In a nutshell: The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is an upgraded
version of the original Bold. It retains the full QWERTY keyboard
of the original, but replaces the trackball with a new improved
Trackpad, and is smaller and lighter too. It's the perfect device
for mobile e-mail, with a high-res screen with user-selectable fonts
and the legendary BlackBerry email interface. Other highlights include
3G HSDPA, up to 16GB of memory, WiFi, GPS and outstanding battery
life. Best buy:
*Free* with half-price line rental from Mobiles.co.uk
or free from Dialaphone.
Review:
November 2009.
The Blackberry Bold 2 is just what BlackBerry fans
were waiting for. It's a straightforward upgrade of the BlackBerry
Bold, and must surely be the best BlackBerry in the known universe.
The Bold was a fabulous device, having a brilliant
keyboard, making it the perfect mobile e-mail solution. The Bold
2 retains the full 35-key QWERTY keyboard, but replaces the annoying
old trackball with a new touch-sensitive Trackpad, as first seen
on the BlackBerry 8520. It's the
perfect combination. The new Bold is also significantly smaller
and lighter than the original Bold, and that's a very welcome improvement
too. At the same time, the Bold 9700 has
an upgraded camera, more flash memory and improved battery life.
Everything else stays pretty much the same.
Ergonomically, it doesn't get much better than
the Bold 9700. Yes, it's large, not not as big as the original Bold,
nor any bigger than a lot of touchscreen smartphones. We love the
full QWERTY keyboard, which is in no way cramped, and we think that
the touch-sensitive Trackpad is a definite improvement over the
sticky trackball of old. Of course, the screen is smaller than a
touchscreen phone, but at 2.44 inches across it's fit for purpose
and it's a finely detailed TFT panel with 480 x 360 pixels. The
Bold is nicely curved and feels like a quality piece of kit.
For emailing and texting, this is possibly the
ultimate device. The UI is great, and all email standards and security
protocols are supported, including BlackBerry Enterprise Server
for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise, personal
email, enterprise email and web-based email (AOL Mail, Windows Live
Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! Mail). You can view attachments in the
following formats: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, WordPerfect, HTML,
zip.) WordToGo and SlideshowToGo let you edit Word and PowerPoint
files. Security is given full attention, with password protection
and a keyboard lock, plus full support for encryption when using
BlackBerry Enterprise Server to access data.
The voice features include a speakerphone and conference
calling. With voice activated dialling and a Bluetooth headset,
it's capable of fully handsfree operation.
The Bold also supports multimedia applications.
The camera has been upgraded to 3.2 megapixels, and comes with autofocus,
image stabilisation, digital zoom and a flash. There's a video camera
too. The media player can play music and video, and there's a 3.5mm
audio jack, so you can plug in any third party stereo headphones.
A-GPS navigation is also included, and works
with Blackberry Maps.
We mentioned that the flash memory has been increased
in the Bold 9700, giving 256 MB of memory for running apps. There's
1GB of built-in storage and the Bold 9700 supports microSD cards
up to 16GB. This seems to be perfectly adequate for the job.
Connectivity includes WiFi (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth
2.0 and USB. It's a 3G phone of course with quadband support for
both UMTS (2100/1900/850/800 MHz) and GSM (1900/1800/900/850 MHz),
with HSDPA providing fast internet connections with download speeds
of up to 3.6 Mbps possible.
The 9700 has fantastic battery life, which is just
what its target market wants to hear. The phone has a massive 1500mAh
battery, which is pretty much as big as it gets in the mobile world.
This provides a theoretical maximum of 21 days standby and up to
6 hours of talktime. It can also give a music playback time of up
to 38 hours. These are impressive figures, and mean that you can
use your Bold all day with confidence. For many users, the phone
will probably last several days between charges.
The original Bold was a great all-round PDA, and
the Bold 9700 is simply the icing on the cake. It's highly recommended
by us!
Features
of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 include:
3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash
and video recording (480 x 352 pixels)
LCD display: 480 x 360 pixels, 65,000 colours,
2.44 inches
Media player (Supports MP3, WMA, MIDI, AMR-NB,
AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, 3GP formats plus partial XviD support)
Messaging: SMS, MMS, instant
messaging, push email with attachment viewer
Built-in speakerphone
Voice dialling
Voice memo recorder
MP3 ringtones / 32 voice polyphonic ringtones
GPS with BlackBerry Maps
Personal organiser functions
Vibration alert
Internet: Web browser, RSS feeds, GPRS,
EDGE, HSDPA (3.6 Mbps)
Connectivity: WLAN, Bluetooth 2.0, USB, RIM
wireless modem, 3.5mm stereo headset port
Quadband GSM (1900/1800/900/850 MHz) plus UMTS
(2100/1900/850/800 MHz)
Talktime: 6 hours
Battery standby: up to 504 hours
BlackBerry
Bold 9700 Consumer Reviews
Love
your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review
this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a
forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear
words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Average
rating from 38 reviews:
Reviewed by Robert from Essex on
7th Feb 2010
On Orange UK this phone continues to drop reception to 'SOS' and
only re-connects after a reboot. Very annoying. On BB website, seems
many others have the same problem. Battery life could be better.
Orange working on an update i hear, hopefully resolve these problems. Rating:
Reviewed by Keval from Shah on
4th Feb 2010
Ok peeps i have had this phone for a week now so much features just
can not put this phone down. I would recommend this over an iphone
anyday. The keyboard is beautiful aswell as the blackberry messenger.
BUY IT, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. Rating:
Reviewed by Simon from west sussex on
25th Jan 2010
Have had this phone for almost a week now and I agree with all the
other reviews. It is excellent! Previously had a Samsung Tocco but
the Blackberry blows it away. All the features are so intuitive
and so easy to use. Best phone I have ever had! Rating:
Reviewed by mark from nottingham on
23rd Jan 2010
Never Give reviews at all, but i had to make an exception. I am
a gadget nut, and this is the best gadget/phone i have ever owned.
I use msn,satnav, emails, text, some facebook use. I have used the
word doc , and also sync with my itunes. what a phone, its very
quick and the battery lasts me ages. Have also used it with the
jabra sp700 speaker phone for hands free in the car, its excellent,
plays all my songs through the car stero. Fantastic Blackberry Rating:
Reviewed by Dillon from United Kingdom
on 21st Jan 2010
Hi Guys, my review was the first one on here and my thoughts haven't
changed. The device is brilliant and meets all my demands. For the
last few days when I receive a text, E-mail or Instant Message,
the phone doesn't stop vibrating and I have to click the trackpad
to stop this. Does anyone know why this is happening? A friend suggested
it could be a bug in the OS and that I should try a battery pull
and this works for a day or so but then the problem starts all over
again. Any ideas? Thanks... Rating:
Reviewed by David Whidden from uk on
15th Jan 2010
Just an update from a month ago, even with heavy use the battery
lasts a good 4 sometimes 5 days. still very pleased with the phone
with no probs to report,even arfter dropping onto the pavement twice.
6 stars better than outstanding!! Rating:
Reviewed by CP from Edinburgh UK on
15th Jan 2010
Great phone. I picked this after reading these reviews and don't
regret it one bit! Easy to use and cute! I've set up my sat nav
so no more printing off maps for me which is a mega bonus! with
so many features it's sometimes difficult to work out how to do
things like switch on predictive text for example but there are
a million and one online forums to help so not an issue! Rating:
Reviewed by Pedro_UK from England on
15th Jan 2010
I used to have the BlackBerry Storm which was/is the worst excuse
for a mobile phone ever. I now have the Bold 9700 which is FLAWLESS.
RIM have taken BlackBerry back to the top with this piece of GENIUS
- everything works as it should the battery lasts me 3 days of continued
use!!!! More than pleased ***** 5Stars ***** Rating:
Reviewed by Paul C from Liverpool UK
on 13th Jan 2010
we all know how good the phone is just read the reviews its the
best blackberry on the market at moment so buy it or upgrade to
it you will not regret it Rating:
Reviewed by Jessica D from Ascot London
on 9th Jan 2010
Hi, i bought this phone today from EBAY and i am suprised how awesome
it is. I got this on T-mobile and i think it's the best phone out.
Previously i had the iPhone 16gb (not 3gs) but i choose this over
iphone all day. Thanks for the reviews guys it helped alot. The
best bit is the Blackberry PIN!! WOW..i can send FREE messeges via
whoever has got a Blackberry anywhere in the world yesss FREE..i
sent pictures, files, music, texts...better still if i take a pic
in a club, it gives me the option to send the pics to Facebook,
myspace. Isnt that soooo great!! CIAO xx Rating:
Reviewed by Chiraag G from United Kingdom
on 7th Jan 2010
Okay, I read reviews here and all over before I decided on a phone.
I wanted a QWERTY keyboard, reliability, speed of messaging and
good battery life. The Bold 9700 stood out. I've never had a Blackberry
before, but I have heard of their shortcomings, even from their
fans, of whom my cousins make up three. My elder cousin got this
phone and it seemed sturdy, slick with the new trackpad and he said
it was good. I opted for it, after years of other phones (previous
being N95 8GB, W850i, N70 and others not worth mentioning. I liked
the functionality of the N series phones; I could listen to Shoutcast
radio, play Doom II, go on IRC chat, Facebook, MSN, GTalk etc (Palringo
was essential on the N95 for me!) But was it stable? Reliable? No.
And battery was poor, with a minimum of two charges a day with my
usage by the end of it. The Camera on the N95 8GB was excellent
in general (bar missing a Xenon flash, which would have been the
icing on the cake). This leads me to the only thing I miss on the
Blackberry. It's better than its predecessors, I know, but it's
not brilliant by any means. It's borderline good in perfect conditions.
Aside from that, this phone is the best I have owned. I see now
why people are addicted. The unit does what it is meant to do, and
quick. It really saves time, but that's relative, because you "waste"
so much more time using it! It is because it is a joy to use. On
my Nokia SMS messaging became a chore, with Palringo being the preferred
method of communication, at the risk of running out of battery life.
E-Mail was all to infrequently used. Everything on the Blackberry
just works, so well. It is a clever thing too; one of the few Smartphones
that can lay claim to its namesake. Keyboard shortcuts make it even
quicker to use, the In and Out of Holster recognition works wonders,
especially as RIM have found more uses for the holster recognition
than previously attempted, I've been told. Particularly useful to
read a text straight away on a cold day without the need to press
anything or take gloves off! A pleasing thing this winter in London!
In fact, a lot of what it does, and the options it has is for good
reason. It is well thought out and I am genuinely happy with it.
Sure, apps are expensive and not as extensive as, for example, the
iPhone, but where it excels it decimates anything in its path. I
was even tempted by a Palm Pre, to give WebOS a fighting chance,
but I think I have made a worthy choice. I now charge once every
24 hours, (and that's only because it drops to like 25% battery),
and I am constantly on BIM, GTalk, MSN and spend about 30 mins on
calls a day, in addition to probably 8 hours WiFi and sporadic bursts
of facebook, not to mention Push e-mail is waiting for new messages
too. Oh, a Facebook chat app would be immense though! So, should
you buy this phone? If it ticks the same boxes for you as it did
for me, and you don't need a touch screen (navigation is still brilliantly
slick with this trackpad, trust me) then yes. It does have shortcomings
as outlined in a review I read as follows: * Mediocre camera performance
and features * No FM radio * No video-call camera * No TV-out functionality
* No built-in accelerometer * No built-in compass I might miss an
accelerometer for applications like the shotgun or lightsabre one
my friends have on their iphones, and maybe the FM radio if I was
being picky, but I never used my N95's TV out, and only once ever
tried the Video Calling. Compass? It has A-GPS, so I'm happy. Oh,
as for the radio, I can use Shoutcast or any internet radio station
over 3G or WiFi from the built in media player (can open a URL).
In any case my music generally runs through my Cowon S9. Rating:
Reviewed by mn from bh on 31st
Dec 2009
my phone battery doesnt last long , even wen wifi n blututh netwrk
closed.i dnt use it much . the battery lasts 8 hr only. i have even
reduced the backlightng, but still. the phone is really gud. plz
help me Rating:
Reviewed by chris from UK on
30th Dec 2009
I've had this phone for a couple days now and from day one I have
loved it! It has everything you could ask for in a phone and more,
communicating with everyone is so easy and simple, battery life
is great and the qwerty keyboard makes typing easy (after you get
the hang of it) the only thing I can say that could be better is
the camera but tbh I'm not bothered about that at all. Definitely
recommend this phone to everyone, for business or pleasure 10/10
Rating:
Reviewed by Andrew from UK on
24th Dec 2009
An amazing phone, superb size, trackpad and overall feel to it is
just great. Battery life is excellent, definitely the best blackberry
iv had! 5/5 Rating:
Reviewed by McSnoops from UK on
20th Dec 2009
Best phone I've ever owned and deffo the best BlackBerry I've ever
owned. So far, I can't fault it. Rating:
Reviewed by andy from uk on 19th
Dec 2009
have got the 9000 and cant wait to get the 9700 in a few weeks av
ad a go and its awsome. trackpad superb and the handset is a better
size. and tony, if you have a company and need a good phone stick
the backberry, the iphone is rubbish, its a silly gimick and fashion
accessory thats all. Rating:
Reviewed by Nnabzzz from Pakistan on
18th Dec 2009
Got my bb 9700 yesterday after going through all the reviews,track
pad is real improvement over faulty track balls,shape and size closer
to 8900,gone is heavy manly bold with draining battery.keypad bit
hard but after one day use it's lil soft otherwise v good travel.weight
gives solid feel over all built quality good.Screen sharp great
to watch audio quality good too though no match to iPhone 3gs. A
well rounded package indeed, great job RIM:) Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from Uk on
16th Dec 2009
I agree, awsome phone ;) Rating:
Reviewed by Jessica from Wolverhampton
on 16th Dec 2009
this is awesome phone. i just love it! No Complaints x Rating:
Reviewed by Lee Hung from London on
16th Dec 2009
In 1 word???? Excellent in 2 words???? EX - CELLENT Rating:
Reviewed by tony from uk on 15th
Dec 2009
I think blackberry's are very overrated, especially this one that
i bought i have just set up a business (we are doing very well).
i am dissapointed its just like one of the Nokias except double
the price, i really dont get it, im not even going to bother with
a qwerty keyboard, im just going to splash out on a iphone 3GS.
Its not perfect but things its not perfect at i dont need except
the gps Rating:
Reviewed by Alan from London on
15th Dec 2009
The best phone i have ever owned!!! Thanks alot for the reviews
guys, it helped alot. Rating:
Reviewed by DanGleebitz from London,
UK on 14th Dec 2009
This is by far the best BlackBerry to date. It has everything you
need and more. Well done RIM, keep up the good work. Rating:
Reviewed by Fam from London on
14th Dec 2009
The Blackberry Bold 9000 is a excellent peice of equiptment, however
there were few things that annoyed me with the it. The camera, rollerball,
battery life and software issues on occassions. The 9700 has overcome
all objections!! Nice size, still looks slick, battery life is great
and better camera quality. I never went for the Iphone when it first
come out and I still haven't gone for the Iphone 3GS since that
has come out either. Put the fancy gadget away and get yourself
the Blackberry Bold 9700. It's the only way forward!! Rating:
Reviewed by Murrey from Netherlands
on 14th Dec 2009
Absolutely a fantastic phone. Can not fault this device. Touch pad
is wicked. Sleek & a sexy handset. sending e-mail is easy like sending
it from ur Mac laptop. Well done Blackberry u shud b proud. Rating:
Reviewed by Kelly from Ireland on
14th Dec 2009
Dont usually write reviews but i 'AGREE' with EVERYTHING Quintine
dwayne said. Peace :p Rating:
Reviewed by Quintine Dwayne from U.K
on 12th Dec 2009
This phone is excellent!! (p.s kevin...i don't understand a word
you are saying.) Fast 3g reception, free apps download, apps that
change the LED colours is nice, never has crashed on me, battery
life is awsome, e-mailing is super-fast. Everything you would want
from a phone is here!! You will not be disappointed. I have had
the BB curve 8900, Bold 9000, Storm2 but i returned the Storm2 for
this and it's the best decision i have made. I simply can't put
the phone down. This deserves a 5* alll day. note: you will need
an internet connection along with BB booster plan to get full use
of the phone. I have added 6 E-mails accounts plus i have Windows
LIVE messenger running always, Facebook account is active, My Twitter
account is on, my phone is always beeping with attachments and new
messages..it's like having crammed the pc or laptop but in a small
mobile device. I am actualy using it this sec writing this review.
Enjoy Rating:
Reviewed by Andrew from Ireland on
10th Dec 2009
Little to add to the previous reviews except that this is an awesome
phone. It's fast, very well made, easy to use and packed with every
feature a serious communication device should have. Rating:
Reviewed by ROB from ENGLAND on
10th Dec 2009
i had the the original bold 9000 , iv had the bold 9700 over 2 week
now and its a fantastic phone . never crashes unlike the original
bold ......what can i say ,i proud to own one . if you were thinking
of buying a smart phone .... one word BLACKBERRY BOLD 9700 Rating:
Reviewed by Kevin from UK on
9th Dec 2009
what ur talking this phone is a rubbish the poor download speed
of not even 290kbps dissapoints me a lot well,the track-pad is yeah,cool
but the 35 keypad kills me 3days after i buy this smartphone i sell
it,since its not as a big use to me compared to my old storm2 Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from UK on
8th Dec 2009
This is by far the best phone availabe on the market right now.
I have had the newest Iphone and the BB9700 knocks spots off it
in almost every area. People do not follow the lastest must have
an Iphone fashion get a BB bold 9700. This phone is almost perfection
the only small negatives and i say very small are it could do with
more apps and even though the camera is excellent BB could of given
the phone a better more powerful camera Rating:
Reviewed by David Whidden from Fordingbridge,
UK on 7th Dec 2009
Wow this is by far the best blackberry on the market,the battery
life is awesome,four days useage no probs, screen and weight purfect,nice
and fast on the net and looking at stored photos ect, NOTE if you
are coverting dvd to mp4 for video playback make shure that H.264
is in the format or you will have playback problems. would give
6 stars, phenomenal mobile phone,camera,ect,ect,ect. Rating:
Reviewed by Monty from UK on
1st Dec 2009
What a smashing phone! Moved from a trackball berry and was wondering
how I'd get on with the trackpad. No issues at all. Great screen
and connectivity. Size is spot on for phone use and perfect for
emailing/text. Fits well into the hand. On features RIM have managed
to cram all the business features you need into a unit suitable
for the mass market as well. I'll no longer look as if I'm holding
a brick to my ear and can take the odd photo as well. Thank you
RIM, just what I've been waiting for. Rating:
Reviewed by OZ from UK on 26th
Nov 2009
Awesome Rating:
Reviewed by S ALI from LONDON UK on
24th Nov 2009
Out of all the mobile phones I've had for the past 21 years, this
is the best blackberry phone I had, the look and feature are very
nice on the phone. the app store is good. this phone also ranks
up with the HTC HD2 which I also have, which is also a nice phone.
I only brought the phone because of the HTC SENSE and not the windows
6.5 operating system. To me this Blackberry 9700 will last longer
with me than any other phone I had in the past, except HTC HD2.
To me this phone is a 5 star plus. Rating:
Reviewed by Gurtake Singh from United
Kingdom on 22nd Nov 2009
It is very good. I like it because it has good features to use. Rating:
Reviewed by dan from uk on 21st
Nov 2009
Don't usually write reviews but I've just bought the bb9700 and
it is perfect. This phone is phenomenal. Rating:
Reviewed by Dillon from United Kingdom
on 18th Nov 2009
My first BlackBerry and thoroughly satisfied. The device is very
sleek and looks more like the Curve without losing any of it's quality
in terms of toughness as well as looks. I've had mine for a week
now on T-Mobile and the reception is very good and has yet to drop
any calls. Setup is very easy in regards to E-mail as is adding
contacts on the instant messenger although most BlackBerry users
will already be aware of this. At 3.2 megapixels the Camera is pretty
average but does the job and the same goes for video recording.
Many of the apps from BlackBerry App World are free so this is also
a bonus. The only down side I have noticed is saving pictures received
via instant messenger which may take a bit of time and the BlackBerry
case that comes in the box doesn't fully cover the device leaving
it prone to damage if dropped however this has no bearing on my
review. Awesome bit of kit! Rating:
