BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (AT&T)

As a person who is accustomed to the Blackberry interface, but has minimal experience with some other smart/mediaphones (iPhone, Nokia e71, Nokia N97) I can say with confidence that this is the best phone I have ever handled, and definitely the tip-top when it comes to Blackberry devices.


I upgraded to the 9700 from a Curve 8310, and the form factor is nearly the same. This is a joy, considering the original Bold was a little too large for my tastes. In fact, it's only a tiny bit taller, and a little thinner. It combines the best of the devices before it: It has 3G like the Bold, a great keyboard like the Tour, and a trackpad like the Curve 8530. They really brought it all together in a way that is perfect.

The keyboard is responsive and provides good feedback, but it quieter than say, the Cuvre's keyboard. The trackpad might take a little getting used to, but once that awkward phase is over it works like a dream. No more dirty trackballs! It doesn't light up, but that's not really a big deal, as the call, send, menu, and escape buttons always stay lit when you are using it, so brushing your thumb over the dark space in the middle is all you need.

Excellent camera with autofocus and very good color balance. The speakers are loud and clear. The screen on this thing is absolutely gorgeous. I didn't think the additional resolution would make much difference on such a small screen, but it really is head and shoulders above previous models like the Curve. The media player handles a large number of formats and video codecs, which is fantastic, as I found previous models lacking in that department.

It comes with a standard headphone jack and a set of in-ear headphones that are really stylish and easy to use. Also I was pleasantly surprised to find a case that could clip to my belt (as opposed to the slip-in case they used to give) and a 2GB micro SD card already in place.

Battery life is superb: I have done heavy texting/email with my alerts on vibration, and streamed music via Pandora, and it still takes a few days to fully discharge. Excellent.

The browser is faster than previous Blackberry models, but it still needs work. It doesn't come close to the likes of mobile Safari. However, there are alternate browsers you can use for free, such as Opera Mini.

Texting is a breeze, and it keeps a log of the conversation as if it were a chat in an instant messaging client. It also has visual voicemail, so if you are moving from an iPhone, you'll still have the feature. Get this phone, you definitely won't regret it.
BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (AT&T)