - Samsung’s Blackjack SmartPhone Reviewed

Now let’s take a closer look at the Blackjack. It’s a quad-band GSM phone and the latest Cingular phone to support their UMTS/HSPDA network, which is a 3G technology that provides broadband data access to mobile devices. It runs the Windows Mobile 5 for SmartPhones operating system. Its most prominent physical feature is the small QWERTY keyboard on the front of the phone. Additional controls on the front include the SmartPhone soft keys, a Home button, a Back button, a Send key, an End key and the 4-way directional pad with OK button in the center. Most of the keys support multiple functions. For example, a short press on the Home key brings you to the Home screen, while a long press pulls up the Task Manager. More handy dedicated keys include ones to open Messaging, call Voice Mail and set the phone to Silent mode.

The number keys are embedded within the QWERTY keyboard. Some reviewers have criticized Samsung for the fact that the number keys are not all together; each column of number keys is separated from its neighbor by another column of letter keys. The intent is to not group the number keys too closely together… otherwise, with the small size of the keyboard, hitting the wrong number key would probably happen pretty regularly. Samsung has also designed the keypad so that either the number key or the key just to its right will register the number when pressed. For example, when dialing, pressing either the E key or the R key will register a 1. I’ve adjusted quite well to this arrangement and don’t find it to be a problem.

Yes, with the keys so close together, I hit the wrong key now and then when typing with my thumbs. But as I use the keyboard more, my accuracy is increasing. To save you from having to press the Symbol or Num Lock keys too often, a long press on a key while entering text will register the symbol tied to the key. I found this to be handy when entering numbers while typing text. However, I have one quibble with this arrangement… all of the number keys act this way except for the Space/0 key. When I give a long press to any of the other letter keys associated with numbers, the number is entered. When I give a long press to the Space key, however, it registers the + sign, the other symbol associated with that 3 way key. I know that this is consistent with other keys that have a symbol on them, but it’s inconsistent with other keys that have numbers on them. Since they couldn’t be consistent both ways, I think the better choice would have been to go with the number in place of the symbol.

Another gripe is that the soft keys are butted up against the directional pad and are nearly flush with it as well. As a result, it’s not uncommon to accidently press one of the soft keys when trying to press the pad to the right or left. If they would have left a 1/8” gap, the accidental presses would be rare.


Figure 5: The left side view. Click on the image for a larger view.

On the left side of the phone, you find a port that’s used for the power adapter, a USB synch cable and for a headset. Unlike the Razr, which uses a standard USB cable for charging and synching, the Blackjack uses a proprietary connector. An AC adapter and a synch cable are included, but you must buy a compatible headset or an adapter cable. The small hinged cover for this port seems a bit flimsy, but I haven’t had any problems with it so far. This side of the phone also features a rocker switch control for earpiece volume.


Figure 6: The top. Click on the image for a larger view.

The only control on the top is the power button. A quick press of the power button while the phone is on will pull up the Quick List, which provides access to the Wireless Manager, key lock, sound profiles and other items.


Figure 7: The right side view. Click on the image for a larger view.

The right side of the phone features a scroll wheel and a back button, a useful combination when web browsing. Pressing the scroll wheel brings up the Quick Launcher, a scrolling list of applications, URLs or files that you can easily select. The slot for a microSD card is also on this side.


Figure 8: The back view. Click on the image for a larger view.

The back features the lens for the built-in 1.3 megapixel camera, next to a self-portrait mirror. The external speaker is also on the back, along with the door to the battery compartment.