BlackBerry Bold 9700 review
Boldly going where no RIM has been before
RIM has decided to update both its flagship devices at the same time, so following the Storm 2, we're now treated to the Bold 9700.
- Watch our BlackBerry Bold 9700 video
The keyboard is the most noticeable difference between this and the original version, with 6mm less room to work with.
The result is keys which are a lot closer together than the paddle like buttons on the first Bold, but at the same time they've been re-modelled to keep the supreme typing ability of the first.
The design also now apes that of the Storm, with a lock and mute key sitting flush with the body at the top of the phone, rather than a big chrome button.
It's a lot sleeker and more stylish than the previous Bold, even down to making the chrome band around the edge more understated.
But it's not all about the aesthetic changes - the Bold 9700 has a lot more going on under the hood.
Souped-up innards
The processor has been souped up to 624MHz, and boy, can you feel it working. Where other BlackBerrys have struggled with more high end media tasks, such as displaying the thumbnail images of your recent snaps, this new Bold sprints through the task with ease.
The OS has been re-booted as well - BB OS 5.0 is all change for the regular BlackBerry user, with better designed menus and easier to find elements - for instance music and video are now grouped together in one place rather than the Music application swanning off on its own, making out it's more important than video payback.
But this OS update hasn't really affected the main core of the new Bold, with messaging still as seamless as ever to set up. Simply enter in your Enterprise details to get push email from your company, or if you're a webmail person you only have to put in your name and password to begin receiving updates.
Tapping out messages is a pleasant experience too, with the newly remodelled keys neither too firm or too soft and clicky (we're wondering if they were designed by a blonde girl and some bears). While we're not BlackBerry addicts, we were able to get a reasonable level of accuracy fairly soon after picking up the phone.
We'll be honest and say we still prefer the keyboard on the original Bold, but this is a very good second best.
Multimedia maestro
Media playback is becoming ever more important to RIM, with the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack testament to that fact.
Video is stunning on the upgraded HVGA screen, packing 480 x 320 pixels resolution into the 2.4-inch display. While this may be a little small for watching feature length films, it's perfectly acceptable to while away those boring minutes when the train is once again late.
Music is a similar experience - it's got all the bits you'd need from a mobile phone MP3 player (although the Bold 9700 can also playback AAC+ and WMA too). There's album art, the normal set of navigation keys and the option to put any song into a playlist from the 'Now Playing' screen.
Browsing bugs
One big let down, as has been the case with so many BlackBerries in the past; the internet browser is poor, with a slow experience coupled with very low range of technologies supported (such as flash). We'd have hoped for something like tabbed browsing but instead we're forced to resort to downloading trusty Opera instead.
But the biggest change of them all is the battery life improvement, with nearly 1.5 days of normal usage (push email, Wi-Fi running all the time) at a stretch. But it basically spells the end of having cart around a spare battery or charger in case of a juice-less situation, which is going to be a big selling point for BlackBerry lovers.
Link: BlackBerry
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The processor has been souped up to 624MHz, and boy, can you feel it working
| Our Rating |  |
|---|---|
| Price |
WE LOVE
The redesigned Bold lookEasily the most powerful
Battery life absolutely rocks
WE HATE
Poor browserUI could do with an update
WE SAY
The best BlackBerry yet, building on a decent heritage of decent handsets to create a compact yet powerful phone that breaks out from the 'business only' stereotypeEssential Mobile Apps
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited,
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England and Wales company registration number 2008885
By vangie82
18|11|2009 19:24
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