RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 Smartphone

The Blackberry Bold 9700 is available for AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers. It comes with a home charger and a partially leather belt clip case. It has the same basic layout of the Blackberry as you have grown used to seeing, with a couple of exceptions. Mine is for T-Mobile which means I get roaming on AT&T network. First, it is sleeker and slimmer appearing with a thickness of .56 inches. The case has a black and chrome appearance which adds to the sleek appearance. And the trackball is gone, replaced by what they refer to as a Track pad. The function of the track pad is much smoother than the trackball in my opinion. This is a major improvement over the track ball that could get dirty over time. Other functions are similar to other Blackberry devices. The right Convenience key accesses the 3.2 megapixel camera. It also has access to the video camera. The left convenience key launches the voice dialing option. This is the stock out of the box settings and you can change the two convenience keys to any listed phone option. At the top of the unit is a recessed mute/standby key on the far right and a keyboard lock button on the left. Down the left side you also have the stereo headphone jack and micro-USB port. Down the right side you have the volume controls. Many phones now may have Wi-Fi access. This is no exception. But this one also lets you make phone calls over the Wi-Fi connection. This is a particularly nice feature for me since my house tends to eat radio signals and my cell service has historically been spotty inside. Now, the Bold 9700 connects to my wireless DSL link and all calls are routed through that using the UMA access offered by T-Mobile. And when I traveling there will be times that the link from a free Wi-Fi hotspot may be the only service you would have for a call. I have even used this around town. For example there is no signal inside my local Toyota dealership. But they have WiFi, so I can use this to stay connected to phone service. One other thing that differs on this phone than some other devices is that you can be on the internet and if you get a phone call, you will be prompted that you have a call and given the opportunity to switch to that call. In the other Blackberry I have experience with, if you were connected to the internet on the network, you never knew you had a phone call until after you had closed out of that connection. The display is 2.44 inches diagonally, and very visible in most lighting conditions. It is just a bit harder to see though than the screen of the Curve 8350 series. The sound in a call is clear even on speaker phone, but being on speaker will eat your batter quickly, so keep that in mind. Email and Calendar functions can be linked to Outlook. I tend to use Gmail and Googlesynch since they are what I have experience with, but you can use others besides. You get access to Blackberry App World. Many of these are free downloads. Available Features * Track-pad navigation * Bright, hi-resolution screen * Full QWERTY keyboard * 3G technology * WiFi® and Bluetooth® enabled * 256MB flash memory * 3.2 MP digital camera with video camera * Multimedia player * Wireless email * Organizer * Browser * Phone * SMS/MMS * MicroSD card reader Battery & Battery Life * Battery: 1500 mAh * Talk Time: Up to 6 hours (GSM and UMTS) * Standby Time: Up to 21 days/504 hours (GSM), Up to 17 days/408 hours (UMTS) * Music Playback Time: Up to 38 hours Voice Input & Output * Integrated speaker and microphone * Hands-free headset capable * Bluetooth headset capable * Integrated Hands-Free Speakerphone * Rating for hearing aids (PDF): M3, T3 (in Ringtones & Notifications * Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator * Notification options are user configurable * 32 Polyphonic Ringtones – MIDI, SP-MDI, MP3, WAV Bluetooth * Bluetooth® v2.1 * Mono/Stereo Headset * Handsfree * Serial Port Profile * Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP) * Bluetooth SIM Access Profile supported Camera & Video Recording * 3.2 MP Camera * Auto Focus, Image Stabilization * Flash * 2X digital zoom * Video camera recording: Normal Mode (480 x 352 pixel), MMS Mode (176 x 144 pixel) WiFi * 802.11 b/g * UMA support Wireless Networks * 3G (HSDPA) compatible * UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6), 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1,4,8) * GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz * Quad-band support: GSM 850; GSM