For those of you waiting on the WM 6.1 Standard update for your BlackJack 2, your wait is now over.  Samsung has re-re-released the update, and its now available for your consumption.  For those new to the BJ update process, you’re going to need to download a Samsung modem driver and install it before you install the software. 

Complete instructions can be found at the Samsung site.  Update contents and the download link can befound after the break… Continue Reading

In March I bought a BlackJack II off eBay US, since I wanted a cheap smartphone with a keyboard. It was very cheap, had HSDPA (important) and ran Windows Mobile 6, so I was pretty happy. But not long after I got it I realised it just wasn’t quite right, especially after having used the Nokia N95 8GB for several months.

I found the BlackJack II too have a rather poor radio, it’s signal strength was always pathetic. Worse than that, often when it would lose signal it would not reconnect to the network properly, therefore calls, messages and emails didn’t come through. Rebooting the phone at least once a day because the signal wouldn’t be detected or the data connection wouldn’t connect even with signal bars showing was a major PITA. Perhaps a ROM update would fix this, but I haven’t seen one.

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Last night I put my BlackJack II up for sale on eBay in anticipation of the 3G iPhone release. It sold just a few hours later, so I am all set for when it arrives in June (hopefully :P).

But this morning while perusing my usual tech news websites I saw a link to The Boy Genius to a review of Nokia’s revision of the E61, the E71. In 2006 I actually considered an E61 because of it’s large, gorgeous screen and spacious thumboard, but ultimately decided against it because it was so wide. This new model though looks absolutely fantastic!

I’ve been switching between the BlackJack II and the N95 8GB for the past two months, simply because the Nokia was faster, had better signal strength everywhere, and has an excellent 5 megapixel camera, a feature I have noticed myself using a lot more often these days. Oddly, my Exchange email seemed to work better and emails come through on the Nokia too.

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