Setting up e-mail is yet another important milestone that needs to be accomplished sooner than later when you get a new smartphone. The process was easy and within minutes I was reviewing my e-mails on the Samsung BlackJack and able to reply to them. First I setup the size limit to 500 bytes per message, but then I found myself constantly having to retrieve more of the message to make sense out of it, so I decided to go for the 5000 bytes limit.
E-mail can be setup to retrieve messages from a variety of e-mail accounts including corporate accounts, and when used in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange and the necessary server software, you have the option of having your e-mail synchronized wirelessly with the Exchange Server. This can transform your Samsung BlackJack (or any Windows Mobile device) into a BlakBerry like environment.
Browsing the Internet
I was hoping that the 3G network will make browsing extremely fast, and that browsing would be smooth and efficient. These hopes, or maybe expectations, made the 3G experience somehow disappointing. First of all, and as I mentioned yesterday, I was only able to get the 3G signal sporadically (even though the map shows pretty good coverage in the San Francisco area). This in and by itself is a bit disappointing. Second when I was in an area where 3G was available, the browsing didn’t seem to be much faster or at least not consistently faster than the browsing at the EDGE speed.
The moral of the story is that, until the Cingular 3G network is more widely available and performing more consistently, you may want to keep your expectations low, in which case you may be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. Another observation here is that if speed is one of your top priorities, you may want to explore what Verizon and Sprint have to offer is this area.
The Samsung BlackJack nifty shortcuts
Press and hold the End key to lock the device, the phone key to activate the speakerphone, and the home key to get to the task manager. These are only a few of the many helpful shortcuts that I am learning as I continue to explore the Samsung BlackJack. Most of the shortcuts and other helpful tips are outlined in the quick reference card that comes with the device.
Overall, my experience with the Samsung BlackJack has been pretty encouraging so far. The BlackJack is small and slick and can very easily slip into your pocket or purse. It is the kind of device that you can happily take with you to a social event and yet rely on it for your serious business activities. It is not a laptop replacement so you won’t be able to create and edit document like you would with the Pocket PC smartphones. But this may not be what you need anyway!
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