BlackBerry Bold 9650 hands-on: yeah, it's a Tour with an optical pad

If you had any illusions about what exactly the Bold 9650 is, make no mistake: owning a Tour takes you 95 percent of the way to understanding the experience. The only thing you'll really notice on an ongoing basis is the optical pad, which is definitely a big improvement over the trackball of old -- not only does it eliminate the issue of gunk buildup, but it's totally responsive and arguably even easier to use than the ball for most tasks. The version we used was Sprint-branded, but RIM has unbranded units on hand, too; we can only assume Verizon will end up picking it up, though Big Red has been uncharacteristically silent about the matter so far. Hit up the quick gallery below (or, you know, take your Tour and just tape a picture of an optical pad over the trackball to get the experience firsthand).

BlackBerry Bold 9650 hands-on: yeah, it's a Tour with an optical pad

BlackBerry Bold 9650 hands-on 2

[cabose369 Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:44AM]

Well I will be sure to upgrade from my Tour to this!! Just wish it had Wireless N like the new Pearl.... *sigh*

[slinky317 Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:47AM]

@cabose369 Don't worry - RIM will release the Bold 9690 in February with wireless-N and slightly higher RAM, and BlackBerry fanboys who just bought their 9650 barely 9 months prior will jump at the chance to plop down hundreds of dollars for it.

RIM's attitude will never change if people keep buying the same incremental phone year after year.

[cabose369 Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:01AM]

@slinky317

That is probably true. However, this is why I buy the PEP plan that Best Buy offers. I pay $10 a month and get a new phone when mine is defective. I started with a 8330, then upgraded to a Tour for free and will now will upgrade to the 9650 for free!!! :) :)

[Almo Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:36AM]

@cabose369

Why would you not get the current 9700 instead? I don't get it.

[cabose369 Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:53AM]

@Almo

The keypad on the 9700 is physically smaller and I find it too hard to use. The Tour/9650 has a bigger keypad and so for me it is much easier to use.

[simbadogg Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:37PM]

@slinky317
i couldn't agree with you more. i mean, i generally am a fan of lots of different phones and platforms. But to be honest, i hate RIM, and i hate blackberrys. Yes, when it comes to doing just messaging they're one of the best pieces of hardware you can get. But you would think that they would start to get the message already, even ''business'' users, like to do stuff other than just cranking out emails. I simply hate the fact that this year they'll have a Curve 11345, then next year they'll drop the curve 11445, where the only difference is the addition of something like wifi.
And maybe this is why i never really trust ''crackberry'' fans when it comes to tech advice. Ever two years they're upgrading to phones that are NEARLY identical to phones they had 2 years, or 4 years prior (yes, slightly thinner, addition of wifi, and MAYBE an optical trackpad, but its seriously the same thing)
/rant

[TheLondonExchange Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:46AM]

Why doesn't this have wireless N again?

It is loads better than the pearl 3G (for my tastes that is) yet it has slower wifi speeds.

Seems like RIM thought it was opposites day or something...

[krn Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:14AM]

@TheLondonExchange
Does 802.11n really make a difference with a cell phone though? For me (Bold 9000), even using 802.11g over the 3G connection isn't that huge of a difference... web pages take longer to render than they do to download. The highest-quality video that you can watch on the display will stream just fine over 802.11g.

I just don't see the point of fast wi-fi if the only thing it will speed up is the battery drain.

[iHakr Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:33PM]

@krn agreed. Usually if I am able to connect my phone to Wi-Fi, I have my laptop or another computer near by. It is useless to use my phone to browse the internet when I have a laptop to use in the same room!

[ajac09 Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:47AM]

booo find us evo news

[From My Cube Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:48AM]

thanks RIM for shafting Tour owners by not including this on the 9630, only 11 more months of this crappy trackball, by then the Bold 3 with its Wifi+N and keychain attachment will be released...

[THEbigONEinTOKYO Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:50AM]

It's just a shame that Blackberry have an awful interface experience, their server is equally awful and a rip off with the licensing per device issue. My iphone and old windows mobile phones connected awesomely to our Exchange server, why the extra server and extra cost for no benefit?

[ArhcAngel Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:01AM]

@THEbigONEinTOKYO

Security...Windows Mobile has none.

[anastasiophan Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:21AM]

@THEbigONEinTOKYO Check out the new Mobile Voice thing they announced today. To the best of my knowledge, I don't think any other phones do what the MVS 5 does. RIM is always ahead of the game on the business front.

[trashpants Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:48AM]

@anastasiophan
...its call forwarding...
okay its call forwarding with the ability to transfer calls.

[SteveyAyo Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:48AM]

@trashpants no it is NOT call forwarding, its phone dictation... blackberry has always had apps for their phones aimed at business owners that other phones can only dream of... telling my phone to text or email my friend and dictating a message to it... yes please?

[trashpants Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:22PM]

@SteveyAyo
This vid didnt mention phone dictation?
youtube.com/watch?v=MDOP-1IU-e8

to be honest thats where im pulling my info from, and in all honesty it looks like slightly improved call forwarding to me :S TBH im not properly following WES2010.. i just know it exists :/

[anastasiophan Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:30PM]

@trashpants It is so much more than call forwarding. Do a little research on it please. Watch a video of it in action. It takes full control as if it is your office phone connected to your office's phone system.

[THEbigONEinTOKYO Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:33PM]

@SteveyAyo

Yeah, just what I want, a voice interpreter to convert spoken language into text, because listening to my missed calls is so hard work. I would love to see how well it handles different accents and different languages. If I get a voice message in Japanese, I can understand it, but I wonder what garbled message would come out of this wonderful new feature that business people will love!

Ha!

[THEbigONEinTOKYO Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:35PM]

@anastasiophan

Oh, so it can talk to a PBX? I wonder how well the intergration is implemented and what PBX systems will work with it.

[anastasiophan Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:05PM]

@THEbigONEinTOKYO Check out http://crackberry.com/mobile-voice-system-what-it-whats-new-it-useful

If linking to other sites is not allowed, I appologize, but this will explain what we are talking about here with MVS.

"MVS allows your Blackberry handheld to become one with your corporate desk phone giving you all the same options your deskphone offers you including dial by internal extension & transfers.

It also routes your calls through the PBX for long distance calls. If you're travelling outside your home city your wireless carrier can charge long distance rates that are less than desireable. MVS extends your corporate landline long distance rates to your Blackberry for all calls made with MVS. "

[trashpants Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:50AM]

Hooray! RIM have done something new!



..oh wait... its a Bold 9700 shrunk with DOLPHINS

[kstagg Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:54AM]

I want a NEW device. Where is the slider?

[TheEdge Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:26AM]

PLEASE put the charging port back on the other side!!!!

[charliehustle Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:02AM]

i have a tour, so ima pass on this. $200 isnt enough just to upgrade to a trackpad and wifi.

[rbrome Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:28AM]

Optical trackpad is the main new feature? Not wi-fi?

[Chris Ziegler Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:52AM]

@rbrome I'd argue that the pad is the more "in-your-face" new feature, because it's always there, and you're always interacting with it. WiFi is definitely nice to have and addresses a huge complaint with the Tour, but it doesn't change much -- just makes your experience a little quicker when you're connected to a hotspot.

[RIMming Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:03PM]

It's 2010, does this device finally accept emails bigger than 32k

[Xbits Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:55PM]

The device memory doubled from 256 to 512MB which is a very important feature. Thia device is ready for OS6 and webkit. No mention in the article about that.