RIM Blackberry Bold 9700
When it comes to RIM’s Blackberry devices people immediately think of email on the go and that’s about it. This used to be the case but the Blackberry devices offer a whole new user interface and a great set of features.
On board the Blackberry 9700 Bold 2 you’ll find a cracking multimedia system, an above average 3.15 megapixel camera with LED flash, full 3G and HSDPA connectivity and much more.
Construction and Build:
The 9700 feels like a nice solid handset much like its predecessor. It’s light weight and compact. Unlike other Blackberrys the keypad is quite accessible even for those of us with larger fingers. Granted it will take some getting used to but you can easily pick it up in a short time.
Screen clarity is great and the picture quality really stands out. Using the device in sunlit areas is easy enough is sunlight legibility is up to standards.
The replacement of the trademark Blackberry rollerball is a welcome one. The trackpad works in a very similar fashion to that of a notebook or netbook. It takes some practice but at least we don’t have to worry about all that dirt and grime clogging up the roller ball mechanism and rendering our Blackberrys useless.
It’s pleasing to see the camera hard keys included on the right hand side of the device which enables some pretty good shots to be taken.
The 3.5mm headphone jack is a nice inclusion which shows RIM’s dedication to ensuring that Blackberrys are not only internet and email devices but a reliable and easy to use multimedia phone to.
UI & OS:
Not much has changed since the last set of Blackberrys hit us last year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Blackberry lay out the first thing that you will see on the home screen are your favourite apps and features listed in a row of icons along the bottom of the screen. You also have easy access to phone profile settings and connectivity settings which saves you having to scroll through your menus.
Once you hit your menu icon you’ll be taken into a grid layout of applications and features. It’s just a case of using the trackpad to navigate around this to select the feature you’re looking for. Nice and simple.
If you’re a long time Blackberry user then this will all be very familiar to you. The most striking update is the theme and look of the whole user interface which looks much more up to date and user friendly. Historically we’re used to bland looking icons littering our screens so the newest build of software brings a welcome refresh to the style.
I’m going to touch on some of the unique Blackberry features. When you hear about them second hand or read about them they don’t seem particularly unique and users of other smartphones often ask the question “why would I have a Blackberry when my current phone does all of those things and more?” The ansrew is pure and simple, the Blackberry does it amazingly well.
RIM’s push email and set up support is top class. I’m an iPhone user myself and found that setting up any of the Next Gen email accounts on my iPhone or even my desktop for that matter is a complete pain in which I have to edit all of the settings. When I first picked up my Blackberry I registered with RIM direct and was then asked for my email addresses and passwords for my accounts. I entered these and got a confirmation that my emails were set up. I laughed and thought to myself that I’ll give it 15 minutes and I’ll receive a message asking for my settings. I didn’t receive that message, instead I began receiving my emails. The ease of set up compared to other devices has me really impressed and really shows off why you should consider Blackberry for anything email related.
The Blackberry PIN to PIN messenger comes in rather handy to. It’s not particularly useful if you don’t know many people who also have a Blackberry device but for anyone who travels abroad on a regular basis this can come in very handy. The PIN messaging uses such a tiny amount of data that your network wont normally charge for this even when roaming which means you can substantially lower your international charges. The great thing is due to RIM’s support and push services it’s all completely instant.
Camera:
When it comes to Blackberry we have become accustomed to a below average camera performance. However my experience with the 9700 has given my a completely different opinion. With the help from the dedicated camera keys you can get a really clear shot. The auto focus and LED flash really complement the camera quality enabling you to capture some really impressive photo’s. It doesn’t compete with the top end camera phones obviously but its certainly a massive improvement over what we are used to!
There are a couple of issues with the camera however. It’s pretty basic when it comes to shooting modes and editing. Theres not a massive amount of features available. It’s not essential but it is a shame.
Sound:
The overall sound quality of the 9700 leaves users with a good experience. In call quality is top class and really holds it’s own in noisy environments. Also the ability to change holster settings is pretty usefull in ensuring you never miss a call or an email.
The loud speaker is great with little loss of quality when on full volume.
Other Features:
Blackberrys App store is gradually growing which adds to the customisation of the device. The major drawback at the moment with their app store is the pricing. Apps are generally more expensive than what you would find on the iPhone and also the majority of the apps are chargeable.
The Blackberry offers full Facebook integration, enabling you to synchronise your contact information with your Blackberry device and Facebook account. You will also receive push messages alerting you about any updates on your Facebook account.
As I mentioned previously the 9700 offers a good multimedia system. The MP3 player is well organised and gives a great quality playback both through headphones and on loudspeaker. The video playback quality looks great. You could quite comfortably sit and watch a movie on this device. The main issue however is the size of the screen which unless you’re using a touch screen device you’re going to experience.
The web browser looks great. You can navigate pages which look just like what you would see on your desktop and with the Blackberrys trackpad and on screen mouse cursor navigation is pretty simple. Again it doesn’t quite compete with some of the higher end touch screen phones due to screen size limitations but it’s still a nice device for browsing.
Conclusion:
Over all I’m really impressed with the 9700 Bold 2. It’s a lovely little device and has some great surprises. I’ll holding on to mine for the time being due to the ease of email use and the reliability of it. Unlike other devices Ive used Ive found that emails always send and don’t bounce back. Also the battery life is absolutely superb, often lasting me a good week of average usage.
The Blackberry wont be for everyone but if you are a medium to heavy user of email then I defiantely recommend you have a look at this device because it really does offer the best email experience on the market at the moment.
Even if you’re not a heavy email user this device may suit you. It’s got great multimedia functions combined with a good battery life and social networking apllications. So really theres a little something for everyone!
Advantages:
- 2.44" 65K-color TFT landscape display with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels
- Comfortable four-row full QWERTY keyboard
- Quad-band GSM support and tri-band 3G with HSDPA
- Wi-Fi and built-in GPS and BlackBerry maps preloaded
- 3.15 autofocus megapixel camera, LED flash
- 624 MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM
- BlackBerry OS v5
- Responsive trackpad navigation
- Hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
- DivX and XviD video support
- Good web browser
- Office document editor
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- Decent audio quality
- Smart dialing
- Great battery life
- More compact body and lighter weight compared to the Bold 9000
- Good build quality
Disadvantages
- Many features are locked without a BlackBerry Internet Service account (plan)
- Mediocre camera performance and features
- No FM radio
- No video-call camera
- No TV-out functionality
- No built-in accelerometer
- No built-in compass