Samsung Jack Cell phone review
- Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
- Date: Dec 1,2008
After a year of using a cell phone that hangs up on half the people that call me, my cell phone contract has finally expired and it’s time to get a new phone at a huge discount.
My Cell phone carrier, Fido, has never sold blackberry services. (Which is strange because they’re owned by Rogers who was the first to offer blackberry service here in Montreal) I’m an email addict and this has been a pain. About 6 months ago they finally offered a service like the blackberry, (Called blackberry connect) but was only supported on a specific Nokia brand telephone. (Although lots of people have been successfully able to use the fake fido blackberry service with unlocked blackberries)
After a visit to the nearest Fido Store in downtown Montreal, I’ve discovered that things have finally changed! (Fido used to have a very easy to use website with all the information that is needed, now they’ve completely changed it and I can’t find anything I wanted on it. So I had to go in person. Fido, if you’re reading this, what were you thinking?!)
Despite their now crappy website, I’m a big fan of Fido. They give good service and have affordable prices. I was happy to hear they now supported the 3G Wireless High speed Network. They had 2 phones that I could see myself using. The Iphone, and the Samsung Jack. (Also knows as the Samsung Blackjack 2, or the Samsung i616)
The Iphone I have used, was very impressed with the touch screen interface, but was just too expensive and lacked certain techie features that I can see myself using.
The Samsung Jack, I didn’t even know existed until that moment. It looks like one of the common blackberry models that are out there. I tried the Qwerty keyboard right away, and it worked great, which was almost the only thing I cared about since all I REALLY wanted was a phone with email support and a keyboard that with time I can learn to type REALLY fast on with my 2 thumbs. (I used to have a Blackberry RIM 950 like the picture on the right, and the keyboard on that thing was amazing. In the end, I could almost type as fast on that as on a regular pc keyboard.)
The Samsung Jack runs on Windows Mobile 6.1. It includes windows Media Player, Office, VPN Access, email and exchange server capabilities, and has a built in GPS. There is a slot for a Micro SD card on the side which makes it easy to swap out music or video’s.
Other than the obvious email access, there is one thing I REALLY LOVE about the samsung jack. It can be used as a modem for either high speed internet or dial-up !! This means that I can connect my cell phone to my Windows PC via bluetooth or USB Cable. The PC will give me the option of setting it up as a dial up modem or as a network adapter. If setting it up as a network adapter, that PC will now have high speed internet ! (Although it will be part of the Data plan on the cell phone) Otherwise, I can set it up as a dial up modem, in which case the speed will be much slower but the call will fall under the voice plan of the telephone. (In my case I have an unlimited voice plan) This will be handy for me to connect to remote phone systems while outside of the office, which can only be done via modem with special software.
All in all, I’m very happy with this cell phone. The volume quality is great and loud (I have bad hearing over the phone), the interface is easy to use, I’ve dropped it a couple of times already but it has survived. I’m not all that impressed with the battery life though, although it’s not a deal breaker as far as i’m concerned. To make things better, in the end I got this phone for FREE (since I renewed my agreement) and even got a free $80 nokia bluetooth headset.
If you need a new cell phone, I suggest the Samsung Jack thanks to all the features that techie’s will love.
Visit Fido, they’re one of the better cell phone carriers in Montreal despite their awful “new” website. For a full list of features about this phone, visit this link!
Stay tuned for a review of my girlfriends new Iphone !
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