The new Blackberry 9000 phone, also known as Blackberry Bold, was unveiled this week in a press release by Research In Motion of Waterloo, Ontario.
BLACKBERRY BOLD HAS A REAL KEYBOARD
The new phone, contrary to rumors, has a real keyboard rather than a touch screen, and is therefore a more practical device for email and text messaging than the iPhone.
TOUCH SCREEN BLACKBERRY COMING LATER
A touchscreen version of the Blackberry, code name Thunder, is expected to be released later in 2008 and it is rumored that the touchscreen BlackBerry will be exclusively marketed through Verizon Wireless and Vodaphone as long as sales quotas are met.
TOUCH SCREEN VS REAL KEYBOARD
Touchscreen devices are targeted at a completely different user community than the full-keyboard blackberry devices and the allegations that the iPhone is a “blackberry killer” or that the touch screen blackberry will be an “iPhone killer” is like saying that the minivan was an pickup truck killer.
WHAT’S NEW IN BLACKBERRY BOLD
Assuming that you are interested in a device with a keyboard, read on about the Blackberry Bold:
The main improvements in the new Blackberry Bold / Blackberry 9000 are:
- Tri-band support for HSDPA (advanced CDMA) wireless networks as well as quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks - important for world travelers
- Added support for Wi-Fi 802.11a (5 GHz frequency band) and easier Wi-Fi setup
- A faster CPU
- Improved voice dialing and bluetooth/handsfree support
- A much better display
- A web browser that claims to display desktop-style web pages and a virtual mouse that acts more like it does on a desktop browser
- Stereo sound with built-in stereo speakers, a media manager, and an 11-setting equalizer
- Support for streaming videos on web pages
- An improved camera with 2 megapixel resolution (about 2x the resolution of the Curve)
- The ability to take both snapshots and film video with the camera
- Integrated GPS and navigation that works during phone calls (a MAJOR improvement)
THE BOTTOM LINE:
For some, the GPS improvement, faster/more responsive processor, and improved screen/browser will be reasons for upgrading to the Blackberry Bold. The multimedia and camera improvements are nice-to-have features that will be appreciated but will probably not cause business users and road warriors to rush to upgrade.
On the other hand, if you have an older phone, and decide you don’t need all the features of the Blackberry Bold, this may be an opportunity to upgrade to the Blackberry Curve, which is a big step up from the older Blackberry models, and which will go through a significant price cut when it becomes an “older” model Balackberry.
For more details, see detailed specifications in the Blackberry Bold press release or the photos and descriptions at http://blackberrybold.com
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Is the Blackberry Bold a touch screen, because the phone comes with a stylus?
Jasmine,
The touch screen Blackberry is the Storm, which is only available in the USA through Verizon Wireless.
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