Manage updates with the Download AppSamsung BlackJack SGH-i607 (AT&T)
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: I607
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Samsung BlackJack heralds another 3G-enabled smart phone to Cingular's lineup. While it supports the carrier's video and music service, some design and performance issues trip up this otherwise sexy device.
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Where to buy
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| Memory4Less.com | Not yet rated | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 06/19/2013 |
CNET editors' review
Samsung BlackJack SGH-i607 (AT&T) price range: $219.18
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Edited by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 11/12/2006
The good: The 3G-enabled Samsung BlackJack is sleek, has a gorgeous screen, and a full QWERTY keyboard. Highlights include Bluetooth 2.0, push e-mail capabilities, and good call quality. This Windows Mobile smart phone also comes with support for Cingular Video and Cingular Music services.
The bad: Navigation controls are cramped, and there is no integrated Wi-Fi. Certain applications take some time to load.
The bottom line: The Samsung BlackJack heralds another 3G-enabled smart phone to Cingular's lineup. While it supports the carrier's video and music service, some design and performance issues trip up this otherwise sexy device.
User reviews
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25 cents short of a dollar
by benjaminkessler on December 6, 2006
Pros: Good form factor, lightweight, good call quality
Cons: Terrible battery life, horrible user interface, slow, poor Outlook Notes syncing, bad reception
Summary: When the Blackjack came through to Cingular, I was really ready for an upgrade from my tried and true Treo 650. What I wanted was the same functionality in a ...
Summary: When the Blackjack came through to Cingular, I was really ready for an upgrade from my tried and true Treo 650. What I wanted was the same functionality in a smaller and lighter phone, and the Blackjack seemed to check off all the right boxes.
What I got was a slow, difficult to navigate, battery-sucking little monster. As a frequent early adopter, I have never been so disappointed; here is a product which seems to have everything and yet is good at nothing. As others have described its virtues, I am going to focus instead on its fatal flaws. And while this may seem a whole-hearted attack on the phone, I don't lack balance. I am, of course, a sucker for its form factor. I like it's size and style and weight, and I think the slanted keyboard keys work pretty nicely for what they are. Above all, I really really wanted to love this phone.
The purpose of this review is to bring to the forefront some of the major flaws that make this phone ill-suited for the mobile professional looking for productivity first and entertainment second. I have observed wholehearted adoration for this phone emanating from Cingular store employees; I suspect this is because it is good for listening to music (if you can find a way to listen to it – Bluetooth stereo headphones have not fared well in reviews thus far, and there is currently not a suitable stereo hardwired headset option), viewing 20 second video blurbs, and storing contacts. I imagine they’re not doing a whole lot of corporate emailing, Outlook syncing, or .pdf viewing.
So enough of all that - here are my top 5 reasons why you should think twice before dropping your hard earned cash on this little wonder:
1) Battery Life. As commonly complained, this phone can rarely make it through the business day without a recharge/battery swap. What this means is, I take this phone off the charger, fully charged, at 7 am, and need to have it charged again or the battery replaced by 2 to 3 pm. This is entirely unacceptable, particularly as a battery replace involves powering down and restarting the unit.
2) User Interface. While the screen is colorful and sharp, it often takes several keystrokes more than necessary to reach an application, and the UI is counterintuitive at best. The customization of the home screen is cosmetic only, and allows for no remedy of this problem. The 3rd party apps that do allow customization are cumbersome, and only slow down a phone that already has a lot of problems with…
3.) Speed. To add insult to injury, this phone is SLOW. Not often advertised is it's 200mhz processor speed - a real thorn in the side of a phone which could really benefit from a faster response time. Even the most simple apps, such as "contacts" take 2 to 3 seconds to load. I also think this must slow down the browser. Despite much vaunted 3G speeds (and I live in a dense metropolitan area and am connected to 3G most of the time), internet browsing is slow and almost unusable. The phone IS fast at downloading email attachments, but it seems that the same data speed cannot be translated effectively into speedy web browsing.
4.) Outlook compatibility. Much to my chagrin, Windows Mobile 5.0 does not support syncing to Outlook notes. Why, I can't comprehend. I was under the impression that a WinMo smartphone would be better integrated with Outlook, but clearly that is not the case. The included 3rd party app to sync to Outlook notes appears to require reentry of all of the notes on the smartphone before moving them over to a new subfolder on Outlook. This is ridiculous for anyone who has a pretty healthy archive of notes. Furthermore, the notes sync destroys categories. Overall, for my personal use (and I understand that this is not the same for everyone), this failure to play nicely with Outlook Notes is a disaster. It's also embarrassing for MS, who I tend to typically defend against all the naysayers who accuse them of half-baked product integration and luke warm innovation.
5.) Reception. I don't know if this is a problem with Cingular's 3G network or what, but reception on this phone has been approximately 50% inferior to what it was on my previous phones. I will often not receive calls at all in areas where I used to have 3 to 4 bars and have no problems. Once again, don't know if this is the phone or the network, but the fact that this phenomenon has occurred everywhere (and I have traveled with it) convinces me it is probably the phone.
In summary, I think I've made it clear I was pretty disapointed with this phone. It really has all the potential to be great. I think with a faster processor and a more intuitive interface and better Outlook compatibility, this phone will be there. In the end, I've decided that I would much rather have a slightly heavier and less glamorous phone that actually works and does well the things I need it to do than be a fashion victim to the underwhelming Blackjack.Updated
To clarify my review, I referred to the OS as Windows Mobile 5.0. It is, indeed, Windows Mobile 5.0, despite the comments I have received to the contrary. Although it is Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition as opposed to Pocket PC Edition. I cannot comment on whether or not the Pocket PC Edition natively supports Notes syncing, but I still maintain that this ommission is ironic in the context of a MS OS.77 out of 86 users found this user opinion helpful.
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One of the best!
by 2006ucsdgrad on November 20, 2006
Pros: Size, function, battery life, sync ability
Cons: Buttons are too close together
Summary: I am a phone geek, I started off with the Treo 650, then to the HP 6515, then to the ever so popular Razr, and now and I settled in ...
Summary: I am a phone geek, I started off with the Treo 650, then to the HP 6515, then to the ever so popular Razr, and now and I settled in with the Blackjack. Out of all the phones I have used in the past, the Blackjack probably had to most to offer, and by far one, if not the, most useful phone I have ever used.
The size of this phone is amazing. The thickness is close to a Razr. And unlike the Razr, it is actually pretty comfortable to hold, no uneasiness what-so-ever. The screen is beautiful, it is not a touch screen, nor is it as big as the Treo's or HP, but it gets the job done. The built in click wheel reminds me of the Blackberry, it allows for quick and easy access for opening certain applications or messages. The thickness of the phone is also a very attractive selling point(To be honest, this is the point that won me over.)The phone is no thinker than the Razr, and it fits in your pocket very nicely. All the software options are very user friendly(its what you expect from Microsoft) and if you like installing mp3 ringtones on your phones, this is the phone for you because the speaker is clear, loud, and you can tell they didn't go cheap on the media aspect. Last but not least, the camera. It was a better camera than I expected. I took a couple of pictures of my dog and a video clip of her running around, the quality is pretty gosh darn good. And with the built in media player and microSD card slot, I am sure watching movies on the phone won't be a challenge to do at all.
There are some things that can be better for this phone, after all, nothing is perfect in the world except God Himself. First off, the button are very close together. So for someone who have big hands(I am a fomer basketball player), you would sometimes hit the call button when you really wanted the menu button. The bluetooth connectivity is limited because they expect you to use the USB cable(USB sync is so Yesterday.)And finally, there is no built in WiFi. But with the 3G network and the option to use HSPDA provided by Cingular, no WiFi, no harm done. Another thing that I thought they could of improve on is the ability for the user to customize the menu, but then I guess that is a MS Windows thing.
With all that said, this is truly a great phone. With Palm not being innovative about their smartphone design and other companies making smartphones the size of a Hummer, the Blackjack offers consumer a breath of fresh air, just like Motorola did with the Q. Unless Apple come out with the Iphone anytime soon, I think I might just keep this thing for awhile.47 out of 50 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Amazing phone...be creative
by paulhunt08 on December 21, 2006
Pros: Feel, look, simplicity, functionality
Cons: Very, very few that can't be tweaked
Summary: OK, I feel I owe it to the Blackjack to write this review because of all the other reviews I read here first before finally deciding to take the plung ...
Summary: OK, I feel I owe it to the Blackjack to write this review because of all the other reviews I read here first before finally deciding to take the plung and go for it. And let me tell you I am very happy I did!
First and foremost I think the individuals that gave this phone 4's or below are the same type of people that buy a base model car and complain that it doesn't have the bells and whistles when they drive off the lot. Out of the box this phone is great but if you can actually use your brain, try some new things out and be creative this phone is going to be one of the best purchases you make for a while, at least for the 2 years cingular locks you in for.=)
I'm going to give you some examples. The first has to do with not being able to access google's GMAIL and GOOGLE MAPS mobile phone applications. This is true, out of the box these do not work because of restrictions that cingular put in the phone. HOWEVER, searching around I was able to find this (http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1055665&page=1&pp=15) which explains in full detail how to get google's applications to run flawlessly. Long story short, it works!!!
Second, the batteries. Yes, the batteries drain quicker then normal because of the 3G technology. I bet you if the same people complaining had 1 week of battery life and could only read 1 email per hour, they would gripe about the data speed. It's a lose-lose for them. I'll say it again, BE CREATIVE!!! With 3G active you could get about 3-4 hours of battery life. If you are out and about take the second battery with you. OR! turn 3G on, check your email, do your data stuff and then turn 3G off and switch to GSM mode. There is a great comment in these reviews that explains how to create a shortcut for the start menu to make the switching back and forth between the modes take about 4 seconds (I know, real tough). Just today I was switching back and forth between 3G and GSM and went through one bar of battery.
In doing some basic google searches I also discovered that you could turn the "BEAM" feature off which will increase the battery life by another 15%. Beaming is when two devices send things back and forth such as electronic business cards, etc... but why have this active all the time? There is no reason, so turn it off until or when you need it.
The screen on the blackjack is awesome too. Beautiful colors and clarity. I was hoping that one of the features of the phone would be a full picture screen of who was calling if you assigned that contact a picture. Did it have it...no. Did I toss the phone agains the wall and curse the day I got it...no. I found "Photo Contacts PRO" which is an application that can be installed on the blackjack and do exactly what I wanted with incoming caller pictures.
The only major flaw I found is that the blackjack does not have a regular 3.5mm headset jack to plug in to. It has some weird port that you have to buy a special headset for ORRRRRR you could go froogle.com, search for "blackjack 3.5mm" and buy and adapter for $4.99 so you can use your existing headset to listen to music, etc... See, it's simple.
Here is my final word. In getting these types of devices every person has their own expectations of what they want. Rarely does something come off the shelf that you are competely satisfied with. Remember that they put this-icon-here and that-menu-there because they polled a bunch of people that tested this product and took the average of what was considered "positive feedback". Do your own research on how to tweak the blackjack. Read posts on tips and tricks. Hell, creative people even started blackjackusers.com for people. Use your head. Don't read to much into the "I took it out of the box and it didn't...." reviews. This phone is amazing and worth the $200 hands down.26 out of 28 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not bad, Not Great
by robkman on December 8, 2006
Pros: Size, Many Functions, Bright Screen
Cons: Battery Life, Music Volume Output
Summary: I have been using the Blackjack for 1 week now. I have never had a PDA (last phone was a Nokia 6200). Overall I would give this phone a 7....
Summary: I have been using the Blackjack for 1 week now. I have never had a PDA (last phone was a Nokia 6200). Overall I would give this phone a 7.5 out of 10.
Phone / Talking - The phone is about a 7 out of 10. It picks up background noise easy but I can talk and hear ok. When using a wired head set I found the sound to be muffled and not up to my expectations. I also used the Motorala Bluetooth head set (the one that flips open and closes) and also found this to be a little muffled. The speaker phone was pretty good though.
PDA - The PDA features are good. The key pad is very nice and small but useable. They should have raised the circle navigation buttons a little bit to help you avoid hitting the buttons next to it. The dial on the right is easy to use and press to select items. I use this to get my work email. Cingular service dropped the ball a little with helping me with some settings (All mail being sent out uses cwmx.com) but it all works great now. I can synch my Calender and Contacts from MS Outlook to my phone with the included USB data cable.
Music Playing - I have the 2 GB memory card which took me a few minutes to get in but now I have the hang of it. It comes with Windows Media Player and I can play all of my MP3's collected even since the Napster days. The sound pumps out very faint though so I was disappointed here. I took the Boston subway (aka The T) and found it hard to hear the songs even when the volume was maxed out. The speaker plays songs nice but again not with even average background noise (unless you hold it close to your ear).
Browsing - I used Internet Explorer and went to CNN.com. This was above expectations. The screen was nice and bright with vivid colors. The articles were easy to read with many lines on one single screen.
Battery - It comes with two batteries so that tells you the story already. It will get you through the day if you are not a heavy user. I check email frequently and take moderate phone calls (sometimes the battery makes it through the day sometimes not).
Camera - The camera is easy to use and a nice feature but thats about all I can tell you since I dont use it much.
Overall I like the phone. The size is great, PDA/Phone is good, and features are good. Many things could have been done better but for what I wanted (a small quality phone with a full key pad and PDA) you can not beat it right now.
Hope that helps someone.13 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Fantastic phone. The best I have ever owned
by matt34207 on June 6, 2007
Pros: Super signal strength, very loud earpiece volume, thin as a Razor, very clear user interface, easy text messaging, easy navigation.
Cons: Supposedly slow battery life, although I havent seen it at all.
Summary: This phone is the best I have ever used. I did extensive research before purchasing and I have not been let down to say the least. Better then ANY other ...
Summary: This phone is the best I have ever used. I did extensive research before purchasing and I have not been let down to say the least. Better then ANY other phone in its class. I wasn't even going to write a review until I saw others making fallacious claims that simply arent true. This phone has great reception, very easy to navigate after 5 minutes of experimenting unless you are mentally incapacitated.
The speed of the phone is great, not quite sure where this complaint originated from, perhaps someone who purchased a motorola Q and decided to launch a hate campaign after realizing their mistake.
The battery life seems fine to me, I have used it for several days and after each day I still have full power even using the lessor of the batteries that come with the unit (the slimmer one.) This could be different if you are constantly using other apps which drain the battery, but thats why they give you two.
You can program quick launch applications to access them quickly from the main screen, so it only takes several keystrokes if you do not have the capacity to program this, which is simple, and even then you can do this very quickly.
Accessing websites is very crisp, although keep in mind that if you access websites which are slow themselves then of course you are going to be bottlenecked by their bandwidth, of course no fault due to the phone itself.
this phone is great, do not pay any attention to the hate mongering that certain people have commented on and listen to the vast majority of reviews that show what truely a great phone it is. Thats why it gets one of the highest ratings among CNET and its users combined. You will not be disappointed.8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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It was almost a great phone!
by guardian080 on November 21, 2006
Pros: Great reception, Great pairing with bluetooth, great software
Cons: HORRIBLE BATTERY LIFE!!!!!!!
Summary: This phone was almost perfect when I picked it up...couldn't wait to get started. But I use my phone all day, and for work purposes. In saying that, ...
Summary: This phone was almost perfect when I picked it up...couldn't wait to get started. But I use my phone all day, and for work purposes. In saying that, i was horribly dissapointed with this phone. Like i said, it was almost perfect, but the battery life sucks!!!! I was almost out of juice after 2 hours! The phone comes with two batteries, and even with both batteries you MAY get about 5 hours of use out of this phone. What's the use of having this grwa tphone if u can't use it???? You literally have to keep it in a wall outlet to benefit from the full functions of the phone. If you expect to have a phone with a good battery life that you can use throughout the day for productivity, leave this one on the shelf! I would recommend the Treo or the Cingular 8525.
12 out of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.
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You can't beat Blackjack!
by anduins on November 16, 2006
Pros: Voice quality, solid build, keyboard & screen quality
Cons: No Wi-Fi, no touchscreen
Summary: So far this phone is outstanding. The phone comes standard with TWO batteries and you can charge it via USB connection or by the standard wall socket. So far battery ...
Summary: So far this phone is outstanding. The phone comes standard with TWO batteries and you can charge it via USB connection or by the standard wall socket. So far battery life is as expected.
Screen quality is bright and very easy to read. You're able to customize the phone to suit your taste. The build quality is very solid although I'd rather they didn't use such a flimsy cover for the USB connection (let's hope it stands up to a lot of use).
Turning it on takes forever, mostly due to some dopey Cingular and 3G logos (so I just don't turn it off) but once it's on it performs well (not great but good enough).
The MicroSD card is a must if you plan on watching your own video or listing to MP3s.
It's got a one button shortcut key that changes the phone from a ring to a vibration (I use this more than I thought).
This phone does not dissapoint!10 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great phone but Cingular spoiled it.
by DrChad on November 30, 2006
Pros: Cool looks, great size, lots of features.
Cons: Application restrictions, no WiFi, spaces between phone keys?
Summary: If you've checked out this phone and played around with it for even a few minutes, you know this is a pretty cool little phone with a lot of ...
Summary: If you've checked out this phone and played around with it for even a few minutes, you know this is a pretty cool little phone with a lot of good features. However, what you may not know is that you will need to pay for Cingular's more expensive Internet/Data package @ $39.99/mo to use even simple Java applications such as the new downloadable versions of Google Gmail and Google Maps and the Opera browser.
According to Samsung, the Blackjack was built to Cingular’s specifications with certain application restrictions.
Restrictions? What gives Cingular? Disappointing!
The Java applications worked FLAWLESSLY on my previous Audiovox SMT5600 Smartphone using Cingular’s “unlimited� Internet/Data plan at $19.99/mo.
Not being informed of this by Cingular in the first place and after spending hours talking to Microsoft, Google, and Samsung trying to resolve the non-working Java issue, this is why I will probably return the Blackjack and go back to the SMT5600 or look very seriously at the T-Mobile Dash/Excalibur/Cavalier series.
Otherwise, the phone has performed very well with good phone and signal quality and no real “glitches�. At least Samsung got it right. Too bad Cingular spoiled the party for me.Updated
Now that Windows Live Search has gone, well, live with it's new search and map program for Smartphones and PDA phones, I've decided to keep the Blackjack.
As much as I love Google, WLS kicks a** with this new application. And since it's not a Java app, it runs sooooooo much smoother and efficient than Gmaps. Sorry Goog.
See it here: http://wls.live.com
So, as much as I was ticked off at Cingular for restricting the Java app on the phone thus not allowing me to use the downloadable Gmail and Gmaps, I've decided to keep the phone.
So Cingular, you can send Microsoft some flowers.......8 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Disappointing!
by rsimonite on December 2, 2006
Pros: Great phone, size and screen
Cons: Battery life is terrible! Cramped keys, poor navigation
Summary: This is such a nice phone, with great sound quality and a beautiful, sharp screen. Unfortunatly, the battery live is very short and I can't make it thru the ...
Summary: This is such a nice phone, with great sound quality and a beautiful, sharp screen. Unfortunatly, the battery live is very short and I can't make it thru the day without changing the battery. The performance is slow and the internet performance unreliable, particularrly when the phone is loaded with contact and calendar information. I don't think that the phone has enough memory to handle all of its features. I also find the Windows Mobility software to be very awkward compared to the Palm OS. I really want to keep the phone because it is cool but its drawbacks make it unusable for me. (I use my phone and PDA for business).
7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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AWESOME JUST AWESOME!
by Priaptor on November 17, 2006
Pros: Does everything
Cons: No WiFi, but who cares
Summary: This is as good as it gets. The 3G is incredibly fast making the need for WiFi moot. E-mail push with Exchange is flawless. The sound is great. The keyboard ...
Summary: This is as good as it gets. The 3G is incredibly fast making the need for WiFi moot. E-mail push with Exchange is flawless. The sound is great. The keyboard analogous to the Thinkpads for computers. Its small and thin and a very bright screen and very speedy.
Right now the perfect PDA/Phone, bar none.Updated
I just got back from Cingular after needing a replacement. After a week, the phone could receive e-mails, text, internet but could no longer make calls. Cingular replaced both my 3G card and phone, so kudos to them. Only other problem I can complain about is how freaking difficult it is to remove the battery cover. Despite a minor setback, I LOVE this phone.6 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: I607
- Description: The SAMSUNG i607 was designed from the chips up for one purpose: to make you look smart. It comes loaded with Windows mobile 5.0 software, a full QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 wireless technology and slim, sexy styling. In other words, the BlackJack will keep you organized, in touch, on the job and looking good. You're feeling smarter already, aren't you?
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type Smartphone
- Form Factor Bar
- Phone Design Candy Bar
- Integrated Components Digital camera,
Digital player - Width 2.3 in
- Depth 0.5 in
- Height 4.4 in
- Weight 3.5 oz
Cellular
- Technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
- Band WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- Mobile Broadband Generation 3G
- Service Provider AT&T
- Operating System Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone
- Application Software Windows Media Player,
Microsoft ActiveSync - Input Device(s) Keyboard
Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services SMS,
MMS - Supported Email Protocols POP3,
IMAP4 - Messaging & Data Features Text messages,
Multimedia messages (MMS),
WAP Push Communications
- Data Transmission GPRS,
EDGE - Wireless Interface Bluetooth 2.0
- Communication Features Mobile Email client
Phone Features
- Phone Functions Vibrating alert
- Additional Features TTY compatible
Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3
Processor
- Clock Speed 220 MHz
Memory
- RAM 64 MB
- ROM 128 MB
- Supported Flash Memory Cards microSD
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 1.3 megapixels
- Digital Zoom 2
- Digital Video Formats 3gp
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT
- Diagonal Size 2.2 in
- Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels
- Color Depth 16-bit (65000 colors)
Connections
- Connector Type Headset jack,
USB Battery
- Technology Lithium ion
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 330 min
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter , Power adapter
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Samsung
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
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