BlackBerry Bold

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By Andrew Lim, CNET.co.uk
Aug 15, 2008

Most people associate BlackBerry with business email, but things are about to change. The BlackBerry Bold is certainly aptly named: It's a very daring step into the world of all-in-one super-phones. The Bold's core features are still made of serious stuff, but with the addition of HSPDA (3.5G) and GPS, RIM hopes to capture a larger piece of the smart phone pie.

Editors' note:

This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.co.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

The first thing you notice when you pop the Bold out of its box is its considerable width--but this does allow for a full QWERTY keypad and a wide screen. Similar to the Nokia E71, the Bold's keypad is superb. Its keys are spread out just the right amount and they're raised at one edge so you can easily distinguish between each one.

As if a good keypad wasn't enough to grab our full attention, the Bold's screen is also impressive. RIM claims the Bold got its name during user testing, when many people remarked how "bold" the screen looked. We can confirm that it is indeed very sharp--excellent for watching videos or reading emails.

In between the bright screen and easy-to-use keypad there's a trackball similar to the one found on the BlackBerry Pearl, which some users like while others found fiddly. We think it works well and once you get used to it, it can make searching through lists or going through the menu very straightforward.

We've never been huge fans of the BlackBerry menu system, but the latest redesign takes the old icons in a much sexier direction. Gone are the naff icons on white--behold an array of neon symbols, which still take some time to figure out but look far prettier than anything we've seen on a BlackBerry before.

Slightly less impressive is the faux-metal border that surrounds the keypad and screen--it simply doesn't have the same quality feel as the Nokia E71's metal casing. Then there's the back, which houses a 2-megapixel camera and is covered in mock leather--it's a bit "BMW interior" for us but you may like it.

Features

Before the Bold came out we struggled to understand why RIM omitted certain features from its BlackBerry devices, such as HSDPA or Wi-Fi, but the Bold has it all. HSDPA and Wi-Fi are present and correct, offering high-speed email and Internet access almost everywhere you go, and GPS means you can accurately find out where you are.

Setting up email is fairly straightforward, depending on what you need, but if you're not going to use it to access your company email, you can use BlackBerry Internet Service to setup a variety of email accounts, including Microsoft Exchange. The Bold's Internet browser is equally easy to use, rendering pages in a desktop format, although it doesn't support Flash.

The GPS works well outdoors, but don't expect great things when you're indoors. Navigating around town, you can use BlackBerry Maps, which lets you do cool things such as sending your location to other people, but we prefer using Google Maps, which you can download from the Internet.

RIM understands that most people prefer using their own headphones to the ones in the box, so it's kindly included a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. We would have preferred it on the top or bottom of the Bold, but it's good to have it nevertheless. The music player is basic, but supports several formats and is usable enough.

Less satisfactory is the Bold's 2-megapixel camera. It didn't take great shots in daylight and with only an LED photo light, didn't overwhelm us at night either. It's fine if you just want to take the odd snap to send to your friends over MMS, but don't expect pictures to look great when you view them on a computer.

Performance and conclusion »