Camera Phone Reviews

Samsung i607 (BlackJack)

Samsung Blackjack (i607) Reviews

PhoneScoop reviews the Samsung Blackjack and writes, "On the back of the unit, the camera and loud speaker bulge out slightly at the top, which seems unnecessary for a simple 1.3 Megapixel shooter. However this doesn't seem to hamper how the BlackJack slides in and out of a pocket - even in tight pants. ... After our experience with the Dash, we expected more from the BlackJack's battery life. With normal use, each charge only last about one and a half days. This is better than the performance of the Motorola Q, in that you can at least use your phone for a full day without having to recharge it, however you still can't leave home, even for just an overnight trip, without your charger."

Infosync reviews the Samsung SGH-i607 Blackjack and writes, "We enjoyed typing on the large, comfortable keys, and while the phone failed to register about one percent of our keystrokes, this was only during our most frantic typing. Instant messaging through AOL, MSN, and Yahoo is available, although you'll have to download an app to begin chatting. ... call quality was very good; we only had problems on noisy, windy streets in New York City. The phone book was capable of while-you-type searching, and adding contacts is easy with the Outlook-like phonebook. Conference calling was easy enough, but live searching was not available during an active call. The phone also lacks voice dialing features, which we sorely miss."

PCMag reviews the Samsung SGH-i607 and writes about the phone's battery performance and its camera: "The BlackJack's battery life is going to appall anyone used to EDGE phones, but it's par for the course for a 3G device. Continuous talk time is 3 hours 51 minutes. Yes, it's shorter than the Cingular 8525, but the 8525 is also a lot more bulky. ... The phone's 1.3-megapixel camera takes soft, contrasty photos, but at least the colors are good. Video recordings are nice and big at 320 by 240 and smooth, yet the 9-frames-per-second frame rate is pretty low."

MobileTechReview reviews the Samsung BlackJack SGH-i607 and writes about the phone's camera: "The BlackJack's photos are colorful, bright and fairly color accurate (none of that purple color cast found in the Dash). It does reasonably well for a flash-less camera in low light (Sammy the cat was taken in low light) and doesn't white out hugely in bright sunlight (though it does blow out some highlights, but that's normal for a 1.3MP camera phone). The camcorder can take video with audio at 320 x 240 resolution and 176 x 144 and has 3 quality settings, and adjustable white balance. You can limit video length (handy for MMS) or record until you run out of storage memory (the phone can save photos and video to a card). The camera records video in 3GP format and you can record without audio if you wish. The camcorder takes surprisingly good videos that are sharp and keep up with moving subjects well."

GadgetNutz reviews the Samsung BlackJack and writes about the phone's camera: "The Blackjack comes with a 1.3 mega pixel camera. Image quality was really superb for a Smart Phone. I found the picture to be vibrant and clear. The digital zoom is a great feature, but, as expected, image quality suffers with the zoom. It was a cinch to Sync the images to my computer and print them and equally easy to send picture via email from the Blackjack itself."

MobilitySite reviews the Cingular BlackJack and writes about the phone's performance, and its 1.3 megapixel camera, "One of the biggest differences i've noticed between using a Windows Mobile Smartphone and a Pocket PC Phone is the actual voice call experience. While I do love the added functionality of the Pocket PC phones, it seems that all the Smartphones i've used/tested consistently have better cellular signal. The Blackjack is no exception to this. I have had no coverage issues and the "at home" test passes with flying colors. I've talked about how I live a little off the beaten path in other reviews and how many bars I get "at home". The Blackjack ranks right up there with the 3125 as one of the strongest signals. Voice quality both ways is excellent. ... This 1.3 Megapixel camera does a decent job taking some candid photos. The camera makes the unit thicker in one spot on the rear of the device and I would love to see a camera less version, but it's still not too bad. The software that drives the camera operation is one of the best apps I've used so far. I have the Blackjack set up to where I can take a snapshot and send to an email address attached to my Flickr account, which in turn blogs the photo."

DigitalTrends reviews the Samsung BlackJack and writes, "Considering its high-tech positioning, the inclusion of a 1.3 MP camera, rather than a 2 MP or higher imager found on lesser Samsung models, is a bit surprising. But like other Samsung cell cams, the Blackjack suffers from severe shutter lag. You need to wait a full second for an image to be captured after pushing the capture button, plenty of time for your subject to move out-of-frame, or just move, creating a blurred image -- or for you to move the phone mistakenly thinking the scene captured but ending up with nothing but blurry streaks. While there's a self-portrait mirror, there's no flash, another curious omission."

MobileBurn reviews the Samsung SGH-i607 BlackJack and writes, "The images created with the camera are of moderate quality. They are "good enough" to capture a moment, but are not of a caliber where prints could be made from them. The photos tend to get a bit blown out and generally look very digital and grainy. The camera can also shoot video clips at resolutions of up to 320x240 (the same as the display). The video clips look decent enough, but won't earn anyone a little golden statue in Hollywood."

CNET reviews the Samsung BlackJack and writes, "this smart phone comes equipped with a 1.3-megapixel camera, complete with video recording capabilities and a 2X digital zoom lens and self timer. You have the option of shooting in various modes and multiple resolutions, ranging from 1,280x960 to 176x144, for still images. ... Overall, the BlackJack took decent photos with good color and definition, and video quality was above par, as we didn't witness as much pixilation as we have with other camera phones."

Newsfactor reviews the Samsung BlackJack and writes, "The call quality of this phone is great, and the speakerphone is loud and clear. Here's an added bonus: I was able to take surprisingly clear pictures with the phone's 1.3-megapixel camera. The photos looked terrific on the BlackJack's bright, 320x240-pixel, 2.3-in. display. The phone also has a camcorder mode, 2x digital zoom, Bluetooth 2.0, and a micro SD memory slot to boost storage capacity. (The BlackJack ships with 64 MB of RAM.) The micro SD card should come in handy as Samsung includes a USB cable in the box, allowing one to transfer documents, music, and videos from PC to phone."

PDAStreet reviews the Samsung BlackJack and writes, " The other design flaw is how the lens of the 1.3 megapixel camera juts out of the rear. It ruins the shape of the phone, and looks like it was badly grafted on. The camera takes good quality pictures, and we're glad the Blackjack has a decent 1.3 megapixel camera, as opposed to one with a smaller resolution, but the awkward way the camera sticks out bothered us every time we picked up the phone. ... We tested the Blackjack in the New York City area, and found call quality mostly excellent. We noticed one time when the phone didn't ring for two calls and they went to voicemail, but that was the exception. The Blackjack is a quad-band world phone (GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900) so it's great for travelers. The high-speed network consistently delivered Web pages or streaming content quickly."

PCWorld reviews the Samsung BlackJack i607 and writes, "In my experience, though, opening and closing some apps, backtracking to a previous Web page, and using the 1.3-megapixel camera were sluggish operations, the phone typically requiring 1 to 2 seconds to process the commands. In my trials, call quality generally sounded fine on both ends. The speakerphone worked okay, too. On my end the phone's speakers produced fairly crisp audio, but a few of my callers had a hard time hearing me and said they noticed an echo. Talking around noisy or windy environments isn't advisable, either, as the phone picks up a lot of background sounds."

Brighthand reviews the Samsung BlackJack and writes, "The only thing which detracts from the BlackJack's overall aesthetic is the bump on the top rear of the casing, where we find the 1.3 megapixel camera and the reflective patch which serves as a self-portrait mirror. ... It's hard to find too much fault with the BlackJack in either specs or design. While I disagree with the selection of a proprietary port for USB and audio, and the use of MicroSD cards, they're not fatal flaws. It's got a very nice design, and with the available carrier discounts it's almost insanely cheap. As far as slim keyboard smartphones go, it's definitely a major contender."

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