Vaja Balance Case for Samsung BlackJack: Premium Smartphone Protection in 2007

In early 2007, a small item on the site Mobility Today pointed readers toward a new fitted case for the Samsung BlackJack — the thin, QWERTY-keyboard smartphone that had quickly become one of the most popular Windows Mobile devices on the market. The case came from Vaja, a maker known for handcrafted leather accessories, and it carried a name that stuck: the Balance. This article revisits that moment, working from what can actually be verified about the case, the phone it was built for, and the brief Mobility Today post that first surfaced it — while being explicit about which details come from Mobility Today itself versus other contemporary coverage.

What Was the Samsung BlackJack?

The Samsung BlackJack, model number SGH-i607, was a Windows Mobile 5 smartphone released in late 2006 through AT&T (then still transitioning from the Cingular brand) in the United States. It paired a slide-out-free, slab-style body with a full QWERTY keyboard beneath a 2.25-inch, 320x240 display — thin for its era, and clearly aimed at BlackBerry's business-messaging audience while running Microsoft's mobile operating system instead. Under the hood it used a 220MHz Texas Instruments processor, 64MB of RAM, and 128MB of ROM, with a microSD slot for expandable storage. It included a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, and radio support for GSM, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA networks, giving it faster-than-EDGE data speeds where AT&T's 3G network was available. For a moment in 2006 and 2007, the BlackJack's slim profile and keyboard made it one of the more talked-about Windows Mobile devices on the market, which is exactly the kind of popularity that draws attention from premium accessory makers.

Samsung BlackJack vs BlackJack II

This article is specifically about the original Samsung BlackJack (SGH-i607) — not the Samsung BlackJack II (SGH-i617), a separate later device. The distinction matters because the two phones are easy to conflate in hindsight. The BlackJack II wasn't shown publicly until a Microsoft keynote at CTIA in October 2007 and didn't reach AT&T customers until November 2007, several months after the Vaja Balance case coverage discussed in this article. It added a larger display and other hardware changes on top of the original design. Every source referenced here — the Mobility Today post, the TechCrunch item that linked to it, and the hands-on review discussed later — is dated to February and June of 2007, well before the BlackJack II existed, which independently confirms the Balance case being covered was built for the original BlackJack.

Who Was Vaja?

Vaja is a leather-accessory maker that began as a small family business in 1999, built around handcrafted cases using Argentine leather. The company's own account of its history describes production centered on skilled leather artisans working through many individual steps to assemble each case, rather than mass-manufactured tooling — a positioning consistent with premium, made-to-order accessory brands of the period. By the mid-2000s, Vaja had built a reputation among smartphone and PDA enthusiasts specifically for offering form-fitted cases with extensive color and customization options for individual device models, rather than one-size-fits-most designs. That reputation is what made Vaja's coverage of a new BlackJack case notable enough for other outlets to pick up.

The Mobility Today Article: What Was Recovered

The original Mobility Today article was successfully located through the Wayback Machine, preserved across multiple archived snapshots between March 2007 and 2010. It's worth describing exactly what that article was, because it's easy to assume more than what's actually there. The piece, titled \"EXCLUSIVE: Vaja fitted Blackjack Cases,\" was written by David Ciccone and posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007. It was not a hands-on review — it was a short news post built around an early look at product photography, framed as an exclusive preview before the case was widely available.

The recovered text reads, in full: \"Looks like Vaja is delivering a fantastic fitted case for the Samsung Blackjack. We were given an exclusive look before anyone else and to tell you the truth I am excited to see these designs. Once again Vaja is making us look great carrying the most popular Windows Mobile Smartphone on the market today. So here are some beautiful shots of the case. The name of the case will be the Vaja Balance Case for the Samsung Blackjack.\" The post included three product photos sourced directly from Vaja's own website and closed with a link back to Vaja's BlackJack product page as the source.

That confirms one important fact clearly: the case's name was genuinely the Vaja Balance Case for the Samsung BlackJack, straight from Mobility Today's own wording, not a guess or a mix-up with another Vaja product line. What the article does not contain is just as important to be clear about — it includes no price, no description of leather type or texture, no list of color options, no mention of a belt clip, no discussion of keyboard or port access, and no hands-on impressions of using the case day to day. It was a first-look photo post, not a review, and this article does not present it as anything more than that.

The same day Mobility Today's post went up, TechCrunch picked up the story in a short item of its own, crediting David Ciccone at Mobility Today by name and linking directly to the Mobility Today article as its source, while adding one detail Mobility Today's post itself hadn't included: a starting price of $65. Because that figure doesn't appear in the archived Mobility Today text, it most likely came from TechCrunch checking Vaja's own product page — the same page Mobility Today had linked to — rather than from anything written in the original article.

The Vaja Balance Case for the Samsung BlackJack

With the Mobility Today article's actual content established, the fuller picture of what the Balance case was like comes from independent, contemporary coverage rather than from Mobility Today's own words — specifically a hands-on review published on the site Gear Diary on June 11, 2007, several months after the initial announcement. That review is treated here as a separate, clearly attributed source, not as something Mobility Today itself reported.

According to that review, the Balance was a form-fitted, flip-style case that fully enclosed the BlackJack, arriving in Vaja's standard retail packaging. The reviewer described the leather as having a distinctive, pleasant smell and a visibly careful build — clean, precise stitching without loose threads — consistent with a handcrafted product rather than a mass-manufactured one. The case reviewed was finished in a honey-yellow color, chosen from Vaja's available options, and was built specifically to fit the BlackJack with its extended battery installed, with the reviewer noting that a version sized for the standard battery was also available and would sit slightly thinner on the device.

Fit, Keyboard Access, and Port Access

A form-fitted case is only as good as its cutouts, and this is an area the Gear Diary review addressed directly. A clear plastic panel covered the BlackJack's screen to guard against scratches — a feature the reviewer noted was useful for anyone without a separate screen protector, though it could be difficult to keep free of trapped dust and lint. The case was cut to avoid interfering with the keyboard, buttons, or built-in microphone, with the reviewer specifically noting they could type just as comfortably with the BlackJack in the case as without it. Separate cutouts allowed access to the scroll wheel and the USB/charging port without removing the phone, while the volume and back buttons weren't given physical cutouts at all — their locations were instead marked with symbols printed directly onto the leather, a design choice the reviewer said didn't get in the way of using them. On the back, openings for the camera and speaker were finished with a small plastic window rather than a bare cutout, and a metal mesh panel covered the earpiece speaker near the case's branding. As with any fitted case, the Balance added some bulk to the phone — the reviewer compared the added thickness to roughly what a bare Palm Treo 750 felt like without any case at all, calling it noticeable but modest.

Leather, Colors, and Customization

Vaja's broader product line was built around choice, and the Balance case for the BlackJack followed that pattern rather than shipping in one fixed configuration. The unit reviewed by Gear Diary was finished in honey yellow, a color the reviewer specifically picked from Vaja's options and was glad they had — describing it as vibrant against the BlackJack's black body and something that drew unsolicited comments from other people who saw it. Beyond color choice, the review notes the case could be customized further with an optional belt clip and laser engraving, both add-ons rather than standard inclusions. This is consistent with the general customization-forward business model Vaja was known for across its product catalog during this period — a base case design with paid options layered on top, rather than a single fixed SKU. This article isn't able to independently verify the complete list of colors or customization options Vaja offered specifically for the BlackJack version of the Balance beyond what the Gear Diary review documented; readers looking for an exhaustive options list from 2007 should treat this account as representative rather than complete.

Price: $65 Plus Customizations

The clearest price figure available for the Vaja Balance case for the Samsung BlackJack comes from the Gear Diary review, which lists an MSRP of $65 plus customizations — meaning $65 covered a base configuration, with options like the belt clip and laser engraving adding to that total. That figure lines up with the $65 starting price TechCrunch reported the same day Mobility Today's post went live, giving two independent contemporary sources in agreement on the base price, even though the number doesn't appear in Mobility Today's own archived text. A base-price-plus-customization-surcharge model was typical of how Vaja priced its cases generally during this era, so this structure is consistent with the company's broader approach rather than something unique to the BlackJack version.

The Premium Leather Case Market in 2007

It's worth remembering how different the smartphone accessory market looked in 2007 compared to today. Cheap, mass-produced silicone and polycarbonate cases existed, but the ecosystem of ultra-inexpensive, algorithmically-listed marketplace cases that now dominates online shopping results hadn't really formed yet — there was no MagSafe magnetic ecosystem, no dominant handful of budget case brands churning out near-identical designs for every new phone within days of release. Into that gap, handcrafted leather makers like Vaja occupied a genuinely distinct tier: form-fitted per device model, built from real leather, offered in multiple colors, and customizable on request, at prices that positioned them well above impulse-buy accessories. Owning a Vaja case in 2007 was as much a style statement and a craftsmanship purchase as it was pure device protection, and that positioning is part of why a simple photo preview of a new Vaja case was newsworthy enough for multiple tech outlets to cover the same day.

Vaja vs Silicone and Budget Leather Cases

Neither approach was objectively \"better\" in every respect — a silicone case was cheaper, more impact-absorbing in some designs, and available instantly, while a Vaja case offered craftsmanship, style, and a closer fit at a real cost premium. The comparison here is meant to frame the choice buyers faced in 2007, not to declare a winner.

Why Handcrafted Cases Became Less Central Later

Handcrafted leather cases like the Balance never disappeared, but they stopped being as central to the mainstream smartphone accessory conversation in the years that followed. Several shifts contributed to that. Inexpensive, well-made TPU and silicone cases became the default choice for most buyers, offering solid drop protection at a fraction of the cost and lead time of a made-to-order leather case. Apple's introduction of MagSafe on the iPhone created an entirely new accessory ecosystem built around magnetic attachment rather than tight, form-fitted tailoring. And large marketplaces made it trivial to buy a case for almost any phone within days of its release from mass-market brands, compressing prices and turnaround time in a way boutique, handcrafted makers structurally can't match. Premium leather case makers still exist today, including Vaja itself, but they now occupy a smaller, more specialized niche within a much larger and more commoditized accessory market than the one the Balance case launched into back in 2007.

FAQ

What was the Vaja Balance case?

A handcrafted, form-fitted leather flip case made by Vaja for the Samsung BlackJack, first previewed publicly in a February 2007 Mobility Today article and later reviewed hands-on by Gear Diary in June 2007.

Which Samsung BlackJack did it fit?

The original Samsung BlackJack, model SGH-i607, released in late 2006 — not the later Samsung BlackJack II (SGH-i617), which wasn't announced until October 2007.

Was it real leather?

Yes. Contemporary hands-on coverage from Gear Diary described genuine leather construction, consistent with Vaja's general handcrafted, leather-focused product line.

How much did it cost?

Contemporary sources list an MSRP of $65 plus optional customizations such as a belt clip or laser engraving. That figure comes from a Gear Diary review and matching TechCrunch coverage, not from Mobility Today's own archived article, which didn't state a price.

Did it cover the keyboard?

No — according to the Gear Diary review, the case was cut to leave the QWERTY keyboard, buttons, and microphone fully usable, without interfering with typing.

Could users access the ports?

Yes. The reviewed case included cutouts for the scroll wheel and the USB/charging port, letting both be used without removing the phone from the case.

Was a belt clip available?

Yes, as an optional customization alongside laser engraving, according to the Gear Diary review — not included as a standard feature of the base case.

What was the Samsung BlackJack?

A Windows Mobile 5 smartphone with a fixed QWERTY keyboard, a 2.25-inch 320x240 display, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE connectivity, released through AT&T in late 2006 and popular enough at the time to draw attention from premium accessory makers like Vaja.

Piecing this story back together shows both what survives clearly and what doesn't. Mobility Today's own February 2007 post confirms the Balance name and captures the excitement around an early product preview, but it was never a full review — the richer detail about leather quality, fit, and price comes from independent contemporary coverage published in the months that followed. Together, they document a small but genuine artifact of a specific moment in smartphone accessory history, when a handcrafted leather case from a boutique maker was worth a same-day writeup from multiple outlets.