First T-Mobile's Dash, now Cingular's BlackJack (photo). The rise of the carrier-branded handsets continue with Cingular's latest multimedia smartphone contender, which looks to take on RIM's BlackBerry Pearl. The Samsung-built BlackJack is half an inch thick and makes use of Microsoft Windows Mobile OS and Good Technology's email software (probably won't see that in future Samsung phones). The handset features a QWERTY keyboard, 2.3-inch color screen and 1.3 megapixel camera as well as an MP3 music player. BlackJack is priced at $199 with a two-year contract. So which of the many "prosumer" handsets will be on the top of the pack a year from now? The Q? A Treo? Maybe one of Nokia's less intimidating smartphones?

For more on the BlackJack:
- see this article from DigitalAnimators