I may have mentioned before that the Samsung SGH-i600 Blackjack has two nice features lacking on some other Windows Mobile powered devices. In this case, I'm referring to the built-in RSS Reader and Podcast application.

I'm going to be focusing on the RSS reader for now. As some internet users will know by now, RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and a web feed format that contains either a summary or the full text of an associated website. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favourite web sites in an automated manner.

If you're still confused, head over to a very simple and very fun explanation of RSS in plain english from the Common Craft show.

The application on the i600 doesn't disappoint and there seems to be enough on-board memory to allow for easy checks of news feeds on the go. You can create an infinite number of RSS-channels, provided you have enough storage space on your phone of course.

For those who couldn't be bothered to read the manual, here are the simple steps to get your first RSS feed on your Samsung i600

• Open the RSS reader
• Press menu, select Edit
• Select New feed
• At the prompt, enter the RSS feed URL, e.g. http://feeds.feedburner.com/SamsungBlog
• Scroll down and select the folder you want to add the new feed into e.g. News
• Select OK

That's pretty much it. If it doesn't do so automatically, you can just select to Update the feeds manually.

Importing your feeds from your existing feed reader is very simple. Just export your feeds to an OPML file and import it to the phone. Exporting from the phone to your PC/Mac is just as simple.

Now that you have your feeds updated you probably want to start reading the posts. By selecting a feed, you're presented with the list of current posts, with the display divided into two horizontal panes. Feed headlines are placed on the top and the feed contents at the bottom.

Moving the navigational key to the right, jumps you from the top headlines pane into the bottom reading pane, from where you can scroll up and down to read the article.

Should you be presented with a website link, or if you want to read the full article (if truncated) the program will automatically open the link in your web-browser.

So there you have it, RSS for the Samsung SGH-i600 Blackjack. It's quite simple really.

This is just a short post to tell you how great the Samsung SGH-i600 Blackjack phone is when it comes to mobile connectivity.

As mentioned before, this phone packs a punch when it comes to the various connectivity options such as infrared, bluetooth, wifi, GPRS, HSDPA etc. Depending on your network coverage at the time, the various 3G/WAP options are selected automatically.

This obviously means that you can browse the internet, read email etc. on the go with the phone. However, I have found out this phone excels when used as a data modem. Simply plug in the data cable (or use bluetooth) to your laptop, fire up the Internet connection sharing application on the phone and viola, instant fast internet connection.

Sitting in Cape Town International the little Samsung i600 is connecting via 3G/HSDPA and the connection speed was clocked at 349Kbps. Not bad.

Perfect for quickly updating Facebook, reading some email and writing a blog post or two.

I'm very happy, and I know some other people I spoke with in the last week are impressed with the connection speeds too.

Reviewing the Samsung SGH-i600 Blackjack phone for the last few weeks has been a blast and I get quite a few utterings of 'oooh' and 'aaah' from family members and work colleagues alike.

Mostly, people have commented on how snugly the phone sits in their hands and generally how easy it is to operate. This is also one area where seeing is believing, you need to physically hold the phone to appreciate it's size and general functionality.

Words can hardly do it justice, so I was quite excited when I found this great video clip on YouTube which shows some of the general functions and aesthetics of the i600.

Makes you want to pick it up and hold one for yourself right?

PS: As you may have noticed, the flap hiding the charge/sync/hands-free port and the other one housing the memory card is pretty flimsy and sometimes gets in the way when something is plugged in to the port.

Earlier last week I had to pop into Garden City Hospital for a 24-hour EEG (Electroencephalogram, pronounced ē-lek′trō-en-sef′ă-lō-gram) and I took the opportunity to avail my time by really tinkering with the i600 Blackjack.

With the all-clear from the Neurologist that the cellphone signal wouldn't affect the test I set off with a mission to get to know the i600 really well.

It's at this point that I have to indicate that I've always been a fan of touch screen devices. From my first Compaq iPaq H3630 to my latest HTC TyTn, most devices/phones have had a touch screen with stylus input. This therefore has proved to be the one major issue I've experienced with the i600, the lack of a touch screen and stylus.

Now don't get me wrong, the i600 can stand really well on its own without it, but if you're used to a touch screen device, make yourself ready to be a bit frustrated. This was especially true while browsing the internet as the screen is just a bit too small for the most common web-based tasks.

The joystick pad and scroll wheel on the i600 seems to work well together, but watch out if you have big fingers. I did find that I tended to press slightly off key and was either sent to the home screen or left to the fate of one of the More/Done/Back/Menu options. I quickly found out that the return button will become your friend in the beginning.

Similarly, the QWERTY keyboard is a must for any business phone but the keys are just a tad too small.

One last bit of criticism, although not entirely Samsung's fault, was that the phone constantly kept on searching for a network signal which interfered with my earphones. I think the EEG spiked every time I heard and reacted to the pulsating tone of the network signal being acquired. This also meant that the battery life was severely affected.

I managed to capture some fairly good pictures whilst confined to the hospital bed. However, as I mentioned before the lack of some sort of night shot mode or flash on the camera meant that few of the dimly lit shots made it into my favourites collection. Why not pop over to my Flickr set for some pictures taken with the Samsung SGH-i600 while in hospital.

In my next post I'll focus on some of the more positive points but I do have to say that at least I managed to score 848 in Megashift Bubble Breaker...

It's an age old question, does size really matter? Some will say yes, some will say it's how you use it...either way, hold that thought for a moment.

When you first look at the Samsung SGH-i600 your immediate reaction is, "It's so small, it's so thin, I'm going to break it." But interestingly enough its size is quite deceptive. I should give credit to Samsung for making the i600 such a sturdy phone. The phone can take a few knocks (not that I've been kicking it around or anything) and seems up for quite a few more during it's normal lifetime.

Let's talk size. The i600 measures in at 113 x 59 x 11.8 (mm) and despite it's small size, it packs a punch with the various connectivity options, including Wifi, HDSPA and Bluetooth.

Compared to phones like the Nokia E65, it is definitely smaller in all areas. This is a good thing as you really don't want to go to client meetings with a big bulging phone in your pocket. The fashion faux pas of carrying your cellphone in a hip holster has been thrown out with the bath water too. Instead, get a smaller, slimmer phone like this one to stop those embarrassing moments.

Some instances where size does in fact matter include camera, memory and battery size.

I do have to mention that the 1.3 megapixel camera is slightly underpowered. Considering that most other smartphones feature at least 2 megapixels and built-in flash cameras, this should not deter you from taking fairly good pics in brightly lit areas. I'm still doing a review on the camera, so keep watching this space.

In terms of memory, the phone has 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM, which is pretty standard. It uses external microSD cards to extend its storage capacity. Unfortunately the phone does not come standard with an external memory card which Samsung should consider including as a minimum requirement. I've popped in my 1GB card which carries enough music, video, picture and office files to keep me busy for long periods waiting at airports or transits.

With regards to the battery life, it's still under review, but I would suggest that you pop in the extended battery pack into the phone from day one. So far I've been getting about 3 days with a bit of synching (trickle charge during this process) before the battery starts screaming.

Finally, if you want to avoid embarrassing bulging pockets and still want a phone at your finger tips that has ample connectivity, messaging, entertainment and business functionality on the go, then this phone is for you.

Otherwise, go get yourself a brick.

A quick update on what's been happening with the Samsung SGH-i600 Blackjack since I received it earlier this week.

I've taken it out the box and posted some pictures of the contents and the size and shape of the phone on my flickr account. I've also set up a dedicated Samsung SGH-i600 flickr set,where all the pictures relating to the phone will be posted.

I will obvisouly also use it to take some pictures for a 'digital camera' review, so be sure to check it out.

Installing and syncing the phone was a very simple process. My previous copy of Microsoft ActiveSync was updated to version 4.2 and creating a new profile was just as easy. With 338 contacts, 483 calendar and 93 task entries updated, I was off to conquer my next meeting, Samsung Blackjack smartphone in hand. That reminds me, I need to book a day off to visit the spa with my significant other. I think I'll do that a bit .

Unfortunately setting up the WAP and GPRS settings was not so easy. I tried the Vodacom4me website which gave me this beauty of a message: "Please note that there are currently no setup information avaliable for this mobile handset's selected capability. Please contact Vodacom Customer Care regarding this problem."

Sorting out this problem required two phone calls, one to Vodacom Customer Care (082 111) who couldn't assist as they only had settings for the SGH-i750. The other call was to the Samsung customer care line (0860SAMSUNG - 0860 726 786), who sent me the settings over the air (OTA) and within seconds I was browsing my favourite site.

As per all Windows Mobile 5 systems, the built-in IE browser has the capability of showing the pages in default, desktop or one column view. But I will discuss this in more detail a bit later. I still have to start playing around with the RSS and Podcast features, which I think is essential for keeping abreast of the latest news, views, interviews and gossip when you are on the move.

I'm off to go load some cool ringtones and themes in the meantime as you definitely want to brag about this phone when it rings at the next audit committee meeting. Hmm, maybe I should wait for the next marketing update instead.

Imagine my excitement when I received the invitation in my inbox to form part of the Samsung Blog. Being the gadget man that I am, and tinkering with all the various features available to me, I'm excited at the prospect of reviewing the Samsung i600 over the next few months.

The concept of test, review and blog is still relatively new but growing in South Africa, although it's quite established in other countries. So it is very exciting to be one of the pioneers in this area.

I have to share an interesting observation though. After the initial excitement sunk in and I had a moment to reflect, I suddenly became aware of how much Samsung is already a part of my life. I looked at the TV set in the bedroom, the VCR in the lounge, the washing machine and even my trusty Samsung Pro 815 digital camera and some other point-and-shoots.

I guess subconsciously I've always made my purchasing decisions based on past experience and honestly I haven't had one single day of problems with any of these equipment - some of them already older than 10 years! I think I've got faith in the product and the brand, that it will last, that it will deliver and most importantly that it is value for money.

That being said, until now I've never really considered Samsung as a serious contender in the business/smart phone arena. As most of my friends and blog readers will know, I recently converted to a serious PDA / Windows Mobile 5 phone and I'm very interested to see how the two stack up against each other.

I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised and bring you the good, the bad and the ugly of this little number that I will be reviewing for the next few months.

Now where is that phone?