The Samsung BlackJack Mobile Phone is a 3G device with high-end features and a reasonable price. With the amount of multimedia extras on phones these days, access to high-speed networks is imperative. The BlackJack uses UMTS/HSPDA, allowing you to swiftly download music or videos from the Internet. There's a full QWERTY keyboard for web surfing or messaging friends, and the MP3 player offers good performance with files stored on the 64MB of internal memory or on the MicroSD card.

Other than the 3G network, connectivity is also supplied via Bluetooth, infrared, and a USB port. And if being constantly connected is your focus, push e-mail is available for immediate message retrieval. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi is not supported and office documents such as Word and PowerPoint can be viewed, but not edited.

The quad-band BlackJack is lighter and more compact than most smart phones on the market and its small dimensions also mean that the phone is a bit cramped. Though the buttons are raised, navigation of the menus can be occasionally tricky and missteps happen until your hand becomes familiarized with the device.

The camera offers reasonably good pictures, but given the other high-end features, it's a bit disappointing that they are only 1.3 megapixels with access to only a 2x zoom. The camera also lacks a flash. However, when displayed on the 65K-color 320x240 pixel LCD, photos are considerably vibrant and crisp. Meanwhile, the phone offers excellent call quality and a speakerphone with rich sound. Battery life is commendable at about 6 hours of talk time and 12 days of standby, but if you leave Bluetooth on, it is significantly less. Other features include: voice recorder, MP3 and vibrating ringers and predictive text entry. Overall, if you're looking for a compact 3G device but don't want to pay an exorbitant price, this is a solid buy.

Pros: 3G network, price, QWERTY keyboard, good MP3 player, compact size, vibrant screen
Cons: cramped buttons, no Wi-Fi, so-so camera

Warranty
1 year