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Blackberry Bold (900) goes official. And it's a bit of looker.

g force said:
Well they could do with designing some decent themes that work properly so you have the obvious icons on top...like email, SMS and call.

Yes the web browser is terrible and the WiFi range sucks.

Poi E that's utter crap...I've run my Pearl down so many times i've lost count to the point where it took a good 10 mins of chrage before I can even turn the thing on. And it's fine after that.
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Ahh, just a dud one. Earlier ones have been fine. Thing is, I need it for a conference I'm going to and the suppliers are being very damn slow. Still, quite like the things-essential stuff these days.
 
Someone's already got their paws on one:

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Very nice looking! :cool:
 
And a review.

smBlackBerry9000-01.jpg


Remember those three BlackBerry 9000 units that showed up on eBay? As I made note in an earlier post, when the auction got pulled by the powers that be (err.. RIM?!!) there were still two units remaining, leaving one Crazy BlackBerry Addict anxiously waiting for the delivery of this next generation BlackBerry smartphone.

As luck would have it, it turns out I’m the Crazy BlackBerry Addict! When mention of the eBay 9000s came up in the forums, there was plenty of discussion as to whether the devices were legit or not. The images accompanying the auction seemed too good to be photoshopped and were unlike any other leaked 9000 pictures I had encountered previously, so it only took a few minutes to make the decision to click the Buy it Now button and PayPal over the funds. At £399.99GBP + £19.99GBP shipping (~ $828USD) it was a gamble, but potentially a good deal considering previously reported rumors that the 9000 could carry an MSRP in the $900-$1,000 range. Worst case scenario if things went south I’d eat KD for a month and have a good story to tell.

As for these particular BlackBerry 9000s, the image above says it all. 100% the real deal. It was delivered to my house yesterday afternoon and I’ve been playing with my eBay-purchased toy ever since. You’ll want to keep it locked to CrackBerry.com. I was planning on writing up one super review, but there's simply WAY too much info to put into one post. Part I (this post) will cover the unboxing and initial impressions/comparisons and after getting a few more hours facetime with the device Part II will get into the device features and OS4.6. I'll follow that up with an in-depth video walk through and we are also going to record a Special Edition BlackBerry 9000 podcast. Craig and I will record the show Friday evening, so if the posts and video leave you with any unanswered questions be sure to call them in to our Podcast Hotline at 1-866-904-5772 ext. 222 and we will answer them on the show. My fridge is stocked with Red Bull, I have a BlackBerry 9000 in hand and I don't plan on sleeping until every feature has been tested and menu option explored. Let the FUN begin!
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you can't put mods on ignore :)

it looks very tasty indeed. simple, intuitive interface on a sharp screen. although that cursor on the web browser is not particularly friendly
 
It is very nice looking. It's going to be interesting to see how well it does in the RIM vs Apple smartphone fight.
 
The display is deceivingly large. On the standard horizontal menu home screen, it doesn't look all that big. The photo with the frog on the display makes it look pretty big. BB's primitive interface and useless browser have always turned me off. This one looks pretty slick, if they can get the browser right - otherwise... YAWN.
 
Enormous review here: http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/08/the-ultimate-blackberry-bold-review/

Be mindful that it's a fanboy site, but their conclusion is an empathetic thumbs up:
When it comes down to making the final call for any review, you have to measure the results versus the expectations: designer expectations, consumer expectation, market expectations and even (ahem) blogger expectations. As RIM’s new flagship device, the forerunner to another era of BlackBerrys, the BlackBerry Bold carries with it some very lofty expectations. Fortunately for RIM, these expectations have been unanimously met.

From hardware to software, 3G to media capabilities, battery life to phone quality, the BlackBerry Bold matches if not betters all competitors in the field (with the notable exception of web browsing, but let’s save that for the BlackBerry Thunder).

No member of the BlackBerry Nation will be able to pick this device up and then willingly put it down in favor of their older model; non-BlackBerry users should take the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.

These statements are neither hyperbole nor the afterglow of ’shiny new toy’ fetishism. With the BlackBerry Bold, RIM has finally moved their secure communications platform beyond email and into the spotlight, as both an enterprise and lifestyle device. This achievement brings with it even higher expectations for future offerings.
Final Score: 5/5
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Blimey. The reviewer appears to completely lost all grip on reality. It's just a fucking screen!

boldbeautifulhomescreen.jpg

Take a look at the screen capture above you. A good, long look. The question you should be asking yourself as you reflect upon this bucolic vision is not if you’ve ever seen anything so beautiful on a BlackBerry before, but if you’ve ever seen anything so beautiful on a mobile device before.

It feels slightly weird to write, but RIM, the company known for email and enterprise, has made the BlackBerry Bold’s screen a killer app. The media often points to the iPhone’s screen as the industry leader in mobile visuals, but RIM has shown that it’s not the size that matters, but the amount of pixels your packing. At 2.6 inches diagonally and .75in wider than the BlackBerry Curve, the BlackBerry Bold also an increased screen resolution of 480×320 (HVGA), leading to a pixel density of 240ppi, significantly higher than the iPhone’s 165ppi. What does this technical mumbo-jumbo mean? More pixels + smaller screen area = very pretty pictures.

Having watched a variety of videos on both the Bold and the iPhone, the BBCool unanimously chose the Bold’s smaller screen over the iPhone’s.

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/08/the-ultimate-blackberry-bold-review/4/
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Brilliant. Very easy to use and intuitive. The screen is magnificent. Haven't really used any of the apps yet so can't really give you an accurate assessment. Did try the Maps feature but it kept saying it couldn't find a satellite which was a bit disappointing. Email integration is seamless as you would expect and it opens all kinds of attachments without a whimper. The syncing software is pretty basic and is horrible to use.

Its my first blackberry though so I'm just coming to terms with the fact that it beeps, blinks and buzzes constantly at me.
 
I had a quick play on one and my first reaction: it's BIIIIG!

Nicely built though. How much are you paying monthly and what deal are you on?
 
pk said:
Looks like an iPhone rip off though...
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Well yes, apart from the big keyboard on the front. And the totally different graphics, font, icons and user interface. And the totally different screen and rear styling and control buttons. And the trackball. And the dimensions.

Or do you think that Apple invented curved sides on black handheld devices or something?

lg-prada.jpg


Sony%20Clie%20TH55.jpg
 
Meh. Black front and silver sides is everywhere, and the iphone didn't do it first.
 
editor said:
Nicely built though. How much are you paying monthly and what deal are you on?
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Living in Australia so this may not be relevant but paying Au $100 a month. Haven't had my first bill yet though so could be more when you add the data.
 
Ten things that's wrong with the Bold:
1. The ridiculous limit on file sizes when downloading from the browser. Look, if I want to download a friggin’ video file, let me.

2. Attachments are pretty bad and it has to do with RIM’s ever-so-sneaky compression. We’ve heard that when data is sent over their network, it literally can take a 100kb file and compress it to around 7kb. (A carrier’s dream). Just let us get the entire file without having to constantly wait for it to render when we zoom it, etc.

3. Specifically speaking for the Bold, the “R” shortcut key no longer takes you to the Alarm. This pains me.

4. Actually, about shortcuts… for a product that excels on making your life easier and offering up a ton of user-customization, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to program our own shortcut keys. If I want the letter “B” to take me to the Memo Pad, then let me do it damn it. I’m tired of being stuck at the mercy of RIM’s shortcut key assignment. They make no sense and they are hardly integrated in 3rd party applications.

5. When you get a pop-up menu, there are no boundaries to where you can scroll. Let’s use one of the Application Permissions screens. Why am I allowed to scroll above “Yes” and below “No”? There are only two options yet it seems as if you could scroll to China before selecting one of them.

6. Horrible APIs that developers can’t access. If RIM opened these up, we’d have a much better set of applications on there than we do now. I’m not sure anyone can say 3rd party apps are one of BlackBerry’s strengths.

6 and a 1/2. One of the reasons the OS is so bad at times is because of the nature of the device — security. We know this is why over 50,000 of them are deployed across the U.S. Government for instance, but look, RIM either needs to deploy a consumer brand or find a way to make this work. Security is great and all, but stick to what you know. You’re either the businessman’s savior or the tween’s IM machine. It’s incredibly difficult to be both. Don’t try and conquer the music industry or take on Apple’s App Store. It won’t work and you’re diverting precious resources away from other serious projects.

7. Build quality has been declining. That’s not to say there aren’t some BlackBerrys that will last forever, but from personal experience, every device since the Bold has suffered countless production issues and problems. (Anyone get the screen freak out on their Bolds? I bet you have.) I’d be interested in seeing the average lifespan of a BlackBerry now compared to two years ago. I think it would be shocking.

8. When sending an email with a local file attachment, show me the status! I want to watch it go from 1%-100%! It comforts me.

9. Desktop Manager shouldn’t take forever to update the operating system. I think it’s fair to say RIM has the longest OS update time in the biz.

10. Stop with the “More” crap. Let me get the entire email message when I want it. Also let HTML emails load external images automatically. Yes, yes, we know. It’s for security. But you know what, if I want to venture out on a limb and *gasp* download external .jpgs automatically, let me!

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/01/20/the-top-10-things-we-hate-about-the-blackberry/
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