14 replies to this topic

[PaulOBrien]

Last month I posted in this topic about Colorware's process for customising the Samsung Blackjack II. Colorware graciously offered to repaint a truly battered Blackjack II that team member 'encece' hooked me up with, and i've been using the resulting device for a few weeks now.

So what's the finished result like?

Gorgeous!

I chose non metallic colours, with a yellow front, blue sides and a red back. The paint finish is completely flawless with a deep shine, the fit and finish remains excellent and more importantly it seems durable - i've accidentally dropped the phone on a couple of occasions, cringed, then been amazed to pick it up without any sort of mark whatsoever!

While the process isn't cheap at $144 and is limited to US customers only, if you are looking for a completely individual phone then it's money well spent. Everyone who has seen the device since has commented on it, and i've even fallen in love with it enough to make it my main device, hah!

A plea to colorware though... could we have more devices with availability outside the US? Oh, and the ability to add a MoDaCo logo to the back would be great too...

P

[nickcornaglia]

Looks just as good in pics. The stamped logo on the back is a nice touch as is the Colorware packaging they send it back to you in!
Cool.

[ZSX]

I'm not sure about the McDonald's colour scheme, but the quality looks really great. I'm really keen on customizing my phones and this is the next logical step.

[PaulOBrien]

I wanted to get it done in a scheme where I could see different colours in use...

It actually looks great in the flesh tho... hehe!

P

[MadSci]

You want Fries with that?  

Reminds me of one day I was flying to York Pennsylvania airport where there is no Control Tower.  So basically you have to get on the radio and announce your position and intentions every few minutes so everyone can tell where, and what, everyone else is.  
As I was entering the landing pattern I annouced my position, and another plane that was waiting to take off came on the radio and announced themselves as waiting for takeoff: "Number two behind the Happy Meal".  I keyed the mic and asked what in h@)) he was talking about, and he came back and just said: "You'll figure it out when he come by".  
Sure enough, about 30 seconds later a Cesna 152, proudly painted in the same 'Mickey Dees' colours as your BJII sailed past us.  My co-pilot and I almost crashed we were laughing so hard  

Maybe you can pick up McDonalds as your personal corporate sponsor!

Anyway, good info and thanks for testing it out for us.  Personally, I can't see doubling the price of my phone for a custom colour scheme - besides, my aging BJII    is already under pressure from the new crop of touchscreen devices.  If TouchFlo turns out to free WMPro handsets from the need to get out the stylus and find the teeny tiny little "X" boxes all the time, I might just make the switch.  And if the next version of the iPhone syncs with 2 or more Local machines running Outlook, and can run flash from the Net, then I think the ol BJ may go into the dustbin, along with whatever shell it's in.

Of course, I expect that the custom skin job would increase the re-sale value when you upgrade  

MadSci

Paul (MVP), on Nov 17 2008, 20:10, said:

I wanted to get it done in a scheme where I could see different colours in use...

It actually looks great in the flesh tho... hehe!

P

Edited by MadSci, 17 November 2008 - 09:42 PM.

[furby]

I'd love to do this with my (1st gen) Macbook Pro. Shame they don't do the UK

[Mysterious Stranger]

Hmmmm, very my-first-mobile...

Any 'before' pictures to see what it was like pre-modding?

Devil's advocate in my thinks they've just injection moulded new parts rather than coating originals. Darn site cheaper for them... ;-)

M.S

p.s you're doing them a disservice on the price. Like I mentioned in the original thread, if you go with all one colour and not mix -n-match it's only $99.
I have even double checked again - specifiy a main colour, then specifiy the battery door the same colour and it's a $0 option. It's only when you choose other colours the charges are added. See pic.

edit - pic added.

Attached Files

•  bjii.JPG   42.74K   113 downloads

Edited by Mysterious Stranger, 18 November 2008 - 08:21 PM.

[juiceppc]

What Colorware needs to do is adding rubberization. Different colors are great but I would love to have a fully rubberized Black BlackJack II... Or fully rubberized Treo Pro.

[nickcornaglia]

FWIW...They are not newly molded parts. They are definitely painted as you can see by the interior of the parts (over spray)
Also...they were specific on the BJ2 that the RED body was not paintable because of the texture on the back. The model Paul shows above was originally a RED blackjack 2. But we bought a new black BJ2 housing and sent it along to be painted as a replacement for the red housing (which was beat up anyway).

Anyway...injection molded tools/molds and thousand of dollars a set. That wouldnt be the best method unless selling thousands to absorb that cost.

That's all I have today!

[nickcornaglia]

When I said "as you can see" I meat if you take the battery cover door off...you can see the black inside and overspray of the new color.

[Mysterious Stranger]

encece, on Nov 24 2008, 14:39, said:

FWIW...They are not newly molded parts. They are definitely painted as you can see by the interior of the parts (over spray)
Also...they were specific on the BJ2 that the RED body was not paintable because of the texture on the back. The model Paul shows above was originally a RED blackjack 2. But we bought a new black BJ2 housing and sent it along to be painted as a replacement for the red housing (which was beat up anyway).

Anyway...injection molded tools/molds and thousand of dollars a set. That wouldnt be the best method unless selling thousands to absorb that cost.

That's all I have today!

Yeah I'd already mentioned the red casing issue:

Mysterious Stranger, on Oct 8 2008, 10:11, said:

$144 if you mix and match the colours for the different parts . A single colour scheme is 'only' $99. And they can't coat the red wine BJII as it has a leatherette surface.

Paul (MVP), on Nov 17 2008, 13:58, said:

Colorware graciously offered to repaint a truly battered Blackjack II that team member 'encece' hooked me up with,

So not quite true then. Repainting a 'battered' blackjack and fitting a repainted new casing aren't the same as the first post implies that damage can be painted over when I had previously asked colorware about that...

Mysterious Stranger, on Oct 8 2008, 10:11, said:

Not so bad when standard casinsgs run $50 on fleabay ( though colorware can't repair damage / scratched )

Perhaps an official comment from colorware re the level of scratching that can be coated otherwise based on Paul's results people may send in their 'battered' blackjack II's expecting miracles that simply aren't possible. Also the higher price is only due to the mix'n'matching, it's actually cheaper than Pauls states for a single colour scheme. What's the point of a 'hands on' review of their process if it isn't accurate?

M.S

Edited by Mysterious Stranger, 25 November 2008 - 12:03 PM.

[nickcornaglia]

actually...that's not true either. Colorware couldn't paint over the texture if the red blackjack. They never said they couldn't paint over scrapes or scratches. That is not confirmed either way in this review. That would be for colorware to decide depending on the severity of the damage. If you ask me, they could have painted over the types of scrapes that the red casing had as they were not deep, just scuffs. But their inability to paint over the texture didn't allow for that.

[PaulOBrien]

Let me ask colorware about damage levels...

P

[Mysterious Stranger]

encece, on Nov 25 2008, 12:38, said:

actually...that's not true either. Colorware couldn't paint over the texture if the red blackjack. They never said they couldn't paint over scrapes or scratches. That is not confirmed either way in this review. That would be for colorware to decide depending on the severity of the damage. If you ask me, they could have painted over the types of scrapes that the red casing had as they were not deep, just scuffs. But their inability to paint over the texture didn't allow for that.

Errr, if you read my original post, they have said they cannot repair scratch damage to me when I emailed them, hence my also knowing about / posting that they couldn't coat the red BJ2 before it was mentioned here.

http://www.modaco.co...r-blackjack-ii/

Mysterious Stranger, on Oct 8 2008, 19:48, said:

I have the red wine model. I emailed them a few months ago asking if they could coat it as mine is scratched. They can't coat soft surfaces as their polymer doesn't adhere to them and cracks away as the surface flexes, and they can't repair scratch damage.

M.S

Saying they have 'painted a battered blackjack II' does imply they can repair scratch damage, otherwise why mention it was 'battered'? - Obviously they didn't as you only now mention they painted a new casing that wasn't 'battered' and fitted it to a 'battered' handset - completley different scenario to repainting a battered handset - which implies a battered handset can be painted and turn out like the pictures so damage can be repaired...

M.S

[Mysterious Stranger]

Paul (MVP), on Nov 25 2008, 12:41, said:

Let me ask colorware about damage levels...

P

While you're at it, can you confirm that a single color scheme would only be $99?

Ta.

M.S