Courtesy of AT&T/Cingular, I've been testing a couple of cellular phones, including the Samsung BlackJack (see left). I like it. It's a thin, light, quad band, 3G (HSDPA) Windows Mobile 5 handset with a QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3 megapixel camera and video recording, nice screen, external (yea!) microSD slot and Bluetooth. It feels good in my hand and slips into my shirt pocket.
I know some people aren't fans of Windows Mobile and it can indeed take an extra keystroke or two to accomplish some actions compared to, say, the [aging] Palm OS. But Windows Mobile has come a long way since its initial bloated, buggy code.
But isn't that often the way with a lot of Microsoft software? And, I'm interested in testing the latest version: Windows Mobile 6.
Keyboard
As a keyboard fanatic, I'm not completely thrilled with the BlackJack's keyboard. Some of the navigation keys at the top of the handset seem somewhat too cramped to make them easy to differentiate from other keys.
Also, I think the keyboard could have been designed a bit better within the available the space. I would like to see a slightly bigger spacebar, with the keys flanking the spacebar moved just a bit closer to the edge, away from the spacebar.
But it's a usable keyboard, especially if you don't have giant fingers. The keys are widely spaced (relatively speaking) and have a nice feel to them.
Image quality
As for the camera's image, they aren't bad. They are at least as good as the typical 1.3 megapixel camera phone, perhaps somewhat better. But camera phone quality is a moving target and what was considered good six months ago isn't necessarily so today.
The BlackJack doesn't include a flash or a lens protector/cover. Despite the low power and color shifts of most camera phone flashes, they can make a difference between getting a photo or not in a dimly lit setting. And I'll continue to write about the importance of protecting lenses from scratches and dirt -- accidents waiting to happen.
Still, the images should serve many subscribers just fine. The videos also will serve subscribers fine, although the quality isn't much above average. I've taken a few videos and they are more than acceptable for a camera phone that doesn't specialize in video quality, such as the 30 frames-per-second Sony and Nokia models.
I established a moblog for the BlackJack (see above) and have posted almost 50 images so far.
Hey Reiter. We have developed an application to stream video from your BlackJack to our Website. PC users can view the Stream Live and you can archive the video in your account. We have been testing the software and are going live with our Beta testing. If you are interested, log into www.cometnow.com and sign up for free. If you have any problems email me and I will help you get streaming.
Jamie
Posted by: Jamie | Tuesday, September 04, 2007 at 09:32 AM