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August 13, 2008

BlackBerry Bold 9000 review

The eagerly awaited BlackBerry Bold 9000 continues RIM's legacy for qwerty smartphones - and may be its best yet.

So here it is; the most anticipated BlackBerry handset to date. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 is a quad-band handset with both HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) 3G and GPS navigation that its maker, Research In Motion, hopes will cause as much of a furore as the iPhone 3G.

The handset we tested is on the Vodafone network, but T-Mobile announced last week that it will also be selling the Bold, while RIM tells us that in time it expects all UK networks to offer its latest quad-band baby.

First impressions are extremely favourable: this is a superb looking smartphone with strong lines and a gorgeous screen.

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BlackBerry handsets traditionally come with leatherette cases in which to store your precious gem – the Bold meanwhile has a leatherette back, into which is set the 2Mp camera and video capture unit. There's space enough to emboss this with a discreet BlackBerry logo – we’re sure it was no coincidence that Apple also has a central distinctive silver logo on the back of its iPhone.

Design comparisons with the iPhone are unfair, however: the Bold is said to have been in the planning stages for three years and it more closely resembles smartphones from HTC and Motorola than it does Apple's iPhone.

A broad, flat handset that nonetheless fits comfortably in the palm, it's noticeably heavier than other BlackBerry handsets, but has a cleaner, more modern look. This is helped by the fact that there's a smart silver magnesium-alloy trim around the Bold's circumference with silver lines separating each line of keys on its full Qwerty keypad. These 'frets' between the rows of keys help distinguish between them – a device that Bold’s designer borrowed from the guitar (though we think RIM's reference to the keys being on a musical stave is stretching the analogy somewhat).

NEXT PAGE: look and feel and the BlackBerry Bold 9000's screen

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Independent customer reviews from

RIM (BlackBerry) BlackBerry Bold 9000 scored:
8.4 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 113 reviews:

15 Oct 2008 Jonathan, Coatbridgr

10

Good Points

Great keyboard for e-mailing and texting. Cracking screen which is nice and bright and videos look lovely on it. The sound from the internal speaker is really good and through the supplied earbuds is very very good. Just a great phone overall.

Bad Points

Out of the box battery life is bad but gets better with regular charges.. DO NOT let the battery run right down, always keep it topped up as modern batteries don't work like older styles. The firmware which comes on the phone doesn't help the battery, a simple upgrade turn the battery into a differnt bit of kit.. i can easily get 3 days from mine now if I turn off the wi-fi and bluetooth while not using them.

18 Oct 2008 Paul, Widnes

10

Good Points

This is my first blackberry and I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to get used to using it, but I have found the ease of use pleasantly surprising. Its fantastic and not complicated in anyway whatsoever, after I spent my first few days navigating around the menu I can find my way round it and customised it to my own preferences. I actually thought I would spend hours/days on end reading the user guide, but all the help from a user guide is in the phone itself. I dont consider myself to be knowledgeable when it comes to technology, but I would certainly recommend this device to anyone who is unsure about whether or not to have a blackberry or go for a more basic device. Its great, I can't say no more really other than that.

Bad Points

I'm struggling here.....but there are two very minor "bad" points. In the help section of managing messages it says to delete multiple messages, hold down the ALT key and scroll down the message list highlighting the messages and then press the menu key and select delete messages. That is wrong, you dont use the ALT key, but the left 'shift/CAPS' key next to the 0 (zero).....oh and the sat nav icon wasn't pre-loaded when it said it should be, but I sorted that out over the phone in less than 5 minutes.

See more RIM (BlackBerry) BlackBerry Bold 9000 reviews on Reevoo.com

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User Reviews

Monday, 27 October 2008

Reviewed by damsmith.uk

Star Rating: rating of 5

Duration of ownership: 1 weeks

Strengths:
BB Bold has al like 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, QWERTY keyboard, camera, great screen, clean styling, and more.

Weaknesses:
There are some software issues with this phone.

Overall Evaluation:
Bold is most awaiting phone model of BB, because it has lots of function and good looking too that is why BB bold and its accessories are in demand.

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