14 DAY TRIAL // Canada's Samsung BlackJack, called Samsung Jack by Rogers, can now be updated to Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, thanks to an upgrade ROM released by Samsung.
Samsung Jack (model name SGH-i616) is no longer a smartphone that can be deemed a novelty, but most of its owners will probably be happy to learn that the device now supports the latest Windows Mobile platform.
The enhancements that Windows Mobile 6.1 brings to the Jack include a redesigned interface, threaded SMS, a new Internet Explorer that supports page zooming, headset auto-pairing and more.
To get the WM 6.1 upgrade, head on over to Samsung's official website, accessible at this address. Note that, if you don't have a Rogers-branded Samsung SGH-i616, this particular upgrade will not work and it's not recommended for users to try to install it.
Operating System aside, Samsung SGH-i616 features a 2.4-inch TFT non-touchscreen display with 240 x 320 pixels and 65K colors, a full QWERTY keyboard, good for writing emails and SMS when in a hurry, internal GPS, full HTML browser, RSS feeds reader, Document viewer, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, Music and Video players, Mobile TV receiver, microSD card support, a 2 Megapixel camera with video recording, quad-band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz) connectivity with GPRS and EDGE, and tri-band HSDPA (850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz) connectivity.
Weighing 116 grams and measuring 114 x 61 x 13 millimeters, the smartphone comes with a battery that can (or should, at least in theory) last up to 7 hours in talk-time mode, or up to 330 hours in stand-by time.
As of now, Rogers is offering Samsung Jack for only 24.99 Canadian dollars (with a contract agreement for three years). This low price came following the October price cut for several other Rogers smartphones, including BlackBerry Bold (it's 299 CAD now), Motorola Q9h and HTC Touch.