A little over two years ago, Samsung released the BlackJack, a Windows Mobile-based smartphone. It’s performance wasn’t that good compared to other smartphones on the market at that time. Fast forward to late 2007, when Samsung introduced the new BlackJack II. Is it better than the first? Read on to find out.

The BlackJack II is a Windows Mobile 6-based smartphone with a 2.0 megapixel camera, and uses 3G and HSDPA for high-speed connectivity over the AT&T network. On the front is a gorgeous 2.4″ screen and a jog wheel for scrolling through menus on the device. What smartphone isn’t complete without a QWERTY keyboard?

Some nifty features include TeleNav GPS Navigator and AT&T Video Share for one-way video calls. Inside the BlackJack II, there is 128MB of RAM (instead of 64MB) and a 260MHz processor (versus a 220MHz) which offers great performance for a Windows Mobile phone.

The HSDPA connection was fast compared to the slower EDGE network used by the iPhone. The BlackJack II doesn’t have WiFi though, but the fast 3G network should load heavy web-pages seamlessly.

The 2.0 megapixel camera was mediocre, due to a very noticeable shutter delay. Call quality was clear in both noisy and quiet situations and had no significant distortion of audio. Battery life was decent, but those who use the data connection on a daily basis will find themselves plugging in the charger every other day to keep a full charge.

The jog wheel on the front of the BlackJack II needed a lot of extra spinning to get to certain points on the screen but the QWERTY keyboard was comfortable for typing long emails and not too cramped. We would have liked if they sticked with the thumb wheel on the side ala Blackberry.

The Samsung BlackJack II is a great choice for those looking for a smartphone with an excellent QWERTY keyboard and fast performance. Those who have the original BlackJack can now upgrade to Windows Mobile 6. It’s available from Amazon for as little as $0.01 with a new service plan from AT&T.

Pros

• A reasonable improvement over the original BlackJack.
• Fast 3G / HSDPA connection for data.
• Good call quality.
• Built-in GPS provided by TeleNav.

Cons

• No Wi-Fi connection.
• Slow shutter delay on 2.0 megapixel camera.
• Jog wheel requires extra spinning and is unresponsive at times.

Final Verdict
4 out of 5 stars.