Unboxing the Samsung Jack at Mobility Minded

Johan van Mierlo was able to get his hands on the new AT&T Samsung Jack smartphone and has filmed an unboxing video showing off the device in all of it’s glory. The Jack sports a similar keyboard to that of the Motorola Q9, but as the picture below shows, the Jack’s keyboard is a smaller due to the overall device being smaller. Samsung will be releasing a Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade to the Jack later this year. Samsung and AT&T recently released the Propel Pro smartphone, which is similar to the Jack but the keyboard slides up and underneath the screen. Check out the full unboxing videos over at MobilityMinded.com (Part 1, and Part 2) and let us know your thoughts on this device. Is there a Samsung Jack in your future? 

AT&T Set to Release New Samsung Jack Smartphone

This past week, AT&T announced another Samsung smartphone that will be added to their line-up.  The new phone is called the Samsung Jack, not to be confused with the Samsung Jack being offered on the Canadian GSM carrier – Rogers, which is actually a BlackJack II. This new Jack runs Windows Mobile 6.1 but will be upgradable to Windows Mobile 6.5 when the time comes. The new Jack adds WiFi, a 3megapixel camera and a new keyboard design. The new keyboard is more like the one found on the Motorola Q than on previous BlackJack models.  There are no more spaces between the keys on this new layout. I actually prefered the keyboard on the old BlackJack and didn’t care for the keyboard on the Q because of that space.  I found it much easier to find the keys without looking at the keyboard. So it might take a little getting use to for some of us. It’s getting very hard to decide what my next device should be. I’m still lusting after the Propel Pro which was released a couple weeks back.

The Samsung Jack will be available on May 19th for $100 after a mail-in rebate and a 2 year contract.

MTV’s Samsung c6620 Reviewed at WindowsMobileItaly

Diego Magnani over at WindowsMobileItaly.com has posted a review of Samsung’s C6620 smartphone.  This is one of the devices that Samsung showed off at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. The device is running on Italy’s TIM network and sold under the MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) MTV. Samsung has produced a number of devices based on that BlackJack footprint and it looks like this approach is working very well for them.  Each version has some slight modifications.  With this version, they have increased the screen size from 2.4 to 2.6” and removed some of the network radio’s.  This phone is great for use in Europe, but doesn’t fair well when it’s brought to North America.

You can check out Diego’s full review translated to English (thanks to Google) here, or the original version in Italian is here.

HTC Snap Video Round-Up

This past week HTC announced their all new smartphone called the HTC Snap. The device seems to be getting a fair amount of buzz since it was announced. HTC was showing it off to everyone at CTIA this week and now there are a number of video’s appearing online showing the Snap in action.  In particular, there are three video’s that I wanted to link to. The first video, shown above, by MobileBurn.com shows Eric Lin from HTC explaining how the new InnerCircle functionality works. The next video is from HTC and it’s more of a promo piece that shows off the Snap. The final video is from SoloPalmari.com and it shows the Snap playing a video. The playback is pretty smooth and effortless.

The more I see of this device, the more I want one. Come on HTC, hurry up and get the North American version released.

HTC Snap Announced at CTIA 2009

Today at CTIA in Las Vegas, HTC officially announced the HTC Snap smartphone. The Snap marks the first messenger style device from HTC since the Dash (also known as Excalibur). This new smartphone features new software by HTC called “Inner Circle” that aims to automatically prioritize email from the most important people in your life. At this time, we don’t have too much information on how this software works. We are watching for more information and will keep you posted as we find out more.

The HTC Snap features a 528Mhz processor, 256MB ROM / 192MB RAM, a 2.4 inch QVGA screen (320×240), a 2.0 megapixel camera, Jog ball, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and with a 1500 mAh battery that claims up to 8 hours of talk time or 15.8 days on standby. There will be a 3G version available for Europe and North America. The European version is expected to be available during the second quarter of 2009, with the North American version hitting the streets in the summer.

There’s still a lot of information that we don’t know at this time.  I have spent some time looking at the attached pictures, and I noticed a couple of interesting things. 1) there’s a messenger key on the keyboard – I’m not sure if this means it will be pre-loaded with MSN Messenger, or if it’s meant to launch a different application. It seems to indicate that HTC is serious about making this a killer messenger device.

2) The power button has been moved to the End key. Typically HTC likes to have their own power button and they use the End key for locking the keypad.  Locking has been moved to the Q key. If you look closely around the sides of the device, you may notice that there doesn’t appear to be anything except volume buttons and power jacks. It’s a very clean design.

3) The camera button is a Function key away.  So to launch the camera, you need to press the function key, then the messenger button.  I’m guessing that HTC has determined that people using this device are not heavy into using the camera. That’s not what I expected, but it’s not a really big deal to me either way.

My initial thoughts on this device is – WOW. HTC has done a really nice job on this device. They’ve spent some time making sure that they built a rock solid, feature rich messenger focused device. I can’t wait until I can get my hands on this device and put it through some paces. 

The full press release along with some more pictures can be found after the break.

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AT&T Makes the Samsung Propel Pro Official

AT&T has announced the new Samsung Propel Pro smartphone will be available on their network in April. This new device is based on the popular Propel model but features Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard as it’s operating system. The silver and chrome slider smartphone sports a full QWERTY keyboard.  Unlike the typical side - sliders we’ve seen in North America, the Propel Pro, like the Propel and Samsung i620 from Europe, slides down to reveal the keyboard. While we don’t have an official spec sheet at this time, so we can’t confirm if there is a GPS or not. It does appear that the Propel Pro has a 3.0 mega pixel camera and supports WiFi, both of which are noticeable in the pictures.  

Looking closely at the pictures, it also appears that the Propel Pro could be the first Windows Mobile Standard device to break out of the 320×240 screen size.  It’s clear that the screen is not the typical portrait layout (240×320) as it’s much to wide a handset with the keyboard.  However, the screen appears to be longer than that of the BlackJack II. It’s also pretty clear that it’s not square as the height of the screen is noticeably more than the width.  Perhaps we’re looking at a 320×400 screen?

I can’t wait to learn more about this new device.  The bigger screen resolution and small footprint could make for interesting competition to HTCs Maple smartphone. The days are numbered for my BlackJack II.

(Source = the::unwired)

Samsung c6620 for MTV Mobile in Italy

Recently I posted about the Samsung c6620’s availability. When I posted that, it was posted on Samsung’s Netherlands website along with some local Netherlands resellers. Now it’s turned up in Italy (thanks Deigo for the tip!) and this version appears to be the same phone, just with added mobile operator branding – and a funky new design on the back.  The phone is being marketed by MTV Mobile, a MVNO in Italy running on the TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) network. The new back design is pretty neat, but the phone is still limited specifications for use outside of Europe. Otherwise, I think I would have ordered one already. I’m a big fan on non-touch screen devices, especially when they have a QWERTY keyboard on it as well. In case you couldn’t already tell.

You can see all the specs for this phone along with some more pictures at the WindowsMobileItaly.com website (Here’s a Google Translation to English).

Samsung’s New c6620 is Already Available

The c6620 is one of the new phones that Samsung showed off last month at Mobile World Congress. That didn’t take very long at all. This new model resembles the ever-popular BlackJack line of smartphones running Windows Mobile Standard 6.1. The keyboard has a slightly different design and the keys look to be a little shorter in height. The screen is larger at 2.6” compared to that of the BlackJack II with 2.4”. The biggest difference is in the radio. The c6620 only sports a Tri-Band GSM (900, 1800, 1900) and a single band 3G / UMTS (2100), making this device all but useless here in North America. I hope Samsung has more up it’s sleeve, because this seems to fall short.

If you’re looking for more information, you can check out Samsung’s Netherlands website. (Thanks to Remo for the tip!)

Where is the SMTP Patch for BlackJack II Users?

Back in the middle of November, Microsoft released a patch for people having problems sending emails on Windows Mobile devices.  As it turned out, there was a small bug that would prevent devices from being able to send email from a given account.  You could be working just fine for days or months and then whammo! You would never be able to send email from that account again.

I had that very problem and was happy to see Microsoft release a fix that was simple enough to apply.  The only problem, as some of you may recall, is that when I installed it I lost all my email accounts. Oh, and who can forget the sudden and forced reboot. As it turns out, the BlackJack II reacted differently than expected to this patch and after a small up-roar, Microsoft updated the site and clearly outlined that the patch doesn’t work on the BlackJack II but they are working with Samsung to resolve this certificate problem. That announcement is dated December 1st. 

Two things that really disappoint me here - the first is how Microsoft can release a patch and not test it against their top selling phones first. The BlackJack II is one of the devices on the million+ seller list. To release a patch and not test it against the current devices on that list is short-sighted and shows a clear disregard for Microsoft’s partners and their customers.

The other thing that disappoints me about this is that Microsoft has done nothing for over 2 months. The original patch release date was on November 12th and the warning for BlackJack users was posted on December 1st. It’s now February 8th and there is no sign of any updates for BlackJack users. Again, this is one of their best selling handsets yet we’re still left out in the cold for a fix to a problem that by all accounts is nothing more than a certificate issue.  Seems to me like a patch could have been corrected and released inside of a couple days.  I’ll even give them 2 weeks because we all know how slow Microsoft has become over the last couple years.  But there is no reason for this to still be outstanding 2 months later.

So Microsoft, what do I and the other million+ BlackJack II owners need to do to get this patch? If it would help speed things up, I can lend you my BlackJack II.

Motorola Quietly Announces New Windows Mobile Devices at CES

During CES Motorola quietly rolled out 2 new Windows Mobile devices - 1 touch screen and 1 non-touch screen device. I was taking a short walk across the show floor when I spotted some devices in the Motorola booth. Upon closer examination, I realized that these are new Windows Mobile devices.  I asked the Motorola rep when these where released and was told that the devices had been announced here at CES. Oddly enough, I haven’t seen any talk or coverage of these devices. I shouldn’t be surprised, Moto could have done more to get the word and buzz going. In fact, they should have come out to CntrStg and announced the devices directly to mobile focused bloggers. Anyway…

The first device is a oval touch screen device with a new interface on top of the professional version of Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, my pictures of this device didn’t turn out very well. You’ll have to suffer with this image that I clipped from the Moto site. The A3100 or Moto Surf has a cool little trackball for navigation, which actually works very well. I really like the use of these little trackballs on mobile devices.  The Surf is a quad-band GSM phone with a 3MP camera, Windows Mobile 6.1, 256MB Flash, 128MB RAM, and a nice standby time of 12 days!

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