Blackjack II Hands On!

[Pete Paxton]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/blackjack-ii-hands_on/blackjack-ii-hands+on-verdict-speedy-slim-and-sexy-314064.php' target='_blank'>http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/blackjack-ii-hands_on/blackjack-ii-hands+on-verdict-speedy-slim-and-sexy-314064.php</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;We just got hands-on with the BlackJack II, the Windows Mobile Smartphone follow-up to the popular BJ1. The things we noticed: it's thin like the original, and small enough to feel the same in your pocket as non-smartphones. The OS is Windows Mobile 6, which improves greatly on the original's WM5, and is definitely speedy.&quot;<br /><br /></em><img width="413" height="274" border="0" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/spt/auto/1193373192.usr11642.jpg" /><br /><br />The guys over at Gizmodo have their hands on the new Blackjack II. It's a great looking phone from the pictures but there still isn't a ton of information about it. I'm still hearing mixed information about battery life, connectivity, and GPS but at the $150 price we reported earlier - who can argue? One thing for sure is that AT&amp;T sure is getting the smartphones. Hopefully Tmobile will land a few contracts soon. So are you going to nab this thing for $150 clams? It's tempting.

[hotdram]

Is the bluetooth function any better?
I can't pair my BJ with my Garmin nuvi and get the address book to show up.
I can't do a bluetooth active sync with my pc.

~Rob

[chucky.egg]

Surely they *must* get the battery life balance better this time?

[randalllewis]

I love my Blackjack except for my fingers overshooting the right control on the keypad sometimes, thus accidently ending whatever I was doing. I have paired the phone with my car, my HP printer, and stereo headphones without any issues. That flimsy feeling cover for the power connector has held on just fine and so must be tougher than it appears. I like the keyboard and the phone works well, drops very few calls, and has good clarity. Even the camera has been a pleasant surprise.

That said, I also like shiny new stuff too and I will seriously consider the 2, though I want to try out the new jogwheel in place of the key pad and see if it reduces the problems with the keypad.

[Rocco Augusto]

Surely they *must* get the battery life balance better this time?


I have never had any problems with the battery life on my handset and I live in a 3G area and have email pushed to my device all day long. At the most, I have to charge my handset once a day which really isn't that bad. I can't even remember the last time I swapped my battery out due to running out of juice in the middle of the day.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to have the battery last 3-4 days but for everything the phone does, including high speed data access, charging it once a day is pretty good :)

[mbranscum]

Surely they *must* get the battery life balance better this time?

It will have a 1700 mAh battery.