Digital Trends

Samsung BlackJack II (SGH-i617) March 11th, 2008 | by Damon Brown

Setup and Use

The BlackJack II doesn’t come with much equipment, which is less an error and more a testament to its simplicity. Expect to pull out a thin instruction booklet, power plug, Windows Mobile 6 CD and a USB connector. The only disappointment is the lack of headphones, which must be purchased separately.

Phone calls are straightforward and clear, and the equally effective email system works with AOL, Yahoo! and others. The same goes for Instant Messenger. The 2-megapixel camera isn’t so bad for a phone, but any photos or video requires a good, consistent light source. Pressing the camera button on the keypad turns it on quickly, and pressing the right menu button switches the still camera to a video camera. Both can be easily attached to email or text messages.

The phone will hot sync after installing Windows Mobile 6, which will take about ten minutes to download from the CD onto your PC. It will then ask you to set up the appropriate Microsoft Outlook email account to sync with the BlackJack II. The phone seemed to run without any hiccups and transfer the appropriate files, including Internet Explorer bookmarks.

The BlackJack II uses AT&T Mobile Music, a service that offers $.99 USD music singles on the go, as well as a XM radio trial subscription and free music videos. Unlike other recent AT&T phones like the LG CU515, Samsung wisely includes a USB wire to transfer your music to the device. After installing Windows Mobile 6, the Windows Media Player will add a new icon representing the BlackJack II. Adding music is as simple as a drag and drop of a song, album or playlist. Each song transfer takes about ten seconds. Multimedia is easy to use on the BlackJack II: Rewind, play/pause and fast forward are done with the dial, and the music and video libraries can be organized by artist, theme/genre, and so on. The speakers aren’t that loud, so don’t expect to share the tunes with other people. It is likely more effective with the headphones – which, of course, you have to buy on your own.

Price

AT&T’s BlackJack II runs for $349.99 USD, which isn’t a ridiculous price, but the usual two-year commitment discount (minus $150) and the current $100 mail-in rebate puts it at $99.99 USD, an excellent price. The phone is part of AT&T’s Talk, Text, and Web plan, which starts at $90/month for unlimited web, video, email and messaging.

Considering its multimedia needs, add a microSD card – and potentially headphones – to the bill. Check www.attwireless.com for the latest prices.

Conclusion

The BlackJack II offers the best of the original: the power of a PDA with the ease of a basic Smartphone. The video does leave a bit to be desired, as does the Internet download speed, but people would be hard pressed to find a more affordable – and let’s face it, stylish – multimedia phone.


Pros:

• Easy to use
• Stylish and compact
• Affordable


Cons: 

• Clunky video
• Bumpy multimedia downloading
• Headphones are not included