NO DOUBT about it, the BlackBerry Bold is the coolest looking of its ilk to-date.
With its glossy black finish, neat chrome trimmings around the edges and faux leather back cover, this smartphone is destined for executive status.
The insides of this slim 136g smartphone are equally corporate.
It is powered by a next-generation 624MHz mobile processor. It supports tri-band HSDPA and Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks, enabling faster Internet browsing, video-streaming and file downloading.
BlackBerry Bold smartphone
$628 with a two-year contract with SingTel
Storage features include 128MB flash memory, 1GB on-board memory and a microSD-cum-SDHC (a new high capacity version of the SD card) slot to provide ample storage.
BlackBerry's maker, Research In Motion, took out the older operating system and replaced it with a more intuitive interface. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the icons-based operating system - for instance, the camera icon activates the camera function.
The elegant visuals and graphics user interface also add a touch of class to this premium smartphone.
Having been used to touchscreen smartphones such as the HP iPAQ 912 and HTC Touch, I'm not in favour of using the little white trackball on the Bold to scroll through icons and menu items. The trackball is hard to control because of its tiny size - I found myself often over-scrolling.
What I like about this BlackBerry is the thumb-typing experience on the Qwerty keypad. Compared to the HP iPAQ 912, the keys are bigger and nicer to the touch.
Equally amazing is the bright, 480 x 320 pixels LCD. I can watch a video clip clearly on this smartphone, even in the bright outdoors.
Like many smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold is full of must-have features such as e-mail and Internet surfing and a media player.
The integrated organiser helps you keep track of your daily schedule and the built-in GPS helps you find your way around quickly.
You will get no complaints from me on the voice quality and reception. An added bonus is the built-in speaker - at full volume it's loud enough to bother your colleague sitting in the next cubicle.
Battery life is good to boot. With normal phone use, and the occasional Solitaire game and calendar thrown in, it takes three days before I have to recharge the battery.
On a straight run playing MP4 videos non-stop, the battery lasted close to five hours.
Final say
Good battery life makes the BlackBerry Bold a good choice for the travelling executive.
This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 15, 2008.
