RIM BlackBerry Bold (AT&T;)
Manufacturer: Research In Motion Ltd. Part number: Bold (AT&T;)
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- For those who waited, the RIM BlackBerry Bold won't disappoint. The Bold impresses with its brilliant display, enhanced productivity tools, and excellent multimedia performance to deliver a more powerful and well-rounded smartphone to mobile professionals.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
In stock
|
Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price |
as of 02/17/2009 New |
|
|
In stock
|
as of 02/17/2009 |
CNET editors' review
RIM BlackBerry Bold (AT&T;)
price range: $299.99 - $659.99
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 10/30/2008
- Released on: 11/04/2008
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Bold boasts one of the sharpest displays we've seen on a smartphone and offers great multimedia performance. The smartphone also brings HSDPA support, more productivity tools, and an updated OS. Other goodies include Wi-Fi; GPS; Bluetooth; and strong e-mail support with full QWERTY keyboard.
The bad: The Bold is a bit bulky and expensive. The Web browser isn't as easy to navigate as the competition.
The bottom line: For those who waited, the RIM BlackBerry Bold won't disappoint. The Bold impresses with its brilliant display, enhanced productivity tools, and excellent multimedia performance to deliver a more powerful and well-rounded smartphone to mobile professionals.
It's been a good six months since Research in Motion first announced the RIM BlackBerry Bold (aka RIM BlackBerry 9000). Originally slated for a summer release on AT&T;, the launch date kept getting pushed back...and back. Frustrated with the delays and wooed by other new smartphone releases, we moved on (and so did many of you) and nearly gave up on the Bold. However, now that we finally have it hand, the love affair has begun all over again.
The BlackBerry Bold delivers on a number of fronts. Its half-VGA display is one of the sharpest screens we've seen on a smartphone, which, combined with the stereo speakers, really boosts the multimedia experience. The Bold also ships with the latest BlackBerry operating system, new productivity applications, and support for HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. This is on top of all the great messaging capabilities. Of course, it's not perfect. The smartphone isn't the sleekest device on the block, and the Web browser could use more work. It's also not going to have the mass appeal of an Apple iPhone 3G, nor would we recommend it to the general consumer. With its feature set and strong e-mailing capabilities, the BlackBerry Bold is very much a business-centric smartphone, but what is offers mobile professionals is a premium device that can handle work and play. The RIM BlackBerry Bold will be available November 4 for a slightly pricey $299.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts.
Design
When you first lay eyes on the RIM BlackBerry Bold, the words "sleek," "sexy," and "cool" don't exactly to come to mind. At 4.5 inches high by 2.6 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and 4.8 ounces, the Bold is bulky and wide, making for a bit of a tight fit in a pants pocket. It doesn't exactly take your breath away like the iPhone 3G, but that's not to say it's a bad-looking phone. The black chassis and silver trim are attractive enough and the rounded edges give the handset a streamlined design. Plus, if you turn the phone over, you'll notice that the back has a leatherette texture (no more slick plastic), providing a sophisticated look. If you want to customize your device a bit, RIM will sell replaceable backplates in different colors, including blue, gray, and red, for $29.99 each, which is a little pricey in our opinion.
Now while the overall design isn't particularly flashy, the true beauty of the Bold lies in the display. The smartphone boasts a 2.75-inch half-VGA, non-touch screen that shows off 65,000 colors at a crisp 480x320-pixel resolution. It's quite possibly the best-looking screen we've seen on a smartphone to date. The iPhone and HTC Touch Diamond come close, but we did a quick comparison between the iPhone and Bold and found that pictures on the Bold looked slightly smoother and crisper. Colors pop on the screen and video playback was truly impressive (more in the Performance section).
With such a beautiful screen, we're glad to see that the BlackBerry Bold features an updated user interface, much like the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220. Some of the new icons are a bit difficult to identify at a glance (e.g., downloads, applications, and settings), but as you scroll over, each item is identified by name along the bottom. As usual, you can customize the home screen with various themes, background images, font size and type, and backlight brightness and time out.
Below the display, you get the standard navigation controls, which include Talk and End/power keys, a menu shortcut, a back button, and a trackball navigator. The one benefit of the phone's wider size is that these buttons are plenty large and easy to press. The BlackBerry Bold has a QWERTY keyboard that RIM likened to a modernized Curve keyboard, but it reminded us more of the BlackBerry 8830. We know some 8800 series users had issues with the keyboard, but we didn't have any problems with the Bold. The keyboard buttons are of a good size and have a nice tactile feel to them. We were able to compose e-mails and text messages with minimal errors. They're also backlit for easy typing in darker environments.
On the left spine, you will find a 3.5mm headphone jack, a mini USB port, a customizable shortcut key, and a microSD/SDHC expansion slot. The right side holds the volume rocker and another user-programmable convenience key. There's a mute button on top of the handset, and the camera and flash are located on the back.
AT&T; packages the RIM BlackBerry Bold with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
Features
The RIM BlackBerry Bold isn't just bold in looks but also in the features department as well. To start, it's the first HSDPA handset for the company, bringing you data speeds of up to network for a broadband-like connection on your mobile device. There are multiple factors that affect 3G speeds, such as where you live and how many people are on the network at one time, but you can expect speeds around 400Kbps to 700Kbps (with the potential to hit up to 2Mbps). The Bold supports the 850/1900/2100 HSDPA/UMTS bands, so you'll be able to get 3G coverage in other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia.
Just of note, RIM said the reason why it waited so long to bring an HSDPA device to the market is that it wanted to make sure that battery life wouldn't be sacrificed at the expense of including the 3.5G technology. The company also attributed part of the launch delay to rigorous 3G testing in order to avoid the problems that affected the iPhone 3G. So far we haven't had any problems with 3G coverage, but we'll continue to test the phone over the next few weeks (more on this in the Performance section section as well).
Other phone features of the Bold include quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, conference calling, voice-activated dialing, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. The mobile also has background noise cancellation technology to help call quality, and you have the option to boost the bass or treble levels when on a call. The address book is limited only by the available memory (the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts) with room in each entry for multiple phone numbers, e-mail addresses, work and home addresses, job title, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can assign a photo to a contact as well a group category--business or personal--or one of 32 polyphonic ringtones. Bluetooth 2.0 is onboard for use with mono and stereo headsets and hands-free kits. There's also support for the serial port profile and dial-up networking.
Wi-Fi and GPS are also onboard. The integrated Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g) provides an alternative method for surfing the Net so you don't always have to rely on 3G. You can manually add a network or the smartphone can automatically scan for available networks; our review unit had no problem finding and connecting to our wireless network. There are also Wi-Fi tools, such as diagnostics, DNS lookup, and site survey. The BlackBerry browser has always lagged behind the competition with poor navigation, but there have been improvements over the year. The Bold has a full HTML Web browser, and you can choose from various two views, such as Page View or Column View. In addition to zoom in/out functions, there's also an onscreen cursor that you can move in any direction and place on any part of the page where you can click a link. It's still not an ideal situation and the Web browsing experience is nowhere near the iPhone's, but it's better than previous BlackBerrys.
The GPS is both autonomous and assisted, using both satellites and cellular triangulation to find your position. You can get maps and text-based, turn-by-turn driving directions with apps like BlackBerry Maps and Google Maps for Mobile, but if you want any real-time tracking and voice-guided instructions, you'll have to use a location-based service. The BlackBerry Bold is set up to work with AT&T; Navigator and AT&T; Navigator Global Edition. Currently, you can get a 30-day free trial of the service; afterward, it will cost you $9.99 per month for unlimited access or $2.99 for one day. Also be aware that data charges apply for route information.
The BlackBerry Bold ships with the latest BlackBerry OS 4.6, bringing the aforementioned updated user interface as well as new functionality. E-mail, of course, remains the strongpoint of the BlackBerry Bold. It can sync with your company's BlackBerry Enterprise server, with support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise, to deliver corporate e-mail in real time. With BlackBerry Internet Service, you can also access up to 10 personal/business POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts. Like all recent BlackBerry models, the Bold has a spell-check feature that will look for errors in e-mails and memos, but not text messages. There's also an attachment viewer for opening Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, PDF, JPEG, GIF, and more.
Given the business focus of the Bold, it's good to see that the smartphone now comes preloaded with DataViz Documents To Go Standard Edition, so you can now edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files as well. If you want the ability to create new documents, you will have to upgrade to the Premium Edition. We had no problems opening and working on Word and Excel documents, but we can't imagine doing more than minor edits on the Bold or any other smartphone for that matter. Other PIM applications include a Calendar, a task list, a memo pad, a voice recorder, a calculator, a password keeper, and more.
The BlackBerry Bold has plenty of multimedia options, and with the smartphone's brilliant display and awesome speaker, we think it's one of the main highlights of the phone. The built-in media player can play various music and video formats, including MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, and MIDI music files, and MPEG4, WMV, DivX4, XviD (partial support), and H.263 video clips. There's a search function, playlist creation, shuffle and repeat, and you get a full-screen mode for video playback. The included software CD also contains a copy of Roxio Easy Media Creator, so you can create MP3s from CDs and add audio tags. The Bold also works with the BlackBerry Media Sync application so you can load your iTunes library. The Bold has 1GB of onboard memory and 128MB of flash memory onboard, while the expansion slot can accept up to 16GB cards.
The BlackBerry is equipped with a 2-megapixel camera with flash, 5x zoom, and video recording. For still images, you have your choice of three picture sizes and three picture qualities. There are white balance settings and color effects that you can add to the image. Thanks to the built-in GPS, you can also geotag your photos. In video mode, your options are limited as you only get three color effects and two video formats (normal and MMS).
Picture quality was decent. Images looked sharp and clear, but colors were a bit pale and washed out. Unfortunately, video quality wasn't so great. There was quite a bit of pixelation (enough to be distracting) which was disappointing since other videos looked amazing on the Bold. This, of course, has more to do with the camera than anything else.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2000) RIM BlackBerry Bold in San Francisco using AT&T; service and call quality was good. Voices sounded clear on our end with very little background noise, and we had no problems using an airline's voice automated response system. Our friends reported similarly positive results with no major complaints. The speakerphone was decent. The sound quality diminished a bit, but we were still able to carry on conversations just fine. We didn't experience any reception problems or dropped calls during our review period, but we'll continue to test the phone and report any issues that come up. We successfully paired the Bold with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset and the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.
The RIM BlackBerry Bold is equipped with a 624MHz Intel PXA270 processor, whereas previous BlackBerrys had 312MHz processors, so technically, you should enjoy smoother and faster performance. During our test period, we found this to be mostly true. There were just a couple of slight delays; for example, the smartphone had to think a bit before starting a slide show. However, for the most part, the response times were fast, whether we were working on a Word document or launching the media player.
Web browsing is probably the one area that could stand for some improvement. While the page load speeds were good, whether on 3G or Wi-Fi, the browser left much to be desired. There's a lot of switching views and zooming in and out to get to the right section of a page, so it's not as seamless of an experience.
The multimedia performance on the BlackBerry Bold is amazing. We were blown away (literally) by the amazing sound that came out of the phone's dual stereo speakers. We haven't heard such full sound from any smartphone before, offering a nice balance of treble and bass, and there's plenty of volume. Of course, we're delighted there's a 3.5mm headphone jack built in and you also get 11 equalizer settings to enhance the sound. Watching videos on the Bold is incredible, thanks to the half-VGA display. Playback was incredibly smooth with barely any blurriness.
The RIM BlackBerry Bold features a 1,500mAh lithium-ion battery with a rated talk time of 4.3 hours and up to 10.5 days of standby time. The Bold blew the rated talk time out of the water in our battery drain tests, lasting a total of 7 hours on a single charge.
User reviews
-
-
A reviewer that used the iPhone before buying the Bold
by morningrise11 on November 11, 2008
Pros: GPS, screen, keyboard, loud speakers
Cons: Battery life is terrible. Browser could use work.
Summary: There are some reviewers that are jumping to compare this to the iPhone. I have the feeling that some haven't used the Bold before writing their review. I switched ...
Summary: There are some reviewers that are jumping to compare this to the iPhone. I have the feeling that some haven't used the Bold before writing their review. I switched from the iPhone (from the original but used 3G phone a lot as well). I haven't regretted the decision (yet?)...
Update: I turned off Wi-Fi on my Bold. The battery life has increased by about 200%. Now I can easily go through 2 days on normal use without charging. I would like to keep Wi-Fi on but its not reasonable to do so. Truth is, that with 3G, I don't really need wi-fi since I don't use the Bold for heavy browsing or video streaming too often.
The Bold does everything that I wanted my iPhone to do. MMS, copy/paste, true push email/IM, video camera, a GOOD, LOUD speakerphone and GPS. That is what I needed out of my phone and the Bold delivered where the iPhone fell short.
However, the Bold does lack in plenty places where the iPhone shines. First thing to come to mind is the browser. Safari is simply perfect. While the Bold's browser could use some work. If you only browse sparingly (like I do) the Bold is just fine.
Same goes with the media player on the Bold. The iPhone is better for heavy users of video, music and photos. Personally, I don't do that too much. I may have only watched video on my iPhone a dozen times in the year I was using it. I only need an iPod for the gym and photos are mostly just the ones I take on the phone itself. So the Bold works for me here just fine. I used the music player at the gym without any issues. I was able to navigate my music easily and sound quality is on par from what I was getting with the iPhone. Without headphones plugged in the Bold's speakers were significantly louder than the iPhone was. This goes with speakerphone on calls and ringtones.
Video is as crisp as it is on the iPhone. Iphone has the bigger screen of course. Youtube is available on the Bold as well.
As far as apps go, all I have installed is IM+, Gtalk, Facebook, ESPN, CNBC and NY Times. As far as choices go the iPhone wins with the app store. As far as having actual productive applications I'd go with the Bold. Simply because I'm always connected to IM and can get push messages.
If you need a phone that is used mostly for messaging (email, IM, SMS, MMS) then I'd be hard pressed to not go with the Bold. If you want the bells and whistles (superb multimedia, safari, plethora of games) then the iPhone is best suited for you.
A big negative with the Bold is the battery life. I charge it every night. From 8 to 5 I'm rarely using it. May send a few messages but that is all. It mostly stays in standby. BUT my office is shady with service and the phone is constantly going from no service to some service. This may affect battery life. In the evening I'm making more calls and messaging a lot more. I'm also using the media player for 30 mins to 1 hour a day. The Bold needs to be charged every night. My iPhone easily rattled off 2-3 days without an issue and some lighter usage.
In the end, for me, the Bold does everything I NEED to do and does it perfectly. It also does everything I WANT to do just fine but not as well as the iPhone does. Meanwhile, the iPhone is unable to do a lot of the things I need from my phone.
Updated on Nov 17, 2008
Updated on Jan 29, 2009My review seemed to help a lot of people so I wanted to update everyone on how my BOLD experiance has been.
It has been pretty much flawless. The phone is do everything that I need it to do and I am having no issues with it. It works great for my daily usage which is mostly text/IM/email.
As I said in my first review, I don't use the browser much. If I was a heavy browser, I would have issues with it. After using Safari for over a year, the Blackberry Browser just fails in comparasion. On its own, it gets the job done. Typically, I use it to get the phone number or address of someplace. A Google search for that take about a minute. Nothing to complain about. It just isn't logical for heavy browsing.
I use Google maps often since I don't want to pay for GPS. It works like a charm.
Apps that I use are: CNBC, ESPN, Facebook and Reuters news. All work flawlessly. However, I am disappointed with the Facebook app compared to the versatile Facebook app for the iPhone.
Updated on Jan 29, 2009I'll add another update since I can only have 1000 characters at a time:
As for multimedia: I rarely use YouTube but when I do it works cleanly. Pictures come out sharp since the phone has a flash included. I use the music player for about an hour a day at the gym. It is quick and easy. Getting songs loaded onto it is a breeze as well, just drag and drop.
Issues that I have is that AIM will cut out when service is poor. I mentioned in my first review that service in my office is bad. For some reason, I've been getting 2-3 bars now with few problems. With the Iphone I was getting 0 or 1 bar. I know that what phone you have should not affect service so take from that what you will.
Other than that the phone rarely freezes and when it does it needs a battery pull. This happens once a week. I also rarely experiance any lag.
All in all, I'm still impressed with the Bold. I want to thank everyone for reading and I hope this helps.72 out of 74 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
I actually own one.
by big99gt on November 12, 2008
Pros: Great screen, great battery life, its not a windows mobile device. Love the music player and there are ways around a blackberry data plan.
Cons: None really. Its pretty big but that gives more room for buttons and the large screen.
Summary: Unlike most of the people on here bashing this phone. I own one! I hated my DUO and my Blackjack 2, I can't stand windows mobile devices and the ...
Summary: Unlike most of the people on here bashing this phone. I own one! I hated my DUO and my Blackjack 2, I can't stand windows mobile devices and the poor battery life that comes with them, I also dislike the fact that all of my windows devices didn't make very good phones. And why is it that none of the employees at the local AT&T stores use iPhones? And why do the people that work with all these phones dislike it so much? I've tried 5 different phones lately in my search for the one that does everything I want it to do and the Bold is the only phone I've EVER owned that I would pay to have repaired or replaced. I'm done searching, I found the best device for me. Sorry I can't give an uninformed review of other devices that I've never owned, but I guess that I'm just not like everyone else. The Bold has a large vibrant screen, easy to use well placed keyboard, the clearest loudest speaker of any phone I've used. NO ITUNES to deal with and you can use the browsers with a regular AT&T data plan ( $15 a month for unlimited data). It also comes with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so after you drag and drop your music onto your installed micro SD memory card, all you have to do is plug in your headphones and go. I'm sick of music phones that don't have a headphone jack or USB cable, whats the point? I've tried the LG VU and I wasn't impressed (I couldn't text with it to save my life). So I guess I'm saying that I don't like touch screens. The point of all this is that I feel that the Bold is the best phone I've ever ownwed and I won't be switching ant time soon.
30 out of 34 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Best Blackberry yet
by chall8 on November 9, 2008
Pros: Form factor, keyboard, display, fast internet, e-mail, GPS
Cons: Browser could use work.
Summary: First off, given the phone I upgraded from (Blackberry 8700), it's amusing to me that so many are complaining about the Bold's size. For me it couldn't ...
Summary: First off, given the phone I upgraded from (Blackberry 8700), it's amusing to me that so many are complaining about the Bold's size. For me it couldn't feel any better in my hand, so I think this is just a personal preference thing. A few months ago I had considered upgrading to the Curve, but it just felt too small. I also looked at the iPhone (a few times as I waited for the Bold to release), and while it's a beautiful phone it just felt a little too thin. Again a lot of this is just personal preference, but for a phone with a full keyboard I think the Bold is the perfect size.
Under the hood, the Bold's OS really isn't that different than my 2.5 year old 8700. Same menu structures, typical BB intuitive commands where you want them; but everything just looks a lot "snazzier". If you're a current BB user you won't necessarily be wowed, but you'll appreciate the cleaner look.
The display really is quite amazing. Email is still king. I haven't hooked up the GPS with a service yet (am deciding between Telnav ($10 per month through AT&T) or Garmin which has a one-time $99 program specifically for Blackberries).
The Internet is quite a bit quicker, too. If Web surfing is what you're really looking for in a mobile device then I'd probably consider an iPhone or other device. But for what I do on the Internet (catch up on news/sports when I have downtime such as when waiting in an airport, in a hotel, or maybe having lunch) the Bold is more than adequate (on a scale of 1-10, while I'd give my old 8700 a 5 or 6 I'd give the Bold a 7 or 8). The browser could still use some work, but again it's a step up from where I came from so I'm not complaining too much.
In summary, I've very pleased with the upgrade and think the Bold will serve me well for the next couple of years until the next generation is out.15 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Best smart phone I've owned
by cpetry on December 20, 2008
Pros: Fast processor (StrongARM 624MHz w/FULL MMX)
Blackberry Operating System (stable, fast, etc)
QWERTY Keyboard is fantastic
HD Screen (it looks great!)
Expandable Memory (for music, videos, etc)
A2DP Support (Stereo Music)Cons: No Touchscreen? (That's about the only feature it needs now.. it has everything else)
Summary: I've owned an iPhone for 2 years, and the iPhone 3G for 6 months or so. I got sick of not being able to do simple operations, such as ...
Summary: I've owned an iPhone for 2 years, and the iPhone 3G for 6 months or so. I got sick of not being able to do simple operations, such as cut-paste, forwarding sms, and ironically stereo bluetooth.
This phone has a fast processor, faster than the iPhone, with full MMX, which makes it an amazing multimedia smartphone. I can play music, through my stereo bluetooth headset, in the background, and multitask on the device, such as browse the web, text, use instant messenger, etc.
It has expandable memory, which an iPod, iPhone, etc, doesn't have.
I was rebooting my iPhone due to memory leaks daily, I haven't had to do that with RIM's OS yet.. It just works, period.
Another point - you can add insurance to this device, if you buy a glass iPhone, you're on your own should something happen to it.
E-mail on this device is true push email, with no delays, ever, it works, same with the MMS, and SMS functions.
I can share my ring tones via bluetooth to other devices that support it.
This device supports so much, I just can't list it all.
The only thing it doesn't have it a touchscreen, and it doesn't really need it, because everything is indexed, all you have to do is press F, and you can search. You can search your music, a web page, etc, and it's instant. It also supports type selection, which is faster than anything you can do with a touchscreen.13 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Much Better than Expected! Great Phone
by ClarkWells on November 10, 2008
Pros: Screen, Keyboard, New Operating System, Video Streaming, Viewing of Full web Pages, Editing and viewing of .DOC, .XLS, .PPT. Saving of documents in a email attachment for later use, GPS is fantastic, Bluetooth tethering.
Cons: A little bit larger than i am used to, But still not as big as i thought it was going to be!
Summary: This is my 3rd blackberry (7130, Curve, Bold) and i must say i can't get over how nice it is. I am a dedicated "Fanboy" to RIM but in ...
Summary: This is my 3rd blackberry (7130, Curve, Bold) and i must say i can't get over how nice it is. I am a dedicated "Fanboy" to RIM but in the past i have been so dedicated because of the "Seamless" email and enterprise server integration, along with the traditional and QWERTY keyboards that RIM usually has.
This blackberry has reestablished my love for RIM. I really have new reason to love Blackberry. With this model i no longer have to place all of my love on email integration and keyboards, I have now been intoduced to a truly beautiful smartphone experience. I mean this thing is gorgeous. The new BB OS is just beautiful to look at and is very intuitive.
The upgraded BB Browser is a much welcomed addition. The ability to use it to look at full web pages (although it still falls short of the iPhone) is very much improved and i think that it will be sufficient for the average user. If you are looking for more browsing enhancements, just download Opera MINI and you are off and running in seconds viewing web pages like you would on your computer.
The ability to play YouTube and other videos on-line is just awesome. with the great 3G and Wifi you get on this thing, you will find that you can stream youtube videos within seconds. It is very nice.
The 3G has worked very well for me so far. I have had no problems and it loads pages very very fast. I have had EDGE on all of my previous phones and must say that 3G is worlds ahead of EDGE.
Google Maps has been awesome. When you use Google Maps it uses the phones GPS to "Pinpoint" your location. It has been extremely accurate for me. I got on Google maps and went outside and stood next to my basketball goal that i could see on Google maps and then had it refresh my location and it was Absolutely spot-on. the screen says " Accurate within 3 meters" but it was more like 1 meter for me. I Really love this feature. no more "Your position within 1500 meters" for me!!!
Bluetooth has been great so far to! I have an ASUS EEE PC and i am using my bluetooth to tether my BB Bold and my Laptop together to use my bolds 3G internet to use the internet on my laptop and it has worked flawlessly!
The Calendar is also much improved! Although they haven't gone "Above and Beyond" with the calendar, it is much nicer than on previous models. It also is working seamlessly with Google Sync to sync my phones calendar to my Google Calendar. Cant ask for more!
The New BB desktop software is much nicer also. It will sync my music, videos, and pictures quickly to my device and will also allow custom ring tones. All the while keeping my phone numbers, emails and everything in SYNC with outlook like i have come to depend on.
Overall this phone is incredible. I really just cant get over the sharpness of the screen. The durable feel of the device itself, The new gorgeous Operating System, and all of the new features that i am really not used to in a Blackberry. I wouldn't trade this phone for any other!!!!!!!!! GO buy one now!12 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Great Device!
by katshu on December 29, 2008
Pros: It does what I need it to do, and does it well
Cons: It's a little masculine, but that can be rectified
Summary: Just a foreword... I am not one of the asshats that seem to be trolling the cnet reviews page. What does that mean?? That means that I actually purchased and ...
Summary: Just a foreword... I am not one of the asshats that seem to be trolling the cnet reviews page. What does that mean?? That means that I actually purchased and have used a BlackBerry Bold and I am not posting because I am "anti-BB" or because I have a freak obsession with Steve Jobs. Having said that, here is my review:
I am yet another iPhone owner who went to the BlackBerry Bold. I have never owned a BlackBerry before, so I can't say that all berries are this good, but I love the Bold. In complete honestly, I think that the whole "iPhone vs. BlackBerry Bold" debate will always boil down to personal preference. In my experience (had the original iPhone for a year...just didn't think enough of it to try the 3G) the iPhone had a GREAT browser and some fabulous apps. That's about all it's got going for it. In terms of call quality, the Bold wins. Maybe it's just me, but the calls are clearer on my Bold. As far as email goes, there is no competition. I had no idea what I was missing by not having a BlackBerry. All of my email accounts are pushed, not just the Yahoo as it was with the iPhone. Typing on the Bold keyboard is unbelievably easy and quick. The screen on the Bold is smaller than the iPhone, but much clearer/crisper. The Bold screen is just beautiful. The music player on the Bold is fine for me...different UI than the iPhone of course, but more than sufficient. I had a lot of issues with the ringer/notifier volume on the iPhone, but the Bold is wonderful. On the "High" setting, it can be almost too loud.
As for little things that irritate me on the Bold...the LCD will scratch VERY easily. I would recommend purchasing a screen protector right away. The battery life seems to be a little less than the iPhone, but it's no huge thing...I put it on the charger every night and it gets me through the day fine.
I wish the phone were a little cheaper, but I paid $399 for the iPhone when I got it so $299 for the Bold isn't that bad. :o) After using it for a couple of weeks I can say that, if you are looking for a device to mostly just surf the web and listen to music, then maybe a different phone is for you. However, if you are looking for something that can surf the web (comfortably, if not beautifully), listen to music, watch videos AND make lots of calls and do a lot of emailing then I would say that the BlackBerry Bold would be great for you.9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Best of the true business phones
by khanam1 on November 10, 2008
Pros: 1. Much better battery life than i expected
2. Beautiful screen
3. Fast 3g/wifi
4. Many useful apps that extend its usefulness (Viigo, WSJ reader, etc)
5. Incredible stereo speakers - spectacular!Cons: 1. Bulky
2. Screen size is small
3. Still has the thumbwheel (I break them often bcs of heavy use)
4. Despite big processor etc, still no true 3g skype client (unlike say fring for the Nokia N95) - hopefully this gets solved soon.Summary: Bottomline:
Still the best heavy business use smartphone.
I work in investment management and we are addicted to our crackberries but I have yet to come across any businessphone which ...Summary: Bottomline:
Still the best heavy business use smartphone.
I work in investment management and we are addicted to our crackberries but I have yet to come across any businessphone which comes remotely close to the bold in terms of its functionality and ease of use. I own an iphone and an N95 as well and while i like the iphone too as a personal phone, I tried to use it for business purposes and realized that for heavy business use (say 2-3 thousand emails a day of which you reply to 200-300), it was useless. Treos and other business phones are edged out decisively in my opinion. The battery life was a welcome positive surprise after seeing my iphone die mid day because of too many push emails. The bold lasts me a full day on an overnight charge. The keyboard is definitely better than earlier blackberry offerings too especially for people like me who use both thumbs to type fast.
I do not like the back cover that most other people seem to. It looks kind of wierd to me. However, it does help with the grip on the phone. The camera is crappy - somehow colours are dull and its hard to click a shot without the image looking blurry. Did not need a camera but since its there I want it to be better. The iphone wins hands down on this and other media aspects although the bold's video display is the best around and crystal clear - its too small to give it an edge over the iphone.
I have been waiting to get true Voip over 3g capability and a skype client along with that in a business phone - while this one has the right processor speed and other attributes - I have not come across apps that currently make skype work on the bold like it would on a pc or even an N95. The Truphone app does work but it requires wifi. I hv used fring and truphone on an N95 and while the call qualities were not great, true mobile voip is a must have thing for me. So I wait patiently.
Unlike most bluetooth phones, the bold supports rSAP bluetooth protocol (not a very well known fact) so for those of you who have volkswagen/audi/bentley cars which dont work with other bluetooth phones, this is one of the few good business phones out there which actually work with your car. While rSAP is the most secure bluetooth technology out there, its not as convenient as regular bluetooth so you have to copy numbers from your address book to the sim card to start with and the initial pairing process has to be done correctly (Have the bold "Listen" for your car, dont "search" for it). But it has worked like a charm in my car after that so that was a big plus.
Finally I would like Blackberries to support Spiralfrog / Rhapsody Windows Media DRM files like the N95 or Sony Walkman phones support. Free legal music and it works only on some phones? The built in media player is ok but it works only with non DRM files. Why pirate music when you can get it for free (even if its with DRM)?8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
The Bold is worth the wait
by barc24 on November 13, 2008
Pros: 1. Phone Quality is great
2. Email can't be beat
3. Nice User Interface
4. 3G and WIFI a plus+++Cons: 1. A little bulky reminds me of the old blueberry (7290)
Summary: The people who bash this phone typically have not used it or seen it yet. The bold is great. The complaint from most people is that you need two browsers (...
Summary: The people who bash this phone typically have not used it or seen it yet. The bold is great. The complaint from most people is that you need two browsers (one for 3G ; one for WIFI). The easy solution is to download Opera Mini (better browser anyways).
Picture quality is good ; email is the best ; phone quality is really, really good.
I used to have the iPhone and bold is a true business device where the iPhone is more of a consumer device.7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Best Blackberry Yet!
by austindrewser on November 13, 2008
Pros: Speed of device, 3g and wifi are impressive. Hardware feels great in your hand, best keyboard ever. App support has matured.
Cons: List price, however, check for discounts on the ATT site using employer or institution - look for rebates on the ATT site or store.
Summary: Major improvements from all areas of the phone - keyboard, cpu, screen, browser and OS all have matured... User-friendly and able to type just as fast (or faster) than standard ...
Summary: Major improvements from all areas of the phone - keyboard, cpu, screen, browser and OS all have matured... User-friendly and able to type just as fast (or faster) than standard laptop keyboard! I've also used an iphone and that doesn't compare. If you're on the cusp of your 1st smartphone, this is the no-brainer choice. 3rd party freebie apps have also matured. Camera with flash works like a champ! Battery life is acceptable - 3g is like going from dialup to broadband. All tricks I've ever wanted are baked into this wonderful phone...
6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
First smartphone
by mwoody2950 on November 12, 2008
Pros: The screen quality is fantastic. Touch pad has a good feel and like the backlit keys when needed. Enjoy the mouse. Has the feel of durablility, looks classy.
Cons: The vibrate feature is weaker than what I'm used to. The price is little steep, but do you want a Lexus or do you want a Kia.
Summary: First I want to comment that I read over the negative reviews and noticed that all of them have one theme to promote the iphone (check it out). My point ...
Summary: First I want to comment that I read over the negative reviews and noticed that all of them have one theme to promote the iphone (check it out). My point being is that the rating is much better than the cnet average is showing. The 9000 is simply a sturdy and well thought out instrument for both business and personal use. I'm going to be using mine for personal only. I'm on a steep learning curve with this being my first smartphone and am having a blast. It's only user friendly for those of us that have some background in advance cell phone and know their way around a computer enviroment. I played with all the different smartphones for about two months before finally deciding on the 9000.What sold me was the fabulous screen definition and clarity, the overall feel of the keypad for my touch. I do not mind it's size and actually like how it feels in my hand. To me it feels tough and durable. My poor wife is drooling over this phone but she will have to wait one more year.
6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Research In Motion Ltd.
- Part number: Bold (AT&T;)
- Description: Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give business professionals and power users unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive BlackBerry smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leather-like backplate, to its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and full-QWERTY keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.
Telecom
- Data services E-Mail, WWW, SMS, MMS
- Modem Integrated Wireless cellular modem
- Service provider AT&T;
- Cellular enhancement protocol EDGE, UMTS, GPRS, GSM, HSDPA
General
- Built-in devices Digital player, Camera
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.6 in x 0.6 in x 4.5 in
- Band / mode GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 850/900/1900/21000
- Weight 4.8 oz
- Color Black
- Features System password, Keyboard light, Keyboard lock
- Packaged contents Holster, Stereo headset
- Standby time Up to 324 h
- Vibrating Alert Yes
- Combined with With digital camera / digital player
Operating System / Software
- OS provided BlackBerry Handheld Software
- Software included Phone, Media Player, Organizer, Browser
Memory
- Installed ROM 128 MB Flash
- Flash memory installed 1 GB
Phone
- Call features Voice dialing, Caller ID, Call forwarding, Conference calling
Processor
- Processor 624 MHz
Input Device
- Input device type Trackball, Keyboard
Digital Camera
- Features Video recording
PDA Features
- Flash memory installed 1 GB
- Flash memory form factor Integrated
Audio
- Digital audio standards supported WMA, MIDI, AAC +, MP3, AMR, AAC
- Audio input type Microphone
- Audio output type Speaker(s)
- Voice recording capability Yes
- Miscellaneous compliant standards AES, Triple DES, FIPS 140-2
Display
- Display type TFT active matrix
- Color support 16-bit (64K colors)
- Max resolution 480 x 320
Power
- Battery installed ( max ) 1 Lithium ion
- Max supported batteries 1
- Talk time Up to 270 min
- Power supply device Power adapter
- Power device type Power adapter
Expansion / Connectivity
- Wireless connectivity IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth 2.0, IEEE 802.11g
- Port / Connector Type:Interface 1Headset, 1USB
- Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 MicroSD
- Cable(s) included 1 x USB cable
Physical Characteristics
- Width 2.6 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Height 4.5 in
GPS
- GPS System / GPS Navigation GPS receiver
Manufacturer info
- Research In Motion Ltd.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Research In Motion Ltd. products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.rim.net
- Address:
295 Phillip Street
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2L 3W8, Waterloo, ON - Phone: 519/888-7465
- Email: webinfo@rim.net
- Fax: 519-888-7884
%20-%20Compare%20prices,%20reviews,%20user%20opinions%20-%20Shopper.com&srcUrl=http://shopper.cnet.com/smartphones/rim-blackberry-bold-at/4014-6452_9-33016450.html){kind=small}