I was eagerly awaiting the release of the Blackberry Pearl on Cingular so I could hop on the RIM bandwagon. You see, the Treo 650 is a really crappy phone. It's a great paperweight, and even runs some programs that are pretty cool marginally well - but one thing it does not do well is function as a phone. By the way, if anyone wants a 650, mine is for sale.

Note: I need to come up with a good nickname for the Treo 650. Something that captures it's craptasticness. I was thinking of "Treo Shits-Fifty" or something. Ideas welcome.

While I was waiting for the Pearl to come out, Cingular released the Samsung Blackjack - which they have been pushing as the new smartphone to have. This competes directly with the Motorola Q in form factor and function. I would never buy a Motorola Q, though, because they are the Microsoft of the cellphone world. Ironically, in the cell phone world Microsoft is not the Microsoft.

I didn't even give the Blackjack a second glance originally, because I was set on the pearl. I love the pearl's form factor. Then I found out that the Blackjack supports 3G (high speed data), which perked my interest. I'm upgrading my phone mainly because the Treo sucks, but I also want something that will provide a good Internet connection for my car computer.

The other thing I can appreciate about the BlackJack is that it had a good reputation for call quality. I also checked it's radiation output and it ranks really well - probably in the 10 lowest radiation emitting phones. This is a stark contrast to the Treo, which was in the worst 10 for a while but has slipped to 12 or so as Motorola has continued to come out with ever more 4-lettered cancer-emitting cellular devices. Radiation is not something a lot of people talk about when looking at new phones, but I think it's important enough to factor into the decision.

First impressions of the Blackjack:

Form Factor - While not perfect, it's much better than the Treo. The scroll wheel is nice, and the screen looks good. I kept touching the screen expecting it to accept my input, but it doesn't have a touch screen.

WM5 is obviously a much more mature operating system than Palm OS. Palm OS hasn't changed much since my first palm pilot over 10 years ago. They really are stuck in the past. Windows Mobile functions a lot better, supports things like multi-tasking, and seems to run pretty quickly even on slow processors. The fact that you never really exit applications is a bit weird, but hasn't caused any problems.

The bluetooth is severely limited. It really sucks because with the bluetooth implemented properly, this would have been almost the perfect phone. So far I haven't found any solution for tethering the device to my computer (I have a Mac - apparently you can do it on a PC) over bluetooth (have to use USB), and I have found no solution for placing phone calls over my computer. This would be a deal breaker, except that Cingular offers no other 3g phones that aren't flip phones - and one thing I won't ever buy is a lame flip-phone. Hate me all you want, but flip phones are retarded.

The other thing I noticed right away is that there is no LED apart from the main screen. On the Treo this functioned as a way to let you know you had missed a call or had a text message (missing calls is common on the Treo, since it either won't receive them at all, resets when you try to answer the phone, or just freezes altogether). On the Blackjack, you have to turn on the screen to see if you've missed something - so I guess you just have to get used to checking it every once in a while.

Also strange on the Blackjack is the arrangement of the keys. For dialing, the keys are all seperated for some reason - possibly to avoid patent infringement with Palm. Each of the keys next to the number still functions as the number it is next to, though. Also, typing any numbers involving periods (like an IP address) is really annoying because every time you want a period you have to switch the mode of the keyboard, then switch it back to continue typing numbers.

Samsung did obtain patents from RIM allowing them to use a similar key setup to the Blackberry phones. The Blackjack also has a jog wheel, which I think it a first for a WM5 smartphone. Typing fast seems to be impossible as the phone's error correction makes it miss keystrokes is typed in too fast. The Treo wins here, with flawless typing correction.

Data - The high speed data is incredible. At home, with the Blackjack tethered to my notebook, I was pulling down about 850 kbps. It felt nearly as fast if not as fast as my broadband cable connection (In reality it's about 1/3rd as fast). I could browse to youtube and watch videos without any delay. Videos would buffer faster than they could play. I also tried sending a file to a friend over IM and got about 90 kbps. Not bad at all. It has convinced me to stick with a 3g phone.

Cingular is a little trixy and signed me up for an unlimited data plan that costs twice as much as the unlimited plan I was already on, but hopefully I can get them to revert it back. They lied and said I needed it for the rebate, but that's not true according to the rebate form.

WM5 looks like it offers a lot of options for customization. The home screen itself is an XML file, so anyone can write their own. I think it will offer me enough "play factor" to keep me entertained with it for a while.

Camera - The camera is pretty decent actually. A lot of people have complained that it doesn't take clear pictures, but I haven't had any problems. There is a really weird "frames" option that offers some, well ... strange frames - especially for a business-centric smartphone.

Overall it's been a great phone so far. Vastly superior to the Treo 650. If the bluetooth was implemented properly it would be a sure win. If I can't come up with a reasonable solution within my 30 day trial period I might be returning it to try something else.