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View Full Version : Samsung BlackJack i607 Blog Review: Day 6

Brandon Miniman
11-30-2006, 11:11 PM
Today we’re going to talk about UMTS. This is going to be written in two parts, since I find it to be such an important topic.

One of the reasons that the Samsung Blackjack stands out, besides its sexy looks, is its UMTS/HSDPA capability, or "3G" as it’s commonly called. I’ve been getting quite bored of newer devices simply because they lack 3G – EDGE may have been cool in 2004, but today, 160kbps just doesn’t cut it. UMTS has a theoretical download speed of around 1mbps (though that figure varies based on device, location, weather, etc). HSDPA, which is an evolution of UMTS, holds the most potential, allowing for speeds up to 1.8mbps and much greater. The BlackJack, out of the box, supports UMTS, and with a software upgrade in the future, will be able to take advantage of HSDPA speeds (drool).

So a question that may be arising in your mind is “Why should we be excited about more bandwidth on our devices?” Well – imagine the possibilities. Lighting fast internet access means that the plethora of information that’s available to us on the internet will always be in our pockets. We can access the internet over slower connections with EDGE or GPRS, sure, but it’s not convenient – to pull up a movie review may take several minutes. I don’t know about you, but I want instant access to information.

Streaming media will also benefit greatly from UMTS and HSDPA. Orb (http://www.orb.com/) is a free program that lets you stream all of your media to your handset. Over a quicker connection, the quality is decent. That means that I can watch movies, TV, or listen to my music on my Windows Mobile device, in good quality, whenever I want.

Navigation: Day 1 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=3914), Day 2 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=3919), Day 3 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=3920), Day 4 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=3921), Day 5 (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=3926)
ChrisSpera
12-01-2006, 01:08 PM
Did you ever make any comments on the keyboard?? How is the device for mail??
Brandon Miniman
12-01-2006, 02:37 PM
Hey Chris,

I didn't get to the keyboard yet - it's a bit cramped, but still usable.

Regarding email - it's the same you'd expect on any WM Smartphone device...poorly executed :).
Pony99CA
12-01-2006, 05:08 PM
Regarding email - it's the same you'd expect on any WM Smartphone device...poorly executed :).
I'd say it's only poorly executed compared to desktop clients. I think the Smartphone version is serviceable, but nothing special. Probably the biggest feature lacking from the client is HTML support (which can be a mixed blessing). When I get Google news alerts, they never have a link to read the actual story.

Do Palms, Symbians or BlackBerries do it much better? I'm talking about the usability and features of the client, not server-side things like push.

Steve
JNGold
12-01-2006, 05:57 PM
This evice would have been a slam dunk for me (even being a PPC owner) except what I consider to be one fatal flaw for a smartphone - no voice dialing from a Bluetooth headset. Having that capability is critical for any smartphone that I consider buying.

There's been a lot of reported problems with MS VC and obviously the Blackjack doesn't come with an OEM solution. Unless this gets corrected, I'm sticking with my Kjam a bit longer or will look to another Hsdpa solution. I really don't think I want an 8525, so I might just have to wait awhile.
Brandon Miniman
12-02-2006, 10:58 AM
Well - I think MS VC works with Smartphone fully and supports dialing over a BT headset.
JNGold
12-03-2006, 01:00 AM
Well - I think MS VC works with Smartphone fully and supports dialing over a BT headset.

Yes, but not on the Blackjack. Something to do with the Blackjack's BT implementation.
ChrisSpera
12-03-2006, 10:36 PM
Yes, but not on the Blackjack. Something to do with the Blackjack's BT implementation.

Well that's just great... the BJ was the one device that I was considering getting as it was a bit cheaper than the 6945 that I've been eyeing
JNGold
12-05-2006, 04:56 PM
Well that's just great... the BJ was the one device that I was considering getting as it was a bit cheaper than the 6945 that I've been eyeing

Tell me about it. I was so psyched to pick one up. I was already researching Papyrus and Facade and getting mentally prepared for the switch to the Smartphone OS. Then I found out about the BT debacle and now I'm bummed.