10 replies to this topic

[actionj]

I was holding out to try the Cingular 8525 because of it's powerful features, but I couldn't wait any longer and picked up the Blackjack for use on Cingular.  The device looks beautiful and is very compact and fits perfectly in my shirt or pants pocket.  The keyboard is good, but the directional pad is a little small and I always accidentally hit the end key but overall this phone is amazing.   The scroll wheel works well and samsung has added some extras apps and customizations that make using the phone even easier.   The phone supports UMTS/HSPDA so you can browse the internet and talk at the same time and I get 500-700K download speeds over HSPDA.  

The biggest issue for me has been battery life.  It is pretty bad.  I've been told the UMTS/3G drains more battery but it's pretty bad.  It does come with 2 batteries but who wants to swap out batteries all the time.  I am aware of a longer lasting battery but it protrudes out the back and you need a new battery door.  Does anyone know if a longer lasting battery that doesn't stick out is coming out anytime soon????

Overall though I am very happy with the phone.  It's definitely better than the motorola Q and t-mobile dash

[akod]

actionj, on Dec 11 2006, 22:19, said:

I was holding out to try the Cingular 8525 because of it's powerful features, but I couldn't wait any longer and picked up the Blackjack for use on Cingular.  The device looks beautiful and is very compact and fits perfectly in my shirt or pants pocket.  The keyboard is good, but the directional pad is a little small and I always accidentally hit the end key but overall this phone is amazing.   The scroll wheel works well and samsung has added some extras apps and customizations that make using the phone even easier.   The phone supports UMTS/HSPDA so you can browse the internet and talk at the same time and I get 500-700K download speeds over HSPDA.  

The biggest issue for me has been battery life.  It is pretty bad.  I've been told the UMTS/3G drains more battery but it's pretty bad.  It does come with 2 batteries but who wants to swap out batteries all the time.  I am aware of a longer lasting battery but it protrudes out the back and you need a new battery door.  Does anyone know if a longer lasting battery that doesn't stick out is coming out anytime soon????

Overall though I am very happy with the phone.  It's definitely better than the motorola Q and t-mobile dash

Courtesy of a post on Cnet.com.  "So here is the fix to make the phone use "Edge" instead of G3. The major difference won't be noticeable unless you use it as a tethered device, in which case just switch back to G3 when using it as such (takes 10 seconds to do).
1. Enter *#1546792*#
2. Select Option 3 Netowrk & Call Settings
3. Select option 5 Network Mode
4. Select GSM"

My battery life has been about 4x since doing this.  I can't see a difference.

Enjoy

[netsyd]

http://www.phonecycl...d...&brandid=13 --- extended battery is now available... maybe this will curb some of those woes?

I just ordered one because I want a bit better life from mine ...hopefully it will do the trick  

[spartanrob]

netsyd, on Dec 19 2006, 11:55, said:

http://www.phonecycl...d...&brandid=13 --- extended battery is now available... maybe this will curb some of those woes?

I just ordered one because I want a bit better life from mine ...hopefully it will do the trick  

I ordered one from there also, hope to have it today or tomorrow.

[Moomba]

I have the extended battery & door. It REALLY is not a big deal. the door is tapered and basically makes the phone look like a rectangle.  Basically, rather than having the camera sticking up from the back of the body the door makes the entire backside level with the top of the camera.  I was concerned with it as I had seen the size and look of the Moto Q with the extended battery & door and that one is horriable, but the i607's is actually very nice.  

I only have the Beam feature disabled and leave the 3G enabled (if I buy a 3G phone I want to be able to USE it.)  Standard batteries nets me about 1.5 days of use on 24/7 with normal use.  The extended battery nets me just over 3 days.  I thought I would not like the dual battery system but I find it works well for me as I always have a fully charged battery on hand so I don't have to leave the phone teathered to a wall while it charges or yank the battery and put in the charger.  Now, I want to order a 2nd extended battry so I don't have to bother occasionally switching to the normal battery the timess when the batt runs dry.

[dormido]

My wife's Blackjack came with both types of batteries and both battery covers.  Was there a point in time when it only came with two normal capacity batteries?  In any even, I turned off the 3G since my wife doesn't use it for internet access.  She's been getting pretty good battery life, but she's only had the device for a few days now.

[TheHelios]

You could underclock the phone.  You really won't notice it if you drop it to 162mhz and not do anything intensive.  I usually use mine for calls and music and not notice it much.  Only when I start using emulators is when Ill overclock it to like 252mhz.

But when underclocked, the battery lasts much longer.

[jychow]

Hi. What program do you use to underclock? thanks.

whiteflippinjew, on Mar 1 2007, 01:12, said:

You could underclock the phone.  You really won't notice it if you drop it to 162mhz and not do anything intensive.  I usually use mine for calls and music and not notice it much.  Only when I start using emulators is when Ill overclock it to like 252mhz.

But when underclocked, the battery lasts much longer.

[Laffriot]

I posted this on another BJ forum site.

Free Extended Life Battery

[TheHelios]

jychow, on Mar 2 2007, 10:45, said:

Hi. What program do you use to underclock? thanks.

I use OmapClock.  You can easily find it on google.

Anyways, after playing with it a little, you can underclock at 144 mhz and see a little slowness, but it helps with the battery.  Also, if you play with emulators, 252mhz is the best speed w/o crashing.

[MitchellO]

I found my BJ battery life got better over the first week, and it is now at the point where it is pretty good. I am always on UMTS/HSDPA with IMAP Idle (flexmail). I can easily get a day out of it with maybe 30-60mins calls, some websurfing, and email (with IMAP Idle always connected). I have an extended battery coming though, so I look forward to seeing how that does for me. I could probably get 2 days use out of it with a single charge.