AT & T Launches the Blackjack II

Samsung and AT&T announced the new BlackJack II smart phone on Tuesday, a Windows Mobile phone which lets owners make one-way, live video calls to users of some other AT&T phones.

The BlackJack II is a general update of AT&T's Blackjack, a top-selling, slab-style smart phone. Like the original Blackjack, this is a slim cameraphone with a full QWERTY keyboard for typing, but no touch screen. It runs the Windows Mobile 6 Standard OS, and it works on high-speed networks (HSDPA cellular, but not Wi-Fi) both in the US and abroad.

The BlackJack II has a bunch of small changes, but the big ones are Video Share and GPS. Video Share lets users make one-way video calls to owners of a few other AT&T phones. (Right now, only two other Samsung models, the A717 and A727 support the service.) Since the BlackJack II's 2-megapixel camera is on the back of the phone, this isn't for showing callers your own face – it's more of a see-what-I-see thing. The built-in GPS, meanwhile, will work with TeleNav to provide driving directions.

Samsung has also improved the keyboard. The number keys for dialing are now grouped together, instead of separated, and the individual QWERTY keys are larger for a better typing experience.

The BlackJack II also comes with a slimmer extended battery, improving battery life; a 2-megapixel camera; a louder speakerphone, and more memory to prevent the out-of-memory errors that plague Windows Mobile.

The BlackJack II's price is compelling: it will be $149 with a two-year contract when it comes out later this year. That will put the BlackJack II up against the Blackberry Pearl and Curve for folks looking for a text-centric smart phone on AT&T.

source: pcworld