In May ’07 I jumped ship from a standard mobile phone to the Cingular 8125 Pocket PC. I had three requirements for my new phone:
- Allow access to personal e-mail in stand-alone software, not web-based
- Syncronize contacts & calendar between the phone and my home computer
- Internet access with a full-featured, desktop-like browser
The 8125 met these requirements, but I sacrificed slim and sleek for bulky and powerful. My employer has a premier relationship with AT&T Wireless and I’m able to upgrade every six months. In November ’07 I upgraded to the AT&T 8525 with 3G data speed. Again, the device was very bulky, but Windows Mobile has software for just about anything I wanted.
This month was my six month upgrade time again so I sifted through the refurb section on the AT&T Premier site to see if I could get a phone that is thin, but still allows access to the internet and Gmail/Hotmail. To my pleasure I found a Blackjack II Wine. Click the following “read” link to read more. It has Windows Mobile Standard for non-touchscreen phones, which allows me to install most of the software I had on my 8525. I thought I would miss the touchscreen on the 8525, but I really don’t. The Windows Mobile Standard interface is actually easier to navigate because I don’t have to worry about a stylus hitting very small areas on the screen. If you have ever seen the soft keyboard on Windows Mobile Professional you know exactly what I’m talking about.
What I Love About the Blackjack II
- Very thin and sleek
- The Wine color has a textured, non-slip back. For some reason the black color doesn’t have this same texture.
- The screen is bright and sharp
- Windows Mobile Standard is very intuitive and the interface is quick
- 3G is very fast
- The keyboard layout is great and the hot keys at the bottom make everyday tasks easy
- Call quality is excellent
- Profiles are one button push away. I’ve had so many phones that required 3+ clicks just to change the phone to silent mode. One simple push of the power button brings up a menu with my profiles.
- Profiles are customizable. I created a profile for the office which turns all volume levels to 1 so I still get vibrate and ring, but at a volume that won’t disturb my cubicle-farm buddies.
What is ‘So-So’ About the Blackjack II
- It has internal GPS, which works with Google Maps or Live Search Mobile. However, it takes 2+ minutes to get a satelite lock and the refresh rate is slow.
- I can’t change the scroll-wheel sensitivity. The scroll-wheel is one of the best navigation features on the phone, but it scrolls at an incredibly low speed.
- Windows Live Mobile is not included. I had to search the Internet for a hacked .cab to access my Hotmail account through Pocket Outlook. This was the case on my 8525 as well, but the hacked .cab was easier to find.
What I Don’t Like About the Blackjack II
- The proprietary port for charging and headphones. Over the last couple years we have collected a wealth of mini-usb chargers and cables so this sets me back to square one. Now I have to get a 3.5mm headphone adapter from eBay to listen to music.
- The camera is VERY slow when snapping full size pics. If I switch it to 320×240 in multi-mode then it takes pics very quickly, but the pics are small.
I have a feeling this phone is going to last me a while. I’ve finally found a phone that let’s me do what I need to do without weighing me down.
