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Reviews (17)
24 November 2009
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000 Review
The new BlackBerry Bold 9000 is the successor to devices like the BlackBerry Curve and the 8800.
It is evolutionary, not revolutionary. But RIM's long years of experience really come through in the Bold, and it is far and away the best BlackBerry I've ever used.
Part of this is the elegance of the design, but a number of new features contribute as well, like the HVGA screen, HSDPA, and greatly improved software for working with Microsoft Office files.
RIM has dramatically improved the looks of its devices in recent years, and the Bold is a new high point. Its rounded corners and leather-textured back make it somehow both professional and sexy.
And the higher-resolution screen is great, too. The Bold has a 320-by-480-pixel display, which is at least twice the resolution of the earlier RIM models, like the Curve. This is a beautiful screen that makes everything you do with the Bold look great, but especially watching movies.
This smartphone is wider than many of its competitors, but it's also relatively thin. And its width allows the aforementioned screen to be larger, and also makes room for a bigger keyboard. This isn't as wide as the landscape-oriented keyboards you'll find on some smartphones, but it's large enough to be comfortable to type on. There's no separation between keys, but each key has a raised area that makes it easier for you to be sure you're hitting just one at a time. Sadly, the Bold doesn't fix one of my biggest complaints with BlackBerry keyboards: there are no keys dedicated to the most frequently used punctuation marks, including the period and the comma.
Between the screen and keyboard is the trackball. As the Bold doesn't have a touchscreen, you'll do much of your interacting with it through this, and it's up to the job. After a couple of days of use, I began to think that a trackball is a better option than a D-pad and definitely superior to the old BlackBerry track-wheel.
There are programmable keys on both the left and right sides of this device, which is another thing I'd like to see on other smartphones.
There's also a button on top you can use to mute incoming calls. This doesn't answer the call or send it to voice-mail, it just quickly shuts off the ringing sound. You can use this same button to put the Bold in standby mode, which locks the keys and turns the screen off until you hit this button again. It will still take calls, so it's a good way to carry your smartphone around.
05 July 2009
RIM Blackberry Curve II 8900 Javelin
40 of 43 found this helpful The BlackBerry Curve 8900, also known to the BlackBerry Javelin, is the much-awaited BlackBerry Curve replacement. It’s definitely been covered in depth.
* The size is awesome — totally small enough to be pocketable, but not too small where sacrifices on the keyboard had to be made.
* Unlike the Bold where some people had trouble hitting the right convenience key since it was too low, on the Curve 8900, it’s located perfectly.
* The screen is flawless! It’s smaller than the Bold, and that’s an even denser, crisper, and sharper display in our books. Really a job well done.
* The keyboard is better than the first Curve. The keys feel more “fuller” and not hollow like the original 8300 did. They’re also decently spaced. Another great execution by RIM.
* The fake chrome bezel around the 8900 actually seems like it’s more equipped to handle rough usage than the Bold is. It looks like a tougher material or finish.
24 November 2009
BlackBerry Curve 8300 review
2 of 2 found this helpful The good: The RIM BlackBerry Curve boasts a sexy and slim design with an improved full QWERTY keyboard. The smartphone also has a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and a media player. There's a new spell-checker for e-mail and memos, and audio technology that automatically adjusts call volume in noisy environments.
The bad: Unfortunately, the BlackBerry Curve doesn't have integrated Wi-Fi or 3G support. The device's camera still doesn't have video-recording capabilities, and call quality sounded a bit hollow.
The bottom line: Though it doesn't bring Wi-Fi or 3G support, the BlackBerry Curve offers a best-of-breed design and a well-rounded set of features to make it an attractive device for consumers and mobile professionals alike.