Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

The new Windows Mobile Standard 6.1 smartphone from Samsung is here...and it looks a heck of a lot like the Motorola Q, doesn't it? That's not a bad thing, mind you, but it's still somewhat surprising to see. Dubbed the Samsung Jack, this phone has the same name as the Blackjack II in Canada. That's right, Samsung decided to give it the name of a previously released product. Maybe they thought no one would notice. I predict they'll do something crazy like call it the Jack II in Canada, further confusing anyone that does a search for this phone. But hey, enough harping about the name - what's it got under the hood?

It's not radically different from the Blackjack II: the Jack has more RAM, 256 MB to be precise, and an unknown amount of storage ROM (I suspect 256 MB as well). Why all the RAM? Because it's going to support Windows Mobile 6.5 when it comes out later this year - Samsung's exact wording from the press release is "The Samsung Jack will also be upgradable to Windows Mobile 6.5." Note that Samsung stopped short of committing to offer a free 6.5 upgrade as HTC has done - so it's anyone's guess as to whether or not Samsung will release an upgrade. We know how often the OEMs change their mind when it comes to upgrades.

Other hardware features include a 3.2 megapixel camera (no mention of a flash), 802.11b/g WiFi, aGPS, 3G GSM, and a microSDHC card slot for expansion. Nothing very exciting hardware-wise, and other than WiFi (which is great!) no fixes to the hardware limitations from the Blackjack II. There's still no 3.5mm headphone jack. It still uses the proprietary Samsung power/sync connector. There's no mention of the screen size or screen resolution, but it looks like it's the same as the Blackjack II.

So if you're a Blackjack II owner, unless you really want WiFi, there's nothing much new here - once Windows Mobile 6.5 is released, presuming Samsung offers an upgrade, this phone might get more interesting. I'm a fan of my Blackjack II - it's a great workhorse - but it sure doesn't have the "wow" factor that the newer touch-screen phones from HTC have. After the break there's a YouTube video from an AT&T employee that shows you what the phone looks like. I've also screen-capped an image that shows that the Jack is shorter, and perhaps a bit thicker than the Blackjack II. Read more...

"Rogers' Samsung Jack, which is Canada-speak for BlackJack II, has been officially blessed with Windows Mobile 6.1. It's a few weeks behind the BlackJack II's own upgrade, true, but... you know, Canada-izing this stuff takes time. Or something. Grab the update from Samsung's site while the gettin's good."

This is great news for all of our Canadian readers out there! If you are the owner of one of Rogers Samsung Jack handsets you should head on over to the Samsung website and grab the latest update. As always, please make sure to back up all over your important data that you would like to keep as this update will completely wipe your device. Hopefully with the release of Windows Mobile 7, we will not have to deal with this inconvenience anymore... hopefully.

"I was flipping through my local newspaper today when I saw a full page ad for Fido. Even though the Windows Mobile smartphones from Fido haven't even been out for that long, the Canadian dog is quickly slashing prices on the devices. The Samsung JACK, for example, can now be snatched up for a mere $75. Contrast this to the original $225 asking price for the same device only a short while back... The Motorola Q9h got a price cut as well, but it's not as substantial. The Q9h started at $275. Soon after, it got slashed to $200. Now, you can get it for $150. Strangely, neither the $150 price for the Q9h nor the $75 price for the JACK are on the Fido official website. I wonder if it's a BC-only promotion."



Here is a little bit of good news for our Canadian readers. If you're looking for a new Windows Mobile Smartphone you can now pick up a Samsung JACK and Motorola Q9h from Fido, both at some seriously reduced prices. As mentioned above, this offer isn't available on Fido's official website and it may be a British Columbia only promotion. If any of our readers take advantage of this offer be sure to let us know!