BlackBerry Bold 9700 gets handled, appreciated for its nuances
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Oct 21st 2009 3:13PM
posted Oct 21st 2009 3:13PM
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wow, this phone is definitely a force to be reckoned with, but, why did they take away the trackball.....the optical one is horrible....
I haven't used an optical trackpad, but I'm hoping it's better than the "new and improved" trackball on the 8900. It performs horribly after just a few weeks. My old Curve trackball went over 18 months with no sticking issues.
And the trackball is worse than the old scroll wheel. I really, really hate it. You used to be able to navigate by touch, feeling each click, but now no such luck. Plus, using the ball to click, especially without detents, means it's pretty easy to click then flick the wheel to another option. And the way the UI works, it's not what you had selected when you clicked, but what you land on after.
I'm hoping the new optical trackball at least doesn't stick, but I doubt it will be any better in the navigation department.
"Engadget German have had a chance to play with RIM's."
Living in Waterloo,
I can say that the optical trackball is just as responsive (personally tested)
and the reason for the switch I am hearing is because the failure rate is much lower and it doesn't get dirty
Trackball or trackpad has become ANCIENT interface for
smartphone apps these days. How does one pan the map
display? It is too awkward to say the least!
Only 3.6 Mbps HSDPA
TFT 65K colours
No HSCSD
No secondary camera for video calling
No Radio
No PTT (Push to Talk)
Curve 8310 GPS but NO WIFI
Curve 8320 wifi but NO GPS
Curve 8900 wifi gps good camera but NO 3G
Tour 9630 3g gps good camera but NO WIFI
Curve 8520 wifi gps but NO 3G
Bold 9000 wifi 3g gps but Bulky with crappy camera NO AutoFocus
Bold 9700 GPS wifi but only 3.6 Mbps 3G, and still no radio
WTF?
Get a Nokia E72.
I didn't know the Bold had a 624 Mhz.
and I like the trackpad. Can't wait to see OS5 =]
QWERTZ ! ! !
Gotta love that German keyboard. Just saw an article about a company that's shipping unlocked GSM Palm Pre's to the States from Germany, with the downsides being 1) no 3G antenna 2) the QWERTZ keyboard and 3) it's frickin $715. But one thing I learned is that Germans prefer the QWERTZ keyboard over QWERTY. Never knew that.
@ Smart People
QWERTZ is the German standard for a keyboard, much like all French keyboards are AZERTY.
The trackpad looks nice, but Blackberry is lacking innovation. Same processor, upgraded screen resolution (I'm assuming), smaller size. Nothing new to report. I have the tour and was pissed it didn't have wifi, but I waited too long with my pearl for something nice to come to Verizon, now the Droid is coming. Wish I hadn't upgraded in August.
The problem isn't innovation. The blackberry doesn't really _need_ to change, it just needs incremental improvements. And perhaps more affordable apps on the store.
But, if you've never used Android, particularly if you're a long-time blackberry user, you are in for a shock. And not in a good way. Sure it has cheap apps on the store and SSH runs faster. But the phone and messaging (email, SMS, etc) bits are horribly rudimentary compared to the blackberry. And if your primary use for a phone is calling and messaging ... well, better keep that blackberry around.
Speaking of innovation,
there isn't much of it anywhere, snapdragon and tegra are coming but thats about it.
I own a HTC magic, and it has the same processor as the G1 and android phones being made today have the same processor. The only difference is the screens are better.
Even the iPhone lacks innovation, apple is using the same processor since the original iPhone, same body and everything.
You can only innovate every so often, RIM has never been a company that has had success with HUGE giant leaps of technology.
@Unknown
Iphone 3GS has an upgraded processor. The Motorola Droid is rocking the same processor as the iPhone (I believe).
No, the iPhone still has the Arm Cortex A8 SRX 600Mhz (It's really 833, underclocked for some reason). Droid has the QC Snapdragon 1Ghz.
I've heard rumors that the iPhone 4 will try to go for 1Ghz. That would be interesting.
..but it should be noted to Unknown, that the iPhone 3G and 3Gs has updated to the ARM A8 from the Samsung RISC 612
N900 Said
"No, the iPhone still has the Arm Cortex A8 SRX 600Mhz (It's really 833, underclocked for some reason). Droid has the QC Snapdragon 1Ghz."
If the sholes is using the snapdragon processor it will officially be my dream device however every preview I have seen has it using the 600mhz TI OMAP3430 processor
@N900 - No, iPhone, 1st gen Touch and iPhone 3G all have the same processor, which is ARM1136 (1176?) based. 3GS and 2nd Gen Touch are the only ones running Cortex A8 cores. These are also the only processors with support for OpenGL-ES2.0
Also, Palm Pre is rocking OMAP3430, not iPhone - 3GS uses a Sammy apps core. Both are Cortex A8 based parts.
RIM is still stuck with XScale in their Marvell processors, so while this one is running at 624 MHz, it is not in the same league as the others as it is still ~ARM11 class (though technically ARMv5TE not ARMv6). This version of Bold is rumoured to be using a new version of Marvell's Tavor chip at 65nm instead of 90 though, so I expect that power wise it should be better than the 9000 - I suspect though that the comments on 50% better browser based on HW is complete BS.
Honestly, I think this looks nice, but I wouldn't be trading in my current device (9000) for it - This product is coming to market ~12mo after the first Bold launched and they have really tighted up the design - I think I can hold out another year to see what gen3 looks like.
This is also I guess the first RIM product coming from their Bochum office? Given where they chose to do the announcements? They only set that up last summer sometime, like June-July IIRC... so brand new office to product rolling out the door in
My 5.0 packing Tour is just slightly jealous of the trackpad and wifi
Maybe we'll have to see what become of the essex in the near future
Hmmm...browser's stilll the same.
I heard somewhere the browser on OS 5.0 has multi-tabbing to open different web pages simultaneously. Is it confirmed?
Maybe I'm not a blackberry guy ... but it seems nearly identical BB's keep coming out.
Are the originals that bad, or are the updates that small?
I hear that a lot. Their new designs are consistently evolutionary so visual changes are not huge. Internal changes are bigger. Compared to the previous release, the 8900, this one adds 3G, a trackpad, the latest OS, and I think faster processor and more memory, but not sure about those two.
I'm happy with the form factor, so I'm glad they don't mess with it too much.
Blackberry is the Porsche of smartphones. Over the years, they look pretty similar....but each one gets better with every iteration.
ever heard of the term "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?
this form factor is why blackberry is sitting pretty at the top of the smartphone market!
love it or hate it.
I'd like a touchscreen+keyboard blackberry...well I wouldnt get because I'm sticking with android, but I'd like to see one.
You're looking for the rumored BlackBerry Dakota (formerly the Magnum), which is said to have exactly the configuration you mention and the width of the Bold 9000, and to be scheduled for next spring.
Mistake in the article: The original Bold has a hot swappable MicroSD card as well. The little door on the side.
taps in the browser were not discussed at the launch, but rim claims the browser is up to 50% faster, due to the processor. it seemed snappy. it's still not good though
I'm still not sure why they refuse to change the colour of the digits on the keypad; it makes dialling numbers quite a bit more tricky.
This phone looks more like the Curve 8900 than the original Bold, imo. Also, I like how they flipped the green call button upside down.
i would definitely get one for myself asap.
Ugh, where's the new browser? Where's the native PDF reader? I don't need a new Blackberry, I need the software updates that should have been released with the phone. RIM =/= SE, you can't just incrementally upgrade the hardware and leave the software untouched.
seems blackberry is just getting better. luv it!
Getting better? Besides the minor changes, it's still the same ol stuff. Don't get me wrong, blackberries are nice devices, but with the progression of other "options" leaves RIM a little behind. Corporate America would eat these devices right up, but for your average consumer, there's better phones on the market to enhance the user's experience.
in what colors is this phone available?
david daniels
No matter how nice this phone looks (which it does btw), I'm still highly upset that most Blackberry's are looking the same now and days.
But this does seem to be a nice little device. I love it anyways.
Im sorry, but considering there's an "i" in your name I have to assume you prefer the iphone. Now, can you tell me exactly why the iphone can look exactly the same since it was released, and not blackberry?
Actually...I have and support Android.
I did the name purposely because I'm a business major, and anyone knows that the "i" is the most well known business moniker on the face of this earth. ;)
If you ask me...I have the same gripe with the iPhone.
Same design year after year after year.
I'll jump on RIM more though because they actually have different versions (Tour. Bold, Curve) that look almost exactly the same...where as the iPhone is just updated ones of the previous.
But both Apple and RIM needs to pump out some new interesting designs. Both hardware and UI. I like customization. They shouldn't be afraid to dabble in some murky waters a bit.
OK, i apologize for assuming. As long as you have the same gripe with the iphone, I just hate double standards.
Yes, that's why I like Android (formerly used to be WinMo)
I like the option of choice...no two devices being exactly the same.
I hate having to see names on something to distinguish if they are different.
The Blackberry hasn't hit that point yet...
But the iPhone...3G and 3GS looks exactly the same. I hate it.
I'm hoping the 4th Gen iPhone will completely turn our heads around...
I'll never buy one, but still...lol.
hasn't this phone been out for a good while now?
http://www.tvlesson.com/video/40662_blackberry-bold-review.html
No. That's an early review of a pre-release handset.
In fairness to Blackberry there's only so much you can do with that design and form factor.
I kind of like it.
reposting it doesn't change the fact that it's spam and it blows...
Love the German translation:
"taps her but very nice"
based on your comment, if we need to merely "see" innovation on phones, the iPhone is deadlast considering its form factor has remained stagnant through each of its generations.
realize the technology inside is what is advancing (or is that the point you use to trumpet the iPhone only?)
I'm guessing the reason RIM keeps pushing out blackberries with very similar designs is because its a form factor that works.
I'm pretty sure the style of the phone is one that has already made a visual memory for everyone, no one has to ask what kind of phone that is, they automatically know that if it looks like that its a blackberry, with the exception for those behind the times.
surprisingly the keyboards on these suckers aren't that bad, considering they're pretty squeezed out. I can type pretty quickly on my Dad's 8900 and even faster on the Tour i tried out at the Verizon store.
i think RIM is dangerously close to making the same mistake Palm made with their Treos...
No more innovations in design... they all look the same to me they just have different number models.
keyboards are so 2003??? It isn't all about touchscreen. It's about how much you can get out of your phone. That's why people go for touch-screen phones with QWERTY's, and sometimes JUST QWERTY. Most people can't duke it out on a touchscreen QWERTY, and some people like to ease-of-use, so quit assuming that they "zero innovation" for this.
Screw it. THIS TIME I'm hitting the report button. Your flamebait is coming to a hilarious end.
The BlackBerry keyboard is still the fastest text input method for a mobile device. You can type with 100 percent accuracy without even looking at it. Business customers love it.
At the heart of the issue with the new Bold and the rest of the blackberries is the user interface. RIM needs to answer the problem of navigating through endless menus. Apple has shown everyone how a touch interface can be a seamless experience which makes the trackball interface appear outdated. RIM is sidestepping the issue by replacing the ball with a trackpad when they should be replacing the user experience.
The menus are hardly "endless". The only difference between the BB's Applications screen and the expanded icon screen found on phones like the Pre and the iPhone is that with the BB you can organize your icons into folders. Otherwise there is no more complexity to it than any recent touchscreen phone.
obviously not, since the old school curve is the most sold smartphone ever, and BB is still on top in the smartphone market as far business/consumer ratio and all-around consumer likeability. I am not too far from a upgrade for my current curve (which i didnt pick in the first place but i LOVE,) and the android devices are looking tempting, but the ease of use of BB and the keyboard is going to be VERY hard to beat. RIM is doing very well, and new devices like the Storm 2 will attract the group of consumers who are looking for the "fun" device with ease of use. The only complaint I have with BB is the app world, but 3rd party apps are doing well for me, and I have better things to do on my phone then to play with games and fart apps.
@ MONKEY nice comparsion/smiley of BB to Porches.It is so true.
Is it just me, or does RIM introduce a new BlackBerry every other week or month? This has got to suck because they never have time to work out bugs or software glitches b/c they are always putting out new phones that are SLIGHTLY better or worse (due to "fixes" that cause other problems)...Maybe, if they put a phone on the market, left it on the market for a year like Apple does, and gradually fix glitches, bugs or other software mishaps, it'd be better. Its hard for the consumer market to keep up with things as it is, let alone a new model every other week or so. Again, the iPhone 2G is pushing 3 years old, it still works with AT&T, most of the software (except the GPS or Compass required ones) work with the 2G. Not many 3 year old phones can do that!
Well, RIM launched the 8700 in 2006 and it was included in the list of products receiving updates to the v4.5 OS - for the most part though only their products from 2007 onwards (those with >32MB of RAM) got upgraded... still, that's easily 8-10 handsets in market that were all upgraded to the "latest" OS, and run the same apps as devices running OS 4.6 and 4.7. OS5.0 which has been leaked around so much that surely it will be coming to release soon similarly upgrades most of the products from 2007 onwards through these products rolling out the door - that's easily 16 handsets that RIM is keeping "alive" through SW... so yes, while it seems they are launching numerous devices, it really isn't that many (unless you're counting color variants) - they introduced something like 7-8 devices in 2008 and this year they have only launched four: Pearl Flip 8230, Tour 9600, Curve 8520 and Bold 9700. There is at least one more (Storm2) that will definitely launch before year end, likely before Black Friday so they can get the sales...I would be surprised not to see a more formal announcement give its on their site and all.