SPECIFICATION
Size
Length 115mm
Width 56mm
Depth 18mm
Weight
120g
Main display
TFT, auto backlighting
240x260 pixels
64K colours
Camera
No
Connectivity
Tri-band GSM, EDGE, Bluetooth, USB 2.0
Memory
64MB plus 16MB RAM
Battery
Standby 432 hours
Talk time 4 hours
Look and feel:
Feels large and heavy but well-balanced in the hand. Aesthetics obviously took a back seat in the design meetings; it looks distinctly American, especially the keytop graphics.
6/10
Externals:
Mix of shiny and matt plastic with a little aluminium. Large display attracts smudges. Classic BlackBerry jog wheel on the side replaces up/down
navigation keys.
7/10
Keyboard:
Cramped, narrow keys in uncomfortable layout provides full QWERTY layout (two letters and one number per key). Efficient autocomplete certainly helps, though it takes time to get used to it.
6/10
Display:
Not at all bad: 240x260 pixels, 64K colours (who needs more for email?), excellent automatic backlight adjustment.
8/10
Memory:
64MB in the phone (mostly for user functions and added software) plus another 16MB for the OS. Processor: Intel PXA901 at 312 MHz.
8/10
Camera:
No. This is a business phone, remember? No MP3 either, of course.
3/10
EMAIL and messaging:
BlackBerry email, including view/save/print attachments (no editing though); integrate existing POP3 and other email accounts; BlackBerry Messenger and Yahoo Messenger for chatting with others.
9/10
Applications:
Synchronises with PC for email and calendar. DynoPlex eOffice (simple word processor, spreadsheet) Google Maps.
8/10
In use:
Touch-sensitive ‘keys’ are ok, but the sideways/up-and-down selector bezel is a bit too sensitive. You do get used to it eventually ...
7/10
Extras:
3.5mm headphone jack, USB 2.0 with headphone profile.
7/10
WE LIKE:
• BlackBerry goodies – jog wheel, easy email, etc.
• Clean uncluttered interface
• Dedicated-button access to profiles
WE DON’T LIKE:
• No memory expansion
• Video calling would have been nice
• Cramped keyboard
Overall:
A real phone-shaped phone from BlackBerry, not as usable for email and messaging as the 8700 but a lot easier for phoning ...