If you thought that the Samsung BlackJack II, otherwise known as the Jack in Canada, was past its prime thanks to the iPhone 3G, you’d be sorely mistaken.

Based on the January 2009 issue of Consumer Reports, the Samsung BlackJack II managed to best out both the iPhone and Android-based T-Mobile G1 to take the #1 spot in the smartphone category. Actually, the two popular phones didn’t even make it to the top 5. The T-Mobile Wing, Motorola Q9C, T-Mobile Shadow, and BlackBerry Pearl Flip close out the elite 5 with the iPhone and T-Mobile G1 both tied at 6th place.

However, just to be fair, it should be noted that the BlackBerry Bold, Storm, Samsung OMNIA, and all of the HTC Touch Pro variants were apparently not included in the survey which could have yielded a different set of results. Nevertheless, I personally think that the BlackJack II is still a deserving winner.

I guess this just goes to show that the right balance between form, function and price can beat the combination of beauty and hype. How about you guys? Which smartphone is currently your #1 choice?

[source]