Samsung Jack (AT&T)

AT&T has one of the best selections of smart phones under $100, which now includes the Samsung Jack, a worthy successor to the popular BlackJack and BlackJack II. It’s not quite as stylish as the ultrathin Nokia E71x, but if you’re looking for a Windows Mobile phone, you’ll find the Jack’s fast 3G data speeds, comfortable keyboard, and good GPS performance satisfying.

Design

The Jack has a much more rounded façade than its predecessors, which were squared at the edges. Measuring 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches, it’s just a hair thicker than the BlackJack II, and weighs a heavier 3.6 ounces. This phone’s slim chrome border flanks a gunmetal-gray keyboard and rear battery panel. Its size, specs, and rounded form factor remind us of a cross between the larger, more expensive BlackBerry Bold and the identically priced yet thinner Nokia E71x.

The Jack has a bright 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, which is the same size and resolution as the Nokia E71x, but it’s not nearly as sharp or as crisp as the $149 BlackBerry Curve 8900 (480 x 360 pixels).

Below the screen, the circular dial bar on the BlackJack II has been replaced with a five-way navigation pad. Two soft buttons, a home screen, and a return button surround the nav pad. Send/End buttons are to the left and right of the pad, respectively. We do miss the scroll wheel on the original BlackJack, which made it easy to navigate through long e-mail inboxes, and other lengthy lists. Volume controls and a power button are on the left side of the phone. Samsung’s proprietary charging/headphone port is on the right side, but it doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a shame. It does have a 3.2-megapixel camera (without flash) on the back.

Keyboard

While they’re not as well spaced as the keys on the BlackJack II, the Jack’s keyboard is good enough. Its keys are larger and easy to type on, but somewhat close together, which is why we accidentally clicked the wrong keys a few times before getting used to the layout. Users will appreciate the quick-launch shortcuts for commonly used apps, such as the camera, GPS, message inbox, and for Web access.

User Interface

The Jack runs Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, and Microsoft tells us that Samsung will offer an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 when it’s available later this year. Samsung added a touch of its own to the Jack’s OS with its Samsung Popup theme. This feature displays your favorite applications on the desktop as thumbnails, so that you can view your calendar events, e-mail inbox, and more, all at a glance.