Samsung Blackjack Review

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by wirles

Thanks!

I don't know. It had the 'charging' icon when I went to sleep.

Why are they sending you another battery? Didn't you get one in the box?

I have had it come loose with imperceptible motion if it was not plugged in tight.

I got two standard batteries with the phone & the external charger. Now their rebate center "Young America" is sending extended batteries to a range of IMEI nos. Ofcourse this was not publicized at all, I just happen to stumble on to it.

[Charlyee]

My Phone Is Possesed

I had the shortcut to "Test Mode" in my Start Menu for a while. It showed a lot of information including rf, nearby towers, etc. I hadn't looked at it since the weekekend. Today when I opened it up everything is still there but in Korean??? (I am guessing it is Korean from the vague similarity of it to Burmese that I remember from my childhood & ofcourse the fact it is a Korean device). The Edit on the Quick Menu launcher was also in Korean. Everything else was in English.

I cycled power on the phone and things are back to normal.

So how did this happen?

On a more sober note, I downloaded AlphaDial, it is a free program that makes dialing alpha characters easy.

[wirles]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

My Phone Is Possesed

I had the shortcut to "Test Mode" in my Start Menu for a while. .

I have been searching for a test mode program or procedure to no avail. Am I loosing my Googling prowess?

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by wirles

I have been searching for a test mode program or procedure to no avail. Am I loosing my Googling prowess?

I use the built in one. It is called "testmode.exe" and is in Mobile Device/My Windows Mobile-Based Device/Windows/testmode.exe. I just put a short cut in the "Start Menu" for convenience.

[Charlyee]

I just realized something, I powered off the phone with 1/4 battery bars & powered it back on & it showed 2/4, and remained at 2/4 while I made 3 short calls. This is very different from my 6131, where when I turned by phone back on in the morning, it would show lower level than what it was when I turned it off at night.

Interesting, well atleast to me.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by wirles

BTW: I had my BJ plugged into my USB port overnight in the hotel (charger indicator appeared) and I woke up to a half charged battery

With that, my extended battery was beeping the low charge alarm by mid afternoon.

wirles, has it happened anymore?

Originally Posted by wirles

I don't know. It had the 'charging' icon when I went to sleep.

Maybe I am reading too much into this, but I don't get a charging icon with the battery filling animation that most phones have, it is just the symbol that shows the device is plugged into power but no animation. Is yours different?

Have you ever charged the phone when it is turned iff? It has a neat glowing animation...

[wirles]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

wirles, has it happened anymore?
Maybe I am reading too much into this, but I don't get a charging icon with the battery filling animation that most phones have, it is just the symbol that shows the device is plugged into power but no animation. Is yours different?

Have you ever charged the phone when it is turned iff? It has a neat glowing animation...

It must have something to do with the 'trickle' charge off of the USB cable. It worked fine (fully charged) once I went back to a wall plug.

I was referring to the icon indicating the phone was plugged in, but I also turned off the phone when I went to sleep and had the 'cool animation' that it was charging. So, phone off...charging animation....only 2 bars 6 hours later off of USB.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by wirles

It must have something to do with the 'trickle' charge off of the USB cable. It worked fine (fully charged) once I went back to a wall plug.

Thanks, I have never used the USB cable to charge. Since I can not use it to Sync with my work laptop (don't ask), I use BT to Sync and the power cord to charge.

[Charlyee]

Here is a gorgeous but expensive Vaja Case for the Blackjack.


I found one thing that I absolutely do not care for in the Blackjack, it is extremely difficult to slide the SIM out and although not as difficult but still not easy to put it back in.

[josephd]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

Here is a gorgeous but expensive Vaja Case for the Blackjack.


I found one thing that I absolutely do not care for in the Blackjack, it is extremely difficult to slide the SIM out and although not as difficult but still not easy to put it back in.

Now that I got to see the case the red makes the crappy Samy look very exquisite.

[wirles]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

Here is a gorgeous but expensive Vaja Case for the Blackjack.

Too bad the Balance isn't compatible with the extended battery. Hopefully these cae/holster manufacturers will realize there are a large percentage of BJ users that primarily operate on the ext. batt. since the life is so short on the standard.

I mean, there is a reason it ships with both batteries....because the handset is a juice hog.

[Charlyee]

The first software upgrade is available for the Blackjack from Samsung.

According to a couple of posters it corrects the roaming problems in Brasil and changes all the icons to at&t from Cingular.

I am pretty sure I am going to skip this one, I absolutely am not going to willingly put at&t on my phone and my next Brasil trip is more than 3 months away and as hme83 pointed out I operate on an accelerated age scale re: my phones, so who knows if I will still have the Blackjack when my trip comes up... .

If any of you decide to do this upgrade please post what changes took place.

Thanks much...

PS: Seems like this case fits the extended battery.

[wirles]

Thanks for the info, but I am traveling next week (going to CTIA ) and don't feel like dealing with reloading all of my data, settings, and apps.

[hf1khal]

The issues with roaming is in more palces than jsut Brazil, actulay it is in more L.A. countries as well as several other asian, and far east countries. It could also be an issue in some Euro countires. I would say download it and leave it with you jsut in case if this happens to you. There were many reports by balckjack users where they said their phones were uselss to them (this also goes for the LgCU500 as well as a couple older models of BBs and a couple others)

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by hf1khal

The issues with roaming is in more palces than jsut Brazil, actulay it is in more L.A. countries as well as several other asian, and far east countries. It could also be an issue in some Euro countires. I would say download it and leave it with you jsut in case if this happens to you. There were many reports by balckjack users where they said their phones were uselss to them (this also goes for the LgCU500 as well as a couple older models of BBs and a couple others)

Thanks hf1khal, yes my understanding is that the issue is in any country that has both 850 and 900. Another one that comes to mind is Thailand.

There is a workaround though, that I can check on my next Brasil trip.

Sorry but I have my trusty 6131 to fall back on if there is a problem, and I refuse to download at&t junk....lol

[hf1khal]

Here is what is known on the ones with issues on Cingualr:
International Roaming Device Issue: Parent Ticket Number TT000003977968



Issue Description:

Cingular has identified an international roaming issue impacting several

different handsets and resulting in loss of service. Specifically, users

may experience problems when devices are taken into an area where North

American (850/1900) and European (900/1800/2100) frequencies co-exist.

Cingular is not the only North American carrier impacted since the issue

is device-related, not network-related.

The following countries currently have carriers broadcasting on both

North American and European frequencies:

Brazil

Australia

Trinidad and Tobago

Thailand

The following are known devices impacted at this time:

Treo*

Samsung BlackJack

BlackBerry 7290, 7100g

LG CU500

*As a workaround, Treo users may leverage the devices ability to scan

for carriers on specific frequencies.

Current Status:

Cingular is in the process of engaging the device vendors identified

with impacted devices.

[3In2Out]

Just to add to this review, I ordered my BlackJack on Monday night (3/26/07) and it came with the extended battery and cover along with the normal batter in the box.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by 3In2Out

Just to add to this review, I ordered my BlackJack on Monday night (3/26/07) and it came with the extended battery and cover along with the normal batter in the box.

I have been following your posts in the other threads. I am glad to hear that you ordered the Blackjack and hope you will be happy with it. Mine came with two regular batteries and then Cingular sent me a free extended battery, so now I have three. ...LOL

I am presuming yours came with the updated software, does have it WM6, by any chance?

Please post your comments after you have some time to play with it. It would be great to compare notes.

Good luck.

[3In2Out]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

I have been following your posts in the other threads. I am glad to hear that you ordered the Blackjack and hope you will be happy with it. Mine came with two regular batteries and then Cingular sent me a free extended battery, so now I have three. ...LOL

I am presuming yours came with the updated software, does have it WM6, by any chance?

Please post your comments after you have some time to play with it. It would be great to compare notes.

Good luck.

I dont see you ever running out of power then! I actually have started out with the regular battery first, Id like to see if it will hold up to my use throughout the day or not. Much rather have the phone as skinny as possible, but if I need to put the extended in, so be it. lol

Not sure what you mean bout the updated software? I know the first time I signed onto the net with it, I needed to down load the DST patch for windows, but thats it. I head read the post on the MW6 and was hoping it would be on here, but its still MW5. Wasnt really expecting it to be though considering the dates given in the post, so no biggie. It shows the OS as being 5.1.342.

Sure, give me a couple days and I should be able to learn the ins and outs. So far its been easy to navigate through and websites seem to load fast. I would like to figured out if there is a quicker way to scroll down web pages though.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by 3In2Out

I dont see you ever running out of power then! I actually have started out with the regular battery first, Id like to see if it will hold up to my use throughout the day or not. Much rather have the phone as skinny as possible, but if I need to put the extended in, so be it. lol

Not sure what you mean bout the updated software? I know the first time I signed onto the net with it, I needed to down load the DST patch for windows, but thats it. I head read the post on the MW6 and was hoping it would be on here, but its still MW5. Wasnt really expecting it to be though considering the dates given in the post, so no biggie. It shows the OS as being 5.1.342.

Sure, give me a couple days and I should be able to learn the ins and outs. So far its been easy to navigate through and websites seem to load fast. I would like to figured out if there is a quicker way to scroll down web pages though.

I use the standard battery also, and it gets me through the day just fine, with way too much WA browsing...lol. I have actually not even charged the extended battery.

My software OS is also 5.1.342 with SW version i607UCFJE, there is a downloadable upgrade available from Samsung, which I posted a couple of posts up. I don't know if that upgrade changes the verson numbers though.

According the announcement made at CTIA, we will be getting the WM6 upgrade but ofcourse who knows when.

I usually scroll webpages with the scroll wheel, instead if the D-pad, I am not sure it is any faster but more convenient for me.

Looking forward to your opinion.

[3In2Out]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

I use the standard battery also, and it gets me through the day just fine, with way too much WA browsing...lol. I have actually not even charged the extended battery.

My software OS is also 5.1.342 with SW version i607UCFJE, there is a downloadable upgrade available from Samsung, which I posted a couple of posts up. I don't know if that upgrade changes the verson numbers though.

According the announcement made at CTIA, we will be getting the WM6 upgrade but ofcourse who knows when.

I usually scroll webpages with the scroll wheel, instead if the D-pad, I am not sure it is any faster but more convinient for me.

Looking forward to your opinion.

Good to hear about the batter, I charge my phone at night anyways so Im not worried about it lasting 2-3 days or anything.

My SW version is also the same, Ill have to look into the patch above.

Good call, I didnt even think about using the scroll wheel to do so. Ill give that a try too! Thanks!

[wirles]

Originally Posted by 3In2Out

Good to hear about the batter, I charge my phone at night anyways so Im not worried about it lasting 2-3 days or anything.

My SW version is also the same, Ill have to look into the patch above.

Good call, I didnt even think about using the scroll wheel to do so. Ill give that a try too! Thanks!

I charge mine every night and can't make it past lunch on the standard battery. Now if I could just find a decent case/holster for use with the extended battery installed I would be happier. Not a single company at CTIA has one

BTW: Tuesday I did the upgrade due to my phone saying the memory was full even though it was empty. Some searching shows that this is a common problem for BlackJack owners. That coupled with Cingular's network having issues on BTS sites around the convention center...I have not had a good week with my phone.

Charlyee: The post update/patch versions on my handset are:
OS 5.1.342 (Build 15100.3.0.2)
Radio version i607UCGB4
RIL Version 2.002

[3In2Out]

I still need to take some time with this phone as I dont even have all my contacts in it yet. I went a head and switched over to the extended battery, last MUUUUUCH longer. I was chewing up the smaller battery, which is to bad considering I liked how thin the phone was with it.

For some reason, picture messages that I send to my buddy on Verizon dont go through at all. That really sucks b.c we used to swap pics back and forth on a daily basis when I was on verizon also.

Looking up names in the contacts isnt as easy as typing in the first letter of the name as I thought it would be, but maybe I am missing something.

I really do like the phone and the service has been good, but those couple things are a bit annoying right now.

[wirles]

Originally Posted by 3In2Out

...For some reason, picture messages that I send to my buddy on Verizon dont go through at all. That really sucks b.c we used to swap pics back and forth on a daily basis when I was on verizon also.

I can't recall where it is, but I had a similar problem and needed to change the setting for how it sends pictures (MMS vs. Email, etc..).

Originally Posted by 3In2Out

Looking up names in the contacts isnt as easy as typing in the first letter of the name as I thought it would be, but maybe I am missing something...

I have gotten used to the speed (slow) in which it will filter the contacts by the letter/number you enter. It also is in order alphabetically by last name first...at least mine is. I have 1500 contacts in mine, so maybe that is why it is slow.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by wirles

BTW: Tuesday I did the upgrade due to my phone saying the memory was full even though it was empty. Some searching shows that this is a common problem for BlackJack owners. That coupled with Cingular's network having issues on BTS sites around the convention center...I have not had a good week with my phone.

Charlyee: The post update/patch versions on my handset are:
OS 5.1.342 (Build 15100.3.0.2)
Radio version i607UCGB4
RIL Version 2.002

Thanks wirles. In your opinion is the upgraded worth it? Other than working in countries like Brasil, Thailand & a couple other ones where both NA and Euro frequencies are used, what are the other advantages?

Thanks

Originally Posted by 3In2Out

For some reason, picture messages that I send to my buddy on Verizon dont go through at all. That really sucks b.c we used to swap pics back and forth on a daily basis when I was on verizon also.

Looking up names in the contacts isnt as easy as typing in the first letter of the name as I thought it would be, but maybe I am missing something.

I exchange MMS with a buddy on Verizon also and they do go through but often times they are not instantaneous. I didn't have to change any settings but I will happy to post my settings for you if it helps.

No, you are not missing anything, looking up contacts is not easy, one of the names I have the hardest time with is "REENA". The "R" highlights the first letter of all my contacts, the first "E" highlights the first 2 letters of all the contacts, the second "E" highlights the first 3 letters, the "N" highlights any name that has a "n" or a "m" as the fourth letter and "A" brings up 3 names that end with "ona" & "ena". As you can probably tell it fascinates me every time I search for her name.

[Charlyee]

I have had my Blackjack for 6 months as of today. This is actually a big deal for me. The only other Primary GSM phone that I have had longer is the 6230 and that is debatable since I had 2 different ones for 5.5 months & 4 months each.

So the moral of the story is I still like it as much as I did initially if not more. If I were to complain about anything, I would like to see a better charging port cover. Mine is almost ready to fall off and I have stopped charging the battery in the phone and change out my batteries instead.

[viewfly]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

I have had my Blackjack for 6 months as of today. This is actually a big deal for me. The only other Primary GSM phone that I have had longer is the 6230 and that is debatable since I had 2 different ones for 5.5 months & 4 months each.

So the moral of the story is I still like it as much as I did initially if not more. If I were to complain about anything, I would like to see a better charging port cover. Mine is almost ready to fall off and I have stopped charging the battery in the phone and change out my batteries instead.

Hey Charlyee, are you starting to settle down? Wow. I've had my 6131 now for 9 months (no jokes please), and am still happy with it.

Glad that you are happy with the Blackjack, but it's only 6 months... Is your SO happy with the 6131?

[wirles]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

Thanks wirles. In your opinion is the upgraded worth it? Other than working in countries like Brasil, Thailand & a couple other ones where both NA and Euro frequencies are used, what are the other advantages?

It doesn't seem to crash as often.

Originally Posted by Charlyee

No, you are not missing anything, looking up contacts is not easy, one of the names I have the hardest time with is "REENA". The "R" highlights the first letter of all my contacts, the first "E" highlights the first 2 letters of all the contacts, the second "E" highlights the first 3 letters, the "N" highlights any name that has a "n" or a "m" as the fourth letter and "A" brings up 3 names that end with "ona" & "ena". As you can probably tell it fascinates me every time I search for her name.

Using Agenda One helps tremendously with contact searchs.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by viewfly

Hey Charlyee, are you starting to settle down? Wow. I've had my 6131 now for 9 months (no jokes please), and am still happy with it.

Glad that you are happy with the Blackjack, but it's only 6 months... Is your SO happy with the 6131?

Jokes viewfly, why would I do that? Do I ever tease you? LOL. Well I don't know, I have heard everything from I am finally maturing (hope not) to my SO worrying about why am I still happy with the Blackjack. . Yes he is reasonably happy with the 6131.

Originally Posted by wirles

Using Agenda One helps tremendously with contact searchs.

Thanks, I will give it a try.

[Charlyee]

I tried the extended battery for the first time yesterday. It is definitely not for me, the top of the cover just lays on the phone without any latches and ofcourse there is a small gap on both sides at the top, just waiting to collect dust etc. between the battery cover and the phone. So back it went into the box.