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As an unloyal Blackjack (BJ1) user, I was extremely eager to get my hands on the new version.  For my BJ1, countless supposed release dates for Windows Mobile 6 update had come and gone leaving the only hope of upgrade to getting a new phone.  Thankfully, Samsung dropped the Blackjack II (BJ2) phone late last month.

First Impression:

This new phone is way more upscale then the original.  The first thing I noticed was the band of chromed metal surround the phone like the frosting of an Oreo cookie.  My review unit came in the Wine color which is quite nice.  Not red, definitely not purple and comes no where near insulting my man hood.  The Blackjack 2 feels like a phone you spent lots of money on.

Where did that go?

Clever Samsung made some changes that are a bit odd: they’ve made the BJ2 wider than the original by a very small margin (it fits in my holder but only by forcing it), they shifted the keys around, and took away my beloved jog wheel. Creating yet another battery size (the original came with two sizes) just doesn’t make sense to me but then again, I don’t sell replacements as I am sure Samsung does.

The oddest change I’ve noted so far is the change in quick commands in lists.  Instead of hitting <menu> then “1” to delete an email, you hit “a”.  But it is not consistent, some menus use the Windows method of underscoring the letter in the command you desire; other times you get A, B, C.  The original had numbers to choose from which I found it easier to locate the “3” instead of where the “c” is.

Other annoyances include changing hotkeys and special secret functions like holding down “b” to turn on Bluetooth.  Many of those are things that just must be relearned, but I’ll grouse anyhow.  This would bug no one but a former BJ1 owner.  Still no WiFi…

Highlights so far:

As I said up on top, this phone just feels better in the hand.  The internal GPS and the newest version of TeleNav GPS has me all excited.  Windows Mobile 6 gets an, “I don’t know yet” mark from me as beside seeing the icons for Mobile Office, I don’t seem able to do much with them yet.  The small indicator light on the front of the unit in the upper left-hand side is a nice new addition, letting me know when new mail is in.  The bigger screen is very nice looking as is the textured back surface, like a cars dash, provides a nice grip on what can otherwise be a slippery surface.

I have high hopes for the Blackjack II and will have a full worked-over/beat-down review up soon.

On Thursday, November 15th, 2007, we had a chance to get over to the Wired store in NY for the big launch party. For those of you scratching your head, wondering “since when did Wired have a store”, not to worry. The Wired Store is a pop-up store that Conde Nast and Wired open during the holiday time down in SoHo, to feature some of the hottest current and future products as well as a opportunity for their sponsors to get some time in the limelight.

Some of the better sponsors were Patron, which was offerings a make your own mojito and Infinity, who has offered a fleet of vehicles to drive you to the closest store to buy your newly discovered must-have gadget.

The cooler products were the: OLPC, Optimus Keyboard, Guitar Hero III & Rock Band, AudioEngine 2, as well as some digital frames, solar-powered bags, HDTVs, robots, laptops, and headphones.

Click on for some photos from the night.

We’ve gotten some good ole’ hands on time with Philips’ new 6.5” Digital photo display (7FF1AW) and are itchin’ to show you some snapshot goodness.  The display is a handy addition to any wall unit, shelf, or table - as long as it’s not in the line of the TV.  You wouldn’t want this thing distracting you from an episode of 24, would you?  The device accepts both SD (Secure Digital) and Compact Flash memory cards in all sizes, and will even store up to 50 of your photos internally.  It will also connect directly up to your camera or computer for some file transfer action.  Check out some more sweet shots of the Philips display after the break.

Read [Philips]