Horses are terrible people

I've gotten quite a few emails about my previous Samsung Blackjack and OS X entry so I thought I would answer some of the common questions:

1. How do you sync the Blackjack with OS X?  I use the very handy "Missing Sync" application from Markspace. It costs $40 and is well worth it. You can find out more here. 

2. Did you get the GMail app working correctly?  Yes, I found a page that had a copy of the IBM j9 Java engine for the arm processor which worked just fine on the phone.  In addition the rest of the apps I like to use such as Google Maps and Opera work just great too.  I'm not going to post instructions here, there are many other sites with the info.  Howard Forums is a good place to start.

3. How well does the phone work?  It works great with the exception that it eats batteries for lunch.  I guess that should be a base assumption when the phone comes with two batteries.  I've had to alter my charging habits and now have the charger on my nightstand and charge it every night.  I don't get G3 service at home or work, but have gotten it in other areas in Los Angeles and in northern California.  Bubble Breaker is strangely addictive and I've yet to really notice anything I dislike about it.

4. Does the Blackjack charge when plugged in via USB?  Yes but only when it is connected via software as well.  Unless Missing Sync is connected to it, it will not charge. 

Now to just swap out that darn Cingular java stack all together.

One of my Christmas gifts was a Samsung Blackjack and I was very anxious to test out the 3G network service and how fast downloads could be.  Much to my dismay Cingular doesn't support the Blackjack on OS X and their tech support was terrible.  I had first called because I tried to install the Google GMail Java App for my phone and found that Cingular had crippled the Java stack to always confirm every outgoing network connection from an application.  The problem with this is that there will be a popup asking for permission to allow each http request.  Applications like the GMail app do this many, many times and the popup makes the application unusable.  Cingular Data support first told me it was a problem with the 3rd party application.  When I pointed out the application worked fine on other phones and that Cingular modifies the Java stack as a matter of policy, they then told me that it wasn't the application, but rather Samsung's fault and that Cingular doesn't modify the firmware or Java on phones.  When I asked them how the Cingular logo and cingular branded apps get on the phone, they didn't have an answer.

When I asked how to configure the modem on OS X, they told me it wasn't supported and can't be done.  This isn't true.  I've since got the Blackjack working as a modem using the following steps:

1. Download and install the "Generic 3G Scripts" from http://www.taniwha.org.uk using the instructions in the file.
   
2. On the Blackjack choose  "Settings" > "Connections" >  "USB"  and change the USB connection setting to "Modem"
3. Plug the usb cable into the Mac and Blackjack
4. On your mac, open "System Preferences" then "Network" - It should recognize the modem and add a device for it called "Samsung CDMA Technologies"
5. On the PPP tab use the following settings:
1. Account Name: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
2. Password: CINGULAR1
3. Telephone Number: wap.cingular
6. Click on PPP Options:
1. Check "Send PPP echo packets"
2. Uncheck "Use TCP header compression"
7. Click on TCP tab, ensure that "Configure IPv4:" is set to "Using PPP"
8. Click on the Modem tab:
1. Select "Generic 3G CID2" as the modem.
2. Uncheck "Enable error correction and compression in modem"
3. Uncheck "Wait for dial tone before dialing"
9. Hit "Apply Now"
10. Click on PPP tab and hit "Dial Now"