Samsung
BlackJack II

The BlackJack II (model number: SGH-i617) was first revealed in a keynote by Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, at the CTIA trade show in October 2007. It was initially an exclusive device for US carrier AT&T. The phone was powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition. It was an upgrade to the Samsung BlackJack, a variant of which, the Samsung i600, is part of the Mobile Phone Museum collection. The BlackJack II had a larger 2.4-inch QVGA display than the 2.25-inch screen on the original BlackJack. Samsung also removed the scroll wheel that was located on the right-hand side of the original BlackJack and was replaced with a “jog wheel” on the front of the device. Samsung upgraded the battery to a higher-capacity 1,700mAh lithium-ion battery compared to the 1,200mAh battery on the original BlackJack, which was widely regarded as a shortcoming on the first variant. Other new capabilities were built-in GPS and support for video calling via AT&T's Video Share service. The camera was also upgraded from a 1.3-megapixel camera to a 2-megapixel sensor. It also supported the AT&T Music service. Other features were an improved speakerphone, additional memory, 3G HSDPA support, Bluetooth 2.0 and A2DP support for stereo Bluetooth headsets. The phone was offered in four colours: black, blue, burgundy and pink. AT&T was very excited about the new device, particularly given the success of the original BlackJack. AT&T Wireless’s Jeff Bradley commented at the launch that the BlackJack II took “one of AT&T’s most popular smart devices and added a whole new level of functionality and capabilities, providing business people and consumers alike with an even more powerful and complete communications and entertainment tool.”