BlackBerry Bold 9000 Review

 

 

So…the difference between normal text and bold text is that bold stands out. The same thing goes for the BlackBerry Bold 9000; it stands out from the rest of the BlackBerry phones.As far as standing out from the rest of the cell phones in the market, you can be the judge.

Now even though it’s bolder than the other BlackBerry phones, it’s still a BlackBerry after all. It still functions like the others but with its own tweaks and updates. The boldness of it is first the price – $640 – $999 unlocked. Now, now, get those eyeballs back in your head and let’s just go over the features and specs before we dismiss this as another overpriced phone.  Read on for the full review.

First the screen needs to be mentioned because that’s what stands out the most. It’s pretty big – 480×320. The contrast and pixel density is pretty amazing. Videos can be seen with the same kind of awe as watching HD…well a mini HD. If you like Star Wars, then this phone would compliment the special effects nicely. What ever videos you see, the quality of the screen may be worth a portion of the price. Let’s see if the rest pays justifies the price.

Sleek and attractive. Let’s face it; it’s a superficial world, which makes me wonder why my wife is even remotely attracted to me…could it be my big nose?Gone is the day of awkward phones that look like a tin can with an antenna. Cell phones must be elegant and I’ll say that the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is rather elegant. Here are the specs on the size of that knockout body.

4.48″/114mm (Length)

2.6″/66mm (Width)

0.59″/15mm (Depth)

4.8 oz/136g (Weight)

Now the size of the phone itself isn’t small, but it won’t feel like a brick in your hand.

The design of the keyboard allows BlackBerry designers to keep their jobs. The keyboard is one of the features that allow the BlackBerry phones to stay in the market. The backlight is like fireworks in the background of a pier at night. The keys are glossy and when pressed give you the feel of security that the right character has been entered.

For a smartphone, which is essentially a minicomputer, the battery life is like an alligator’s life span. Talk time on GSM is 4.3 hours while its standby time is 9 days. It’s UMTS talk time is 4 hours while the standby is 10.5 days.

As far as its other uses, emailing and other applications use that includes 3G browsing got a friend of mine about 8 hours on half of a charge.

From 3G to Wi-Fi to GPS, you’re connected. The wireless network varies where in the world you plan to be but this is what’s available.

Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g

UMTS: 2100/1900/850 MHz

North America: 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks

North America: 1900MHz GSM®/GPRS networks

Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks

Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks

EDGE networks

HSDPA networks

A good thing needs not be changed and BlackBerry email has always been good. They just improved upon a good thing. The Bold now allows viewing pictures of the email as well as full HTML and attachments on the phone. The Bold also allows voice messages to be sent as an email attachment.

You can add integrate up to 10 email addresses to the BlackBerry.

Now the trackball available to navigate the pages isn’t quite the best but it’s what’s there. It’s fine for small browsing. The iPhone gets all the attention of the quickness of their browser, but the BlackBerry Bold isn’t much behind the iPhone at all. Have you ever had cable then went down to an upgraded DSL? Well, there’s a bigger difference in that. I’d say the difference is like the difference between IE and Google’s new Chrome.

The browser suffices for tasks like checking sites for weather, sports, and news. It does allow RSS feeds. And video and music streaming is as good as it gets. Like mentioned earlier, the resolution and quality of the screen makes page and video viewing marvelous. Here are some of the apps you can use: XM Radio, MobiTV and YouTube.

The camera is available with either 1.3MP or 2.0MP². This is pretty standard for phones but will do just fine if you forgot your digital camera and need to take some pictures to send. BlackBerry makes as easy to send pictures as the rest of the cell phones out there. The flash is built in and allows digital zoom.What’s neat to me is the self-portrait mirror. If you are as obsessed with taking pictures of yourself as my wife is, this alone will be worth the price.

Now the video is just as standard as the camera but will do if you need to capture a Kodak moment or send a video message. The clarity is nice. A nice application is the Roxio Media Manager (Roxio® Media Manager) that allows you to transfer media from your phone to the computer using a USB or Bluetooth.

It’s good to see that BlackBerry is getting with the times with GPS navigation. They added a “new” feature that’s not really new in the cell phone realm. This is the ‘local search’ option which allows you to type in a keyword like ‘coffee’ or ‘hospital’ and finds you a coffee shop or hospital within a 30km radius.

You can send the map directions to other people via text or email and can also access BlackBerry Maps from your home computer.

The locations can be bookmarked.

It works with GPS to view your current location and track you in the route you’re taking.

The maps downloaded can be viewed in multiple angles and zooms.

Working along side the BlackBerry Maps is the Global Navigational System.  BlackBerry doesn’t stop there. They also have LBS (Location Based Services) that allows tracking of employees or even family if need be.

If you plan on sticking with the maps then you don’t have to exclusively use BlackBerry Maps. Other 3^rd party applications can be utilized, some of which give step-by-step voice directions…much better than the back-seat diver yelling at you to “TURN HERE!”

Unfortunately there’s not much positive talk about the Media Manager. The same set up exists as other BlackBerry phones. If you own other BlackBerry phones and don’t mind it then okay. If not, then BlackBerry hope the other features will win you over.

But what’s the big deal about fancy set up? If it plays well then it plays well. The quality of the video overcomes any menu set up. Also, the BlackBerry Bold allows the use of the microSD card2 for expandable memory.

Syncing music and ripping music from the computer is as easy as any other phone. Accessories for the media player are as good as you can get with any other phone.

Don’t worry if you can’t afford the internet because of the price of the phone. Wi-Fi enables you to connect where ever Wi-Fi is available. The BlackBerry Bold is Wi-Fi capable. It works like this, to put it simply:

Generic Access Network – referred to as GAN – or Unlicensed Mobile Access – referred to as UMA – provides carrier service to work over networks that are unlicensed such as Wi-Fi.These carriers are GSM, GPRS, and EDGE. Smartphones like the BlackBerry Bold that are Wi-Fi capable can make GSM calls over Wi-Fi networks.

THE GIST OF IT

This is definitely BlackBerry’s best smartphone. The video quality, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities, and QWERTY style keyboard make it worth the buy. If only I had the money, I would get it in a second. If you can afford it I recommend it.

Now for the rest of us who can’t afford it, let’s hope that the price goes down when something better comes along. We don’t mind flagging a bit behind for the more affordable versions that seem so last year. With the competition as aggressive as it is, you’d think AT&T would offer some hefty rebate with a 2 year contract.

Other Bold Reviews

“Gizmodo” on the BlackBerry Bold

“APC Mag” on the BlackBerry Bold

“PC World” on the BlackBerry Bold

“CNET” on the BlackBerry Bold

“PC Mag” on the BlackBerry Bold

“BlackBerry Cool” on the BlackBerry Bold

“Mobile Tech Review” on the BlackBerry Bold