In brief, the Samsung Ace runs on Sprint’s fast EVDO Rev. 0 and 1XRTT network. Unfortunately it does not support Rev. A and while roaming abroad you’re only getting GPRS. It’s a candy bar form factor with a decent size QWERTY keyboard and internal antenna; 5-way navigation button and thumb wheel for one-handed operation. Other features include Bluetooth 2.0; push e-mail capabilities, and good call quality. International voice and data capabilities allows for you to globetrot around the world and stay connected wherever Sprint has roaming agreements. If paying roaming fee isn’t your thing, then you’ll be happy to know that the Ace also accepts an in-market international carrier’s unlocked SIM card for voice and data services.

If you’re wondering why the Samsung Ace highly resembles AT&T’s Blackjack, that’s because they’re essentially the same device with minor cosmetic changes. I’m happy that Sprint’s customers finally have the option to buy a smartphone packed with a lot of features especially if they seek to be more productive on the road. The Ace is lightweight and thin while still retaining a sleek and usable design. I found the Ace comfortable to hold and easier to grip than the wider body of the BlackJack 2, thanks to its slimmer body, making it feel more like a normal cellphone. The Ace’s 2.3-inch TFT display is slightly larger than the BlackJack’s 2.25-inch screen, but compared to the BlackJack 2’s 2.4-inch display it seems a whole lot smaller. Nonetheless, the 65K colors and 320 x 240 resolution make it vibrant and a pleasure to use. The size of the screen is actually well optimized for watching Sprint TV or SlingPlayer, where images and video look great, colors are bright, and text is really sharp. Being that this is a “smartphone” it does lack a touchscreen.

The Ace’s controls consist of two soft keys, a shortcut to the Today or Home screen, a back button, Talk and End keys, and a four-way directional D-Pad with a select button situated in the middle. I wasn’t too fond of the BlackJack’s four-way directional toggle because it was slippery and hard to use. Thankfully, Samsung listened to customer feedback and has made some much needed adjustments on the Ace, making it far more enjoyable to use. The left soft key joins the Home key creating a slight inward curve to allow for a more natural feel. To the right of the D-Pad is the second soft key joining the back key and it also creates the natural curve. Speaking of the D-Pad, it’s now raised up with more adequate spacing for scrolling up, down, left and right without accidentally hitting the buttons immediately to the left or right.

A microSD expansion slot is located on the upper-right side and is protected by an attached cover. Immediately below the microSD slot is a thumbwheel, which can be pressed to select items, and a Back Button right below it. The thumbwheel makes it easy to scroll up and down when reading long documents or surfing the web. Having the Back button near the thumbwheel lets you quickly escape from the current menu or applications. I found the combination of the thumbwheel and Back button in the same place allows for easy one-handed use, and I particularly like that if you firmly hold down the thumbwheel for a few seconds, it brings up a quick launcher. You can then select to open applications such as the Task Manager, Edit, Alarms, or Calendar. Holding the Back button down firmly for a few seconds activates the camera.

The full QWERTY keyboard is pretty straightforward and easy to use. The buttons rise to a point slightly in the shape of a triangle, are tactile and are adequate backlit for typing in dark or dim areas. The Ace’s keyboard isn’t the most well-spaced by all means, making it more difficult to type if your thumbs are larger than average. There are no dedicated number buttons, but the numbers are highlighted in gray to help identify them easier. Pressing the function key will lock the number pad in case you’re entering a bunch of numbers into a spreadsheet or something. I hated the way Samsung laid out the numbers on the BlackJack where the three columns of numbers are separated by a column of letters and symbols in between. It seemed like ridiculously unintuitive ergonomics; I remember how much of a pain the butt it was to use. Thank goodness the numbers are grouped in a cluster on the Ace.

The headset and power adapter, along with the volume rocker lives on the left side. Like the majority of Samsung handsets, the Ace uses a proprietary port, which quite frankly is annoying since it prevents you from using a standard 2.5mm or 3.5mm headset or a mini-USB adapter to charge it. I’m not a big fan of this design decision – but oh well. At least the Ace comes with a headset, travel charger and the proprietary USB cable in the box.

As I’ve already mentioned, the Ace only runs on Sprint’s Rev. 0 network, not the faster Rev. A networks. Even so, you’re still going to enjoy an average data speed of between 400-700 kbps and peaks speeds of up to 2.0 Mbps when accessing Sprint Power Vision services and content. The Ace is backward compatible with 1XRTT technology in areas where EV-DO isn’t yet available. This speed is definitely on par with AT&T’s HSDPA network.

The Ace takes on any form of email you throw at it as long as you don’t need BlackBerry services. It supports everything from personal e-mail to corporate, letting you access Outlook email with a direct connection to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, as well as IMAP, and POP3.

I’m heading out to Hannover, Germany in two weeks where I’ll have an opportunity to test out Sprint’s international roaming feature as well as using a local SIM card with the Ace. Make sure to check back for part two of the review. There’s not much I can say about the integrated 1.3-megapixel camera other than hey it’s there if you need to take a quick picture of something and you’re not too fussy about the quality.

The call quality of the Ace is on par with other smartphones. There isn’t much for me to complain there. As far as real world talk time combined with watching videos and surfing the web, I’ll have to get back with you in part two of the review since I haven’t had the Ace long enough to perform a thorough battery test. Samsung does however claim up to 4.3 hours of continuous digital talk time with the standard 1300 mAh battery. That being said, you should expect to get less than 3 hours of combined usage in the real world. There’s a larger 1800 mAh battery available for purchase.

Here’s the bottom line, if you’re on the Sprint network and need or want a QWERTY keyboard smartphone that’s running Windows Mobile, combined with the flexibility of roaming internationally on a GSM/GPRS network, then the ACE is the perfect handset for you. Especially when it’s well priced at $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and $100 mail-in-rebate. The Samsung Ace is immediately available online at http://www.sprint.com, through business sales channels, and through telesales at 1-888-SPRINT1. The Ace will be available in Sprint retail stores first of March.

Samsung Ace rating: 7.1/10.

Samsung Ace unboxing video