Blackberry Bold 2 9700 Review

For too long now, BlackBerry have been missing an all doing, all performing, top end smartphone in their line up, something that could take on the upstart devices from the likes of Nokia and others, and compete not just in terms of functionality, but in terms of specification, too. In today’s market, it is almost unforgiveable that a newly released mobile device could lack 3G connectivity, it should be a nailed on expectation in all but the most basic of phones, yet with the two more recent handsets from BlackBerry, the 8900 and 8520 Curve, 3G was missing.

But now BlackBerry are ready to run, with a device that is set to be a flagship standard for all subsequent releases, the BlackBerry Bold 2 9700. The original Bold was one of the few BlackBerry devices to run on 3G, and the new model has not only that, but also HSDPA Mobile Broadband, which should really enhance the web browsing experience. But, not only that, the new Bold 2 also delivers with WiFi, too! It is almost too much to take in, finally a BlackBerry device offering all the major connection options together, in one package!

OK, so enough with the sarcasm, but it is still a valid point. For too long now BlackBerry devices just didn’t compete with the major leading smartphone devices, but with the Bold 2 that is no longer the case. Now the Bold 2 can deliver the excellent messaging integration BlackBerry are famous for, and back it up with some serious power. Alongside the inclusion of 3G HSDPA, and WiFi, the Bold 2 offers GPRS and EDGE, as well as bringing Bluetooth 2.1 for local data connectivity to a PC, as well as supporting A2DP audio streaming. There is also a Micro USB port, v 2.0, offering a simple way to connect to a PC to back up that all important data.

Aesthetically, the Bold 2 has lost a few mm’s here and there, which means a lot in mobile terms. The Bold 2 is 5mm shorter than the original Bold, and 6mm narrower, which gives it a much better fell in the hand, and is a move away from the traditionally wide and bulky BlackBerry devices of before. Despite the shrink in size, the display remains the same at 2.6 inches, but has a slightly enhanced resolution, now offering 480 x 360 pixels. The TFT screen supports up to 65,000 colours, and image presentation is as clear and crisp as we have come to expect on a BlackBerry handset.

Following on from the Curve 8520, BlackBerry has done away with the traditional roller ball navigation key, in favour of a trackpad, which operates in a similar way to a trackpad found on a laptop PC. Simply run your thumb across the optical pad and the cursor will move across the menu system with comparative ease. It does take a while to get used to the sensitivity, especially when browsing the menu, but is a great addition to the web browsing experience. In fact, media generally on the Bold 2 is well presented, showing that a BlackBerry device is not all about work. For our entertainment we find a full music and video player, supporting MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX, XviD and WMV formats, with a generous amount of internal memory available for storing content, with an internal memory capacity of 1GB, which can be expanded with the addition of MicroSD memory cards, with the Bold 2 able to handle up to 16GB in size. The inclusion of XviD and DivX is a real boon, and should make playback of videos downloaded from the web that much easier, with less need for encoding the content to a new format.

The Bold 2 also includes a fairly standard 3.2 Megapixel camera, which whilst not winning any awards for picture quality is more than adequate for a point n shoot device, and there are some nice touches, including autofocus, and LED flash and image stabilisation. The Bold 2 also comes with a built in GPS receiver, with aGPS support, and has BlackBerry maps pre-installed.

Of course, being a BlackBerry device means that the Bold 2 delivers an amazing messaging experience, with full integration to email allowing messages to be delivered on the phone as they arrive in your inbox. Add to that the integration with Facebook, messenger, and BlackBerry PIN messaging, and you have all you need to keep in touch on the move.

The BlackBerry Bold 2 is expected to release in the UK during November 2009.

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