State of the union

FYI – Categories broke in the last WordPress update. They are now fixed.

So spammers started hitting the forums and made them unusable for I took them down.  The Blackjack II phone is obsolete at this point, so the value forums provide is minimal at best.

I am leaving the site with its downloads/comments up, but removing the forums due to the abuse.

Help support myblackjack2.com by checking out thrive american made furniture.

Thanks

Invisible Shield give away! We have a winner!

clockwork won with lucky #8! congrats!

I was cleaning out my desk today and stumbled across a Full Body Invisible Shield for the Samsung Blackjack II that I had received many moons ago as promo.

Since I already have an Invisible Shield, I thought I’d give it away.

First person to leave a comment with the number I am thinking of between 1 and 20 (inclusive) wins the Invisible Shield.

Just post a comment with the number you choose and your e-mail address (i’ll contact you at email address to get your shipping info so make sure its legit!)

Flexilis Beta 4 Released!

Download Flexilis Beta 4

I posted about Flexilis a while ago and since then its really come into its own. Flexilis is a FREE anti-virus/firewall application that your Blackjack 2 that syncs with their online service allowing you to backup and restore all sorts of your Blackjack 2′s data.

In Beta 4, Flexilis has released an AWESOME new web interface that is really slick and easy to use. Since their initial release they’ve added the ability to restore the following to your phone:

• SMS
• Contacts
• Pictures
• Videos
• Sounds
• Calls

…along with a ton of other features.

This is really the perfect online back-up tool for everyone with an unlimited data plan. Flexilis also provides anti-virus and firewall functionality for your phone which is also pretty cool.

If you aren’t using this already, and have a unilimited data connection, I highly recommend you check it out.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All!

I hope everyone finds time to put down their Blackjack 2′s over the holidays and spend some time with the family!

The AT&T Samsung Epix (or what we though was going to be the Blackjack 3)

AT&T quietly launched the Samsung Epix in the United States. The Samsung Epix is what Samsung is called what was previously the hotly anticipated Blackjack 3.

• AT&T’s Samsung Epix Product Page

Blackjack II Windows Mobile 6.1 Sooner Than We Hoped? (I Hope!)

First off, let me say that this is all speculation and until AT&T and/or Samsung release an official statement!

King Fisher and rkmtnraz have alerted me to an update on Samsung’s Support Web site (Mirror, thanks germ) that suggests that the Windows Mobile 6.1 Update for the Blackjack II will be released sooner than I had thought!

Also Steven C. notified me AT&T has released the Windows Mobile 6.1 Update for the AT&T Tilt which lends even more credence to the notion that AT&T will be rolling out the Windows Mobile 6.1 Update for the Blackjack II soon.

All I have to say is I’m going to pissed if they release it this weekend since I’m going to be stuck in Florida for a wedding. Grr.

Of course there is no guarantees an I’m probably just getting everyone’s hopes up again like I promised not to. Sorry in advance

Samsung Blackjack 2 Available in Pink and Blue!

Samsung and AT&T are releasing the Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-i617) in two new colors: “Romantic Pink” and” Ocean Blue”. The new design sports a white front with colored keys and a silver D-Pad/Wheel, while the back is a minimalist 70′s-esque design. The back is a matte finish opposed to the gloss finish of the original black Blackjack 2.

Is this an attempt to push the remaining Blackjack II stock out the door? Or possibly a move to endear the younger generation to Samsung’s (previously business-y) Smartphone line up?

Check out AT&T’s Web site for more details on the Blue Samsung Blackjack II and Pink Samsung Blackjack II.

Thanks to Cyclefreaksix for the heads up!

Is The Samsung SGH-i788 A Likely Successor?

Is the Samsung SGH-i788 a likely successor to the Blackjack II?

TamWMS contends that the SGH-i788 is in fact a very UNLIKELY candidate for the next Blackjack III.The gist of TamWMS’s argument is Windows Mobile Standard (non-touchscreen) and Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen) handle very differently:

… A person who can use a WMS will have huge problems handling a PocketPC and vice versa.
…
Customers usually expect phones from a series to handle similarly – the i788 could come to AT&T, but it won’t be the BlackJack III.

I contend that the SGH-i788 (or something _very_ similar) will become the next Samsung Blackjack III.

• Windows Mobile Standard (non-touchscreen) phones are a dying breed. With the huge success of the iPhone and touch technologies I see a marked decline in non-touchscreen Smartphones in the very near future. This is not to say that the phones will not be able to function without interacting with the screen, just that they will have the “touch” capabilities if you choose to use them.
• They SGH-i788 has a very similar look to the the Blackjack and Blackjack II.
• There is no other non-US model that meets the AT&T Roadmap’s specs as closely as the SGH-i788.

Could this be the Samsung Blackjack 3?

Could the Samsung SGH-i780 (Currently UK-only) be the Samsung Blackjack 3 (before a couple tweaks by Samsung’s engineers, and be released as the SGH-i788?

Here are a couple people that think so:

• Engadget Mobile
• IntoMobile
• MultiCellphone
• The Unwired

Samsung SGH-i788

AT&T Leaks Announcement of Samsung Blackjack 3

The good people at GearDiary somehow got their hands on AT&T 2008 Road map which briefly mentions the impending release of the Samsung Blackjack 3.

Samsung Blackjack 3 due in Q4 this year, specs below:

Windows Mobile SP 6.1
Tri-band HSDPA (3.6); Quad-band EDGE
528 MHz processor
128MB RAM/ 256MB ROM
Camera 3 MP
AGPS
VSC
WiFi

Launch Target: late Q4/08

Let me break down the information:

• Windows Mobile SP 6.1 — The latest version of the Windows Mobile OS
• Tri-Band HSDPA (3.6) — Will run on the 3G Network (up to 3.6 Mbps)
• Quad-band EDGE — Will run on the slower but more wide-spread EDGE network (up to 135Kbps)
• 528 MHz processor — Speed of the CPU (The Samsung Blackjack II’s processor speed is 260 MHz)
• 128 RAM/256 ROM — 128 MB of memory on the phone. (ROM amount is irrelevant to the user)
• Camera 3 MP — 3 MegaPixel camera. A 3 MP camera can take a picture up to a resolution of 2048 x 1536, or Print size of 6.5″ x 4.8″ at 320 dpi or 8.5″ x 6.4″ dpi.
• AGPS — Assisted GPS is an enhanced form of GPS; All this means is the phone will have built in GPS.
• VSC — Vertical Service Codes mean the Blackjack 3 will support the dialing of numbers that begin with special characters like * or #.
• WiFi — Wireless networking capabilities.

• Launch Target: late Q4/08 – The launch date will be sometime between the beginning of October 2008 and the end of December 2008 … just in time for the holiday rush!
  

Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Upgrade Available ... Sometime?

UPDATE: As July 2008 draws to a close, it looks like the anticipated July release date of the WM6.1 Update was incorrect. New estimates put the release end-of-Q3/Q4 2008. Sorry to get everyone’s hopes up.

The buzz on the internet is that sometime this month (July 2008) AT&T/Samsung will be releasing the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard upgrade for the Samsung Blackjack II.

When the upgrade becomes available I will make an announcement with intructions how to upgrade.

Update: I believe when the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade is available, it will be posted for download on the Samsung Blackjack II support page.

Some of the big features of Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard are:

• Threaded SMS
• Updated Dynamic Home screen
• Updates to PocketIE
• Copy/Paste
• …and much  more!

  

In the mean time, start thinking about what you want to backup from your Blackjack II (contacts, messages, e-mail, photos, etc.) because when you upgrade it will wipe your phone clean. I suggest checking out Dashwire.

Evernote Has Gone Public!

Find out about Evernote

Evernote has gone public — You no longer need an invite to use Evernote’s services.

If you dont know what Evernote’s all about, check out my write-up.

TheSmartFONE.com

Hi all,

You may have noticed I haven’t been posting as much on MyBlackjack2.com the last week or two (and you may have noticed some intermittent errors, oops!) The reason is I’ve been working on getting TheSmartFONE up and running.

TheSmartFONE is essentially MyBlackjack2.com but displays only the posts that are relevant to all Windows Mobile Standard Smartphones. I figured the domain name “MyBlackjack2.com” probably alienated alot of Windows Mobile Smartphone owners even when 80% of the content on MyBlackjack2.com is applicable to their phones. I’m hoping the new site will help make these users feel more at home.

Don’t worry though – Since TheSmartFONE contains a subset of MyBlackjack2.com, MyBlackjack2.com’s content will not suffer. Any post that is relevant to Windows Mobile Smartphones will appear on both sites, and Blackjack 2 specific posts will continue to only appear on MyBlackjack2.

Anyhow, spread the word — and let me know if there you notice anything weird on either site!

Thanks,

david

Welcome to TheSmartFONE

TheSmartFONE aims to be your number one resource for Windows Mobile Standard Smartphone’s on the web. The idea is to create an clean, concise and over all easy-to-use web site that caters to all your Windows Mobile Smartphone needs.

Some of the more popular Windows Mobile Standard Smartphones are:

• Motorola Q
• Motorola Q9 (all models)
• Samsung Blackjack
• Samsung Blackjack II
• T-Mobile Dash

If you are unsure if you have Windows Mobile Standard Smartphone it’s actually very easy to tell — If you are running the Windows Mobile Operating System on your phone and you do NOT have a touch-screen, then you have a Windows Mobile Standard Smartphone.

Hope everyone enjoys the site — please leave a comment or e-mail me with any suggestions on how to make the site better!

If you own a Samsung Blackjack II, check out our sister site MyBlackjack2.com.

Thanks,

david

Theme files have been converted to CABs

Hi all,

I’ve converted all the Themes on MyBlackjack2.com to CAB files (they were previously ZIP files).

The benefits are as follows:

• They can now be downloaded using PocketIE
• They can be installed/removed very easily

… hrm. That list doesn’t look that impressive now that I’ve written it out. Anyhow, check out the updated “How to install a MyBlackjack2.com Theme” if you have questions.

How do you feel about GoogleAds?

Here is the next poll in the series.

Please answer honestly, or not at all!

Please comment on this post with your thoughts!

Checkout the the general feeling towards Ringtones purchases – I have to admit I was surprised!

Thanks to everyone for their help!

Would You Ever Buy Ringtones?

In an effort to make MyBlackjack2.com fiscally sustainable I will be posting several polls over the next few weeks to better understand the Blackjack 2 user demographic. I will use this information to focus on content that is not only valuable to the users of this site, but that also will help make MyBlackjack2.com self-sufficient. (Paying out of pocket for site-related expenses is no fun!)

Please answer honestly, or not at all!

Please comment on this post with your thoughts!

Thanks to everyone for their support!

Blackjack 2 Forums are Go!

Hi all,

I decided to toss up a Blackjack 2 forum to replace User Suggestions and provide an alternative to comments for seeking help! You can access them using the “Blackjack 2 Forums” on the right-hand menu.

Users must be registered with MyBlackjack2.com to post/reply in the forum, but everyone can read it.

I moved all the relevant Comments out of the various User Suggestions posts and put them in the appropriate forums.

Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to make the new Blackjack 2 forums better (or if you notice anything that’s acting like it shouldn’t!)

Hope everyone (in the States) has a great Memorial day weekend!

Check out the Blackjack 2 Forums!

CAB File Downloads in PocketIE Fixed!

Hello all,

All you PocketIE users may have had trouble downloading CAB files from the site to your smartphones — The reason is I never set up a mime-type for them when I switched hosting companies. As of now, CAB files are sent with a mime-type of “application/cab” which will prevent PocketIE from trying to open them as a text document (resulting in garbled text).

If you continue to have this problem when downloading a CAB file from myblackjack2.com, clear PocketIE’s “Temporary Files” and try again.

Thanks to Steve for alerting me of this issue!

Long live Opera Mobile!

What Do You Want More Of?

Help me make this the best Web site out there for the Samsung Blackjack 2!

Please comment on this post with suggestions how I can make the site better!

Thanks to everyone for their support!