BlackBerry Bold 9000

I just upgraded from an Curve 8310 to the Bold. In fact, this is my 3rd BlackBerry, starting way back with the 8700. First thing to point out . . . the Bold is BIG. It's actually much larger than the 8310. In fact, it's really closer to the 8800-series in size. This isn't really a bad thing though. It feels comfortable in hand. The back appears to me made of real leather, although it's probably synthetic. I like the back because it adds some... much-needed grip all while looking very classy. The keyboard is also very easy to use. There was very little learning curve needed going from the 8310 to the Bold. What really makes the Bold "beautiful" is the HUGE screen. I thought the screen on my previous Curve was great. The screen on the Bold is twice the resolution (480x320 vs. 320x240). It is absolutely amazing. Not only is it stunning for movies and photos, it makes browsing the web and simply reading emails so much easier. You can fit significantly more information on the screen. The same auto-backlighting feature found on the Curve is also on the Bold. It senses the lighting conditions of the room and adjusts backlighting. I love this feature. Much improved over the Curve is the multimedia software. Playing movies, viewing photos and listening to songs are very easy to do. The functionality rivals standalone media players. This application coupled with a big screen and a large MicroSD card, makes this a viable iPod Classic replacement. Like the 8310, the Bold also features a 3.5mm Stereo/Audio Jack built-in. This means no adapter is needed to use your own high quality headphones or earbuds. Also like the Curve, it includes real GPS. This is awesome and in my opinion the best feature showing up in modern phones. The signal is acquired quickly and it is very accurate. Google Maps and BlackBerry Maps work perfectly with the built-in GPS. You can also pay a monthly fee for turn-by turn navigation via AT&T Navigator. The biggest improvements for the Bold were actually listed in my Curve 8310's review as "Cons". BlackBerry added the much needed 3G (The Bold is MUCH faster than the Curve), Wi-fi, Video recording capabilities and FINALLY the external memory is accessible without removing the battery; via a small door on the side. It's like BlackBerry was listening to the customer's needs, maybe they read my review. :) They hit this one out of the park. more

After recieving my new Bold yesterday, I've put in quite a bit of time trying out the features. So far, it is easily the best phone I have experienced. This is my first Blackberry, and I switched from my previous Blackjack II wm 6.0 mostly because my work only supports blackberry enterprise service for email. I'd been told to get a blackberry two months ago, but waited for the bold because I didn't want to downgrade my personal features. ... With that in mind, I consider myself to bridge the gap between a business user and a personal entertainment user. Of course the first thing to say is that the screen in gorgeous. The demo videos nicely show off the tightly packed pixels. But what I didn't know going into the purchase is how many little surprises were in store: 1) The media manager is straightforward and solid. I just popped in my previous 8gb microSD and it found all my .wma files without prompting. I can find the artist or song title I want by typing in the first few letters. Only negative is it hasn't yet located the album art put on the card by wmp. 2) The screen responds to ambient light by becoming brighter when it's bright, and dimmer with backlit keyboad in low light. 3) When you plug it in for charging, it automatically switches to a clock display mode, where you can also easily set the alarm, which is perfect for how I use my phone as my main alarm. You can also set it from here to bedside mode, which permantly displays the clock super dim, and turns off annoying notification leds. 4) Paired with my BT stereo headphones instantly. Found my home wifi network and logged on much easier than Vista. 5) Voice dialing works surprisingly well. 6) Very loud speaker for music playback with surprising quality. 7) Web browser still not as nice as iphone's, but nicer than pocket ie on windows mobile. 8) The new blackberry versions of gmail and google maps rock (I downloaded them). Maps provides fast and accurate gps location, and even includes streetview! Yahoo Go (my other main ap) however, does not yet support the Bold. 9) Users new to 3G will be surprised by how fast the battery can drain when using that connection. But the battery actually holds out on par with other 3G phones. So, in reference to my subject showdown, I'm sure many reviews tell you that BB is for the business user and iphone for the entertainment buff. But my big beef with the iphone is the dumfounding decision they made to not support stereo bluetooth headsets, which in my opinion puts the Bold on top as a media device. What good is being able to flick through albums when your finger keeps getting caught on headphone wires? No doubt the iphone's browser is better, but the bold's is passable for a phone, and when you trade it for BB's renowned email service, I am incredibly pleased with my purchase. more

I've been using the new Blackberry Bold for three days. I'd previously used nearly all versions of Blackberry's since the old Inter@ctive early days of when these devices were sold mainly as pagers. For the last year I've been relying primarily on the iPhone for my main phone. That's going to continue but I decided to pick up a Blackberry to see how things have changed and so I could compare the two devices for online reviews. Here's what my... initial reactions are: First, yes the screen is brighter and bolder than any prior Blackberry. Unfortunately that (and 3G speeds) is pretty much where the amazement stops with this Blackberry. Applications on the Blackberry have the same Java-esque "write once run everywhere" old fashioned look to them. Most of the applications on Blackberry seem frozen in time. It's as if once they were done the developers stopped improving on them. Some of that is due to them being written in JAVA to take advantage of multiple device types -- making substantial upgrades difficult. RIM still has not been able to match the App Store feature from Apple. Instead of having one central place to find applications for the Blackberry I have to browse the web, search through links on the device itself and finally be confronted with a fair number of applications that won't run on the Blackberry Bold. The Blackberry Bold was delayed past prior rumored release dates. One of the reasons for the delay could have been due to RIM trying to build some type of App store (which is not included on this device). I think RIM is sorely missing a central place for Blackberry users to download applications. Now on to where the Blackberry Bold nails the iPhone. The Bold does push email on my GMAIL with minimal setup (type in your email, type in your password and Blackberry does all the setup). The iPhone cannot get the whole concept of push email right and still offers what I consider to be consumer level email. Blackberry Bold is a nice device with a pretty good camera. If you're primarily an email user - this is the device for you. If you are interested in running a lot of different applications and an iTunes integrated media player, you'll be better served to look at an iPhone. (Note: Blackberry Bold media player can transfer songs from iTunes but it will only transfer NON-DRM music -- meaning anything you bought from iTunes with DRM won't transfer). more

Just so you know, this is coming from a 8310 curve (and an 8300 before that, and a pearl before that, and an 8800 before that, and a 8700c before that, and a 7290 before that and a 7280 before that...) First impressions are good. It's a very nice looking device. Screen is, as a friend put it, "AMAZING" and the overall fit and finish is top notch (except for the back, but more on that later). The interface is redone, but still feels like a... blackberry. The trackball feels the same as any other blackberry, and the keys remind me a lot of the 8800. I think I like the keys on the curve better, but then I think that's just a personal preference. It has a fair heft to it, but it isn't a brick and you get used to carrying it around in your pocket quickly. Impressions seem to vary on that though, as another friend commented on it being really light to her. The radio holds onto a 3g signal quite well, but EDGE reception is no better or worse than my old curve. The Wi-fi radio is impressive though and will pick up and attach to very faint signals. The web broswer is a much needed improvement over the blackberries of old. While no iPhone browser, it's more than capable to access info on the go, and feels pretty snappy (for a smart phone at least). Call quality seems to be pretty good. I have no complaints about it so I suppose that's as good of a review on call quality as you can get. The speaker sounds impressively nice when listening to music and videos, and the media manager is much better. This could actually function as a decent media player. Activation and syncing both seem to be considerably faster as well. My only real complaint so far is the cheesy back. It's covered in a horribly cheap pleather that just doesn't feel right. Luckily the back comes off easily and I'm sure that there will be a wealth of aftermarket backs with any covering that you could want in a matter of months. So all in all, I'd say it's the best Blackberry by far. If you're used to using a blackberry the upgrade is a no brainier. For an e-mail device it's hands down the best one on the market at the moment. If you're a personal user and have no interest in e-mail or tactile buttons I think the iPhone might still be the way to go, but if you actually need to use your phone for business the Blackberry is still the king of the hill. In short, I'm pleased with the Bold, and I tend to hate everything. more

This phone is awesome. Like a lot of people I had been stalking and reading up on this phone for quiet sometime. When it was finally released I had to have it. This is my first blackberry and I am officially a fan. Initially, the iphone was what I wanted, but when I tried to use the touchscreen with my acrylic nails (which by the way you can't) I decided to wait until something better came along. Enter the Blackberry bold. It's fabulous. Other... online reviews have stated that this is the first Blackberry with more features geared toward everyday consumers rather than business users (which is exactly what I am). I wanted something that allowed me to keep in touch, get organized and be entertained on the go. The only thing the iphone wins hands down on is browsing online. If a site doesn't have a mobile application expect to give up in frustration. The side to side scrolling is annoying to say the least, I wish the text would wrap somehow. Even in column view it isn't an enjoyable process. The good thing for mac users, the online support forums are awesome. There are a lot of Blackberry fans doing amazing things and there are applications galore. I spent about a day adding things like Cram, and upgraded documents on the go - which allows pdf files to be read (something that should be included, but I won't complain much). I have been having trouble with pocket mac (minus a star for having to pay for pocket mac support - there was a lot of online discussion about problems and the need for an update and I had the hardest time trying to find the update - actually I never found it, I finally gave up walked away for a few hours, came back and everything was fine). The screen is nice, I am totally able to become engrossed in a movie. Mac fans and techies expect to spend a few hundred more dollars doing cool upgrades to your phone. It supports a 16 GB micro SD card, that will set you back about 100 (or wait until Christmas, bound to be a sale somewhere). Highly recommend Roxio 9 to get the media to your blackberry. You can move Tivo shows to your blackberry, remote access, streaming. You can't do a bluetooth transfer for data and that is a minus, even the Razr could do that. People kept saying the Blackberry is really intuitive, and it is, but if you are coming from a different phone, expect a learning curve similar to going from PC to Mac. Sit down, do the tutorial, read the book, google for tips and pointers. Things are in places, I never would have looked. (Of course that could be a bigger reflection of me than the phone). All in all, this is the only phone I was willing to go back under AT&T contract for. I am very glad I waited. Another minus for battery life, I need to charge my phone everyday, so spend some money and pick-up a spare battery. more