If there’s one device I was really anxious to see hit the market it had to be the re-incarnation of the Cingular BlackJack. I really, really liked my BlackJack, to the point where it was hard to give up the device and move on to the Treo 750. But ultimately I think I made the right decision as I enjoyed having a touch screen back. Granted the Treo left its own things to be desired, but it turned out to be a great device for me. With the announcement that AT&T would be bringing out the second generation of the BlackJack my mind started racing. I KNEW Samsung would be listening to people and adding WiFi (nope), making an already thin device even thinner (nope), and really fixing the battery life (again nope).

Well, as it turns out I was wrong on all accounts. Samsung put in GPS instead of WiFi, made the BlackJack thicker and slightly heavier, and made minimal efforts to improve battery life.

The other thing I got excited about was Brandon (pocketnow.com) would definitely be picking one up and doing a review. Now, that day has come and after having read it "cover to cover" I can honestly say I’m glad I didn’t wait around for the BlackJack II. I trust Brandon to give an honest and fair opinion on something – especially something like the BlackJack which he also loved.

For me, the original BlackJack was as close to the "ideal" of what I want in a Windows Mobile phone than I’ve ever come. Sure it didn’t have GPS, WiFi, or decent battery life (with the standard battery), but it was attractive, thin, snappy in terms of performance, and easy to use from a form factor perspective. I was elated when I heard tell that AT&T would be issuing a successor to the BlackJack, dubbed (fittingly) the BlackJack II. I have high hopes for this device, and what is to follow is a thorough evaluation of the successor to my favorite device yet. Read on to see if it’s a worthy successor!

Click on through for the rest of Brandon’s review including plenty of high-res images! 

pocketnow.com – Reviews – AT&T Samsung BlackJack II with Windows Mobile 6 Standard