Samsung & Microsoft's BlackJack a pearl of phone

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 15 November 2006 08:08

Opinion and Analysis

You have to admire the chutzpah of Cingular Wireless giving its new Windows 5.0 based 'prosumer' PDA a name not dissimilar to that of Research in Motion whose recently launched  BlackBerry Pearl device it is squarely positioned against.

The BlackJack, to be available exclusively on Cingular's US network is a 3G device running Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 built by Samsung. It will sell for as low as $US199.99 (with a two-year activation and unlimited data plan), and is billed as an "ultra-thin" device.

It has a lot in common with the Pearl (for which the average price according to MSN Shopping is $US240). Both have a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera, the Blackjack has video capture capabilities, not sure about the Pearl. And the BlackJack will feature Cingular Video(TM), Cingular's on-demand streaming video service. Both come with stereo Bluetooth version 2.0 headset support. The Blackjack has a true qwerty keyboard, the Pearl a more condensed SureType keyboard.

The Pearl, of course works with RIM's push email technology, the Blackjack with RIM's main rival, Good Mobile Messaging, with Microsoft direct push technology with Outlook Mobile and Cingular Xpress Mail. The BlackJack, like the Pearl, offers over-the-air synchronisation of calendar, contact and to-do lists and access to enterprise applications.

So what's the differences? Well, number one, as the blurb says: "With Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, Cingular BlackJack users have access to mobile versions of many of the familiar Microsoft features found on their desktops, such as Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile and Outlook Mobile."

For many users these are all likely to prove good reasons for picking a Blackjack instead of a Pearl.