BlackBerry Bold 9700 (T-Mobile)

Call quality: We found call quality on the BlackBerry Bold 9700 relatively clear. However, we should note that we occasionally heard a slight echo during calls, but it usually only surrounded a word or two and it didn’t tend to last for the duration of a call. For the most part, callers were clear, and it’s easy enough to adjust the cell phone’s volume with the corresponding buttons on the side of the Bold 9700. We also appreciated the speakerphone since we were able to speak simultaneously and callers weren’t cut off mid-sentence. Additionally, there was no degradation in call quality when we used a Bluetooth headset.

Audio quality: The playback of music on the BlackBerry’s speaker is quite impressive. It’s loud and clear; so much so, that we often lowered the volume on the cell phone when we were listening to music. Additionally, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 supports stereo Bluetooth so if you prefer to go wireless, you can always listen to tunes via an optional Bluetooth-enabled stereo headset.

Menu/phone book: If you love the BlackBerry interface, you’ll be happy to know not much has changed with the overall structure on the Bold 2. You can use the BlackBerry Media Sync software to easily sync contacts, calendar, and e-mail between the Bold 2 and your computer. The software is also available for Mac users. Additionally, you can also view and edit word docs, excel docs, and PowerPoint presentations on the BlackBerry Bold 2. You can store as many contacts as your available memory will allow plus an additional 250 contacts can be saved on the SIM card. Each entry can hold multiple phone numbers, e-mail addresses, birthday and anniversary information, a picture and a slot for both work and home addresses. You can customize the look of the BlackBerry Bold 2 interface. Syncing media – videos, music, and pictures – is also infinitely easier thanks to the Roxio Media Manager software for BlackBerry (see Music for more details). The BlackBerry Bold 2 comes with a micro-USB-to-USB cable (this is different than the mini-USB-to-USB cable that came with the original BoldM) so that you can connect it directly to your computer. Also, you can always use Bluetooth if your computer has that functionality.

Messaging: The reason most people buy a BlackBerry is for the messaging, and rightfully so; it really has perfected messaging, and it has a built-in spell checker , which makes sending messages even easier. Even better, it’s extremely easy to set up multiple e-mail accounts (including work e-mail) on this BlackBerry. You can do it during initial setup of the device by following the prompts on the screen or you can do it at a later time by launching Manage Internet Email found under the Settings folder. If you already have a BlackBerry e-mail account and are simply changing devices, you can upgrade the information in the BlackBerry Start option in the Media Net menu. Also, if you tend to receive a lot of graphic-intensive e-mails, opt for an unlimited data plan, as downloading graphics can eat up megabytes of data pretty quickly.

Camera/video: The BlackBerry Bold 9700’s camera has been upgrade from a 2-megapixel camera to a 3.2-megapixel camera with a flash. However, it lacks a small mirror on the back for taking self-portraits. Overall, picture quality is impressive when snapping pics and the shutter is fast. Colors are true and bright even when viewed on a computer; details are sharp. Once you snap a picture, you can save it, rename it, save it as a Caller ID photo, delete it or send it. Camera features are a little skim, but you can adjust White Balance, Picture Size, Picture Quality, Color Effects (Normal, Black and White, or Sepia), and GeoTagging. You can even use the trackpad to zoom.

Additionally, you can view videos on the cell phone and shoot video, as well. You’ll be able to watch videos in the Media folder, but you’ll have to go to Applications to use the camera to shoot them or switch to Video Recorder when the camera is launched. Shooting videos is pretty easy. While it’s a nice feature to have, you’re probably going to enjoy watching videos you download or stream from the Internet more. Playback of video is impressive. You could easily enjoy watching a long TV episode on it.

Music: As noted, the BlackBerry Bold 2 has a music player as well. You can listen to songs stored in MP3, AAC (Apple’s audio format) and WMA files (Microsoft’s audio format). There aren’t many music-centric features included in the player, but it has the ones we’ve come to expect: Repeat, Shuffle, and Playlists (you can’t create them on the fly) Audio Boost and a Headset Equalizer. You can save tunes stored in your cell phone as a ringtone. The Bold 2 comes with 256MB of available user memory onboard plus a 2GB microSD card so you’ll be able to store at least a few albums worth of music and pictures. If you need more storage space than that, the BlackBerry Bold 2 will support up to a 32GB MicroSD card.

We still commend RIM for teaming up with Roxio to help you get music, photos, and videos from your computer on your Bold 2. The software has an extremely intuitive user interface, so you don’t even need to read directions to get started. You can also use this software to turn CDs into MP3s. Another nice feature is that the software won’t allow you to move music that the Bold 2 won’t play back (that is, protected music that you might have purchased at an online store) onto it, so you’ll never have to wonder why a song isn’t playing. Instead, you’ll get a pop-up that says, “There are no media files in this folder that supports filter settings.”

Connectivity/Bluetooth/WiFi:You can do a lot with Bluetooth on this cell phone. Besides easily being able to connect to a Bluetooth headset (we found call quality was great when we used the Plantronics Discover 925 headset), you can also use it to sync up with your contacts if your computer supports Bluetooth.

This BlackBerry Bold 2 has built-in WiFi. Besides being able to use this Bold to log onto available WiFi networks to surf the Web or send/receive e-mail. It’s a nice feature and it just takes moments to set up on the smartphone. The only thing you need to know is the WiFi network you want to use and the password if it’s a secure WiFi network. We should note that surfing the Web on the Bold 2 wasn’t bad (and if you have music playing it still plays in the background while surfing), thanks to the 3G network. Pages loaded quickly and you could scroll around them via the trackpad.

Look and feel: Besides the faster processor included in the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the biggest differences found in the Bold 9700 over the original Bold will be found in this area. First, the display is more vibrant and images and test are much sharper. It seriously shines and looks gorgeous. Plus it’s visible in bright sunlight. Additionally, instead of the company’s trademark trackball the Bold 9700 sports a trackpad similar to that found on the Curve 8530. The next thing you’ll notice is the smartphone’s weight and size. It’s a bit lighter and slimmer. The back of the cell phone has a leather-like backing covering that really adds to the smartphone’s strong exterior. Unfortunately, like many cell phones these days, it attracts face grease, so we occasionally found ourselves wiping off the screen. The amount of buttons on the Bold 9700’s spine is on par with other BlackBerry cell phones – except it doesn’t have the dedicated music player buttons found on the newer BlackBerry Curve models. However, you’ll need to remove the back cover to insert a MicroSD cover.

Keypad:The BlackBerry Bold 9700 sports a white backlit QWERTY keyboard and each of the keys have a slight curve on an edge. This aesthetically gives the keypad a bit of a slicker look. Usability-wise it will take a bit of time to get accustomed to it especially if you have larger fingers. Although you can type long messages with a few misspells. Though we were able to dial phone numbers with a minimal amount of misdials, we still with the alt key was on the other side of the keyboard away from the numbers, which would make it easier to access the numbers for other applications besides just dialing phone numbers.

We found battery life on the BlackBerry Bold 9700 to be decent. If you use the cell phone frequently to make calls, listen to music, as well as send/receive text messages and e-mail, the Bold 9700 will probably last about two to three days before needing to recharge. However, if you consider the Bold 9700 primarily a cell phone and less of a messaging device, you’ll get about four days of battery life from it. We should note that listening to music a lot or leaving WiFi activated on the Bold 9700 doesn’t have an adverse affect on battery life.

• Blackberry 9700 User Guide

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