Blackberry 9700 Bold Preview
The BlackBerry 9700 Bold was announced in October along with the new Storm2 and although it is being marketed as a completely new handset, owners of the Bold 9000 will feel right at home since it is more of an evolution of this extremely popular handset than a revolution .
The main update to the 9700 is the inclusion of the new BlackBerry operating system and version 5.0 is pre-installed. This gives the visuals a bit of an overhaul, making the interface seem fresher and more modern than on the previous Bold handset, which lagged behind its touchscreen rivals somewhat in terms of graphical flair. The new OS does not change the fact that all BlackBerry handsets provide excellent support for various email clients and the 9700 will continue to be used as a business hub by thousands of enterprising people worldwide.
One thing that may interest more creative BlackBerry fans is the recent release of BlackBerry Theme Studio 5.0 which provides arguably the most user friendly way on the market in which owners can create their own customised themes for the 9700. You will need a bit of skill and access to some image editing software such as Photoshop to make the most of the new package, but it is available free to download from the BlackBerry website and could make the 9700 Bold a more widely appreciated phone.
On the outside the 9700 Bold is not significantly different to the 9000. It is still thin and broad, although it is slightly smaller than its predecessor because of the 2.44 inch screen as opposed to the 2.6 inch unit of the 9000. Thankfully the resolution is the same and it is hard to find a crisper, brighter display on any handset in any price bracket. Another change comes in the form of a small touch pad replacing the trackball navigation used in the 9000. How you respond to this change will depend on your own dexterity, but there is less likelihood that the touch pad will cease to work after thousands of hours of rigorous use.
The BlackBerry 9700 Bold continues to expand upon the multimedia capabilities of what is still ostensibly a business phone. The 3.2 megapixel camera replaces the old 2 megapixel unit found in the 9000 and there is still a flash to compliment its fairly decent photographic capabilities. You can even use the built in GPS to geotag your photos, which for Jet Set BlackBerry owners could come in handy. The 3.5mm headphone jack and the robust media player make it a relatively versatile travel companion, although the screen is too small for extended periods of viewing.
The 9700 Bold has built in Wi-Fi connectivity as well as 3.5G networking compatibility for fast mobile internet. It also retains the UMA support, allowing for free VoIP calling. Both quad and tri-band versions of the 9700 Bold will be made available to customers, so its compatibility with networks in various international locations is assured.
Although the BlackBerry 9700 Bold still has some way to go before it catches up with the iPhone in terms of application variety, access to the BlackBerry App Store is available from the handset and there are many useful pieces of software available. BlackBerry is also looking to promote the development of 3D games for its various handsets with OpenGL compatibility, so expect the gaming credentials of the 9700 to increase over the coming months.
In the UK the BlackBerry 9700 Bold will be available from Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile on a selection of price plans, so consumers with a range of needs and allegiances should find themselves well catered for.
Tags: blackberry, blackberry 9700 bold