Having had a contract with the same Mobile provider for 13 years, I had always alternated between Motorola and Nokia handsets, but this year I decided to get a smartphone. For many months people came up to me with their iphone's, Blackberry's etc etc, i thought that having a phone with a full qwerty keypad was a good idea, and since using email had become so frequent, having a handset with full email access appealed greatly. So a choose the latest Blackberry released at the time, the Bold 9700.

--Berry-Basics!--

I must say, upon using the 9700 for the first time, i was a little taken back by it's seemingly endless settings, menus, options. For someone new to Blackberry's, it does take a little getting used to, but after a few days, it becomes second nature. The trackpad for main navigation was a godsend, it's easy to use, very responsive and i think the best device for navigation on any handset I have ever used. The design is sleek and nice looking, without being too flashy. The qwerty keypad, which i had never used on any mobile phone previously, again take a little time to adapt to. Some people may have trouble with the size of the keys, but personally i found this not to be a problem. It's easy to use and responsive, plus has some nice shortcuts built in. (particularly like that you can delete a message, picture etc with just a touch of the 'del' button, avoiding going through the menu's) As a messaging device, it is brilliant in my opinion. I love the way you can put all your messages, albeit from SMS, email, Facebook, Twitter, MSN etc etc into the same location, and with one click, view all your messages. As a media device, i must admit the iphone edge's it, but the 9700's camera, video camera and mp3 player are excellent, easy to use and of high quality. It has a very nice and clear screen and very good external speaker. Media like live streaming and some app's can be a little frustrating, depending on how strong your 3G signal is. Also, some app's do have trouble running sometimes, worst cases are making the handset freeze, but a quick reboot solves this without problems. Browsing can sometimes be slow, but you have many options to quicken this up, personally I disable images, but most of the time the handset re-directs you to the mobile site or wap site, but you can choose.

--Berry-tastic!--

Some of the little quirky things about the Bold 9700 i really like. The mute button on the top is a nice touch, as is the self locking/unlocking upon putting in in it's case. The phonebook could be a little more uncomplicated though, and because of the amount of devices on this handset, I tend to have to charge it up every night, but that depends on how much of the phone you use of course. Also, I was very surprised to discover it is quite strong too. Taking a quick look you would imagine that the first drop or bump it gets, all the keys would burst out! But no, everything stayed place, everything worked as normal, just a minor scratch to the top edge.

The software that comes with the handset, to my mind (and my laptop) is not the greatest. Both my computers had trouble installing it and pairing with the handset. I eventually removed the software from both computers, upon finding out that once you connect the Bold with it's USB (Supplied) the phone gives you the option to act a a external memory device. I always prefer this than using the manufacturers software programs, then you can browse through the entire phones files with you computer, and simply copy and paste mp3's, pictures and apps straight in, Easy!

--Berry-Stats!--

Height - 4.29 in / 114mm
Width - 2.36 in / 66mm
Depth - 0.56 in / 15mm
Weight - 4.3oz / 136g
Screen - High-resolution 480x360 pixel color display
Battery - 1500 mAHr removable/rechargeable lithium-ion
Talk time - Up to 6 hours
Standby time - Up to 21 days/504 hours (GSM)
Music playback time - Up to 38 hours
Camera - 3.2 MP, 2X digital zoom, Video recording, Flash
Memory - 256 MB onboard, MicroSD port.

Wi-fi, Bluetooth V2.1 and full 3G (Including Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Tri-band UMTS) supported.

--Berry-Addiction!--

So, as a novice to the Blackberry world, I must say am very, very impressed. After a few, 'getting used to it' teething problems, I find this handset to be the best phone I have ever owned. It ticks all the right boxes for everything you need for ultimate mobile communication. You will find yourself using it for hours on end having lost track of time, having all your connection routes and app's in the palm of your hand makes this happen, hence it's slang nickname 'Crackberry'. I don't think I will return to Nokia's or Motorola's again, this phone has made me stick to RIM products for sure. My next upgrade? Probably the Blackberry Torch!

For more info visit the Blackkberry website - www.blackberry.com/

Review Also Posted on Ciao!