RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 – Wi-Fi is finally here
For:
This phone has two times the onboard memory as compared to its predecessor and now also has Wi-Fi built in. The handset has world roaming capabilities, solid keyboard and strong messaging features.
Against:
Web browser still needs some improvement
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 is 2.4 inches wide, 0.56 inch deep, 4.4 inches high, 4.8 oz weight. The handset is GSM / CDMA / UMTS and supports GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / CDMA 800/1900 (Dual Band) / UMTS 2100 band. Wireless interface options include IEEE 802.11b/g and Bluetooth. Additional features include EDGE, GPRS support, Voice dialing, microSD card slot, GPS and speakerphone. Messaging / Data features include E-mail, Instant message, Multimedia messages (MMS) and Text messages. Battery and a 2 GB memory card is included with this phone. Rated talk time is 300 minutes.
Razzle Dazzle:
If you have used BlackBerry Tour then this design will be quite familiar to you. The function and design are pretty much the same. This phone is a bit heavier than Tour but the difference is not drastic. This phone has the similar display, external controls and features. We are not saying that BlackBerry is running out of ideas but we would like to see some up-gradation done in terms of hardware.
Inside Dope:
Last summer, RIM and Sprint promised us Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerry Tour and here they are with RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650. The Tour has been dropped from the name but this phone still is a better device than Tour, it now has Wi-Fi and the onboard memory is also doubled. You favorites like compact QWERTY design and world roaming capabilities are still there. This is definitely not the most cutting edge or exciting smartphone that is out there in the market but it is definitely a good choice especially for globetrotters. This phone will put you back with $199.99 and you have to sign a two year contract with the service provider after $100 mail in rebate. This phone has a lot in common with Tour and we are not just talking about the looks or design. The internal features too are a lot similar. One thing that we would like the change here is the Web browser. It is very clunky. BlackBerry’s biggest weak point is its browser. There might have been changes done to over the years but it is still miles behind the awesome Safari from Apple.
Optical trackpad
This is a big addition to the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650. With this, the handset joins RIM’s latest handset which has replaced the trackball with trackpad for phone menu navigation and we really like this change. You won’t need much time to get used to the trackpad and we found it very easy to use in our lab tests. The sensitivity of the control can be changed (both vertical and horizontal) through the Options. Do this if you find it too slow or fast. Trackball sometimes stops working if it accumulates a lot of dust on its surface but with this trackpad, you will have no such problems.
Bundled material
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 comes with lots of accessories like travel charger, USB cord, 2 GB microSD memory card, SIM card, wired headset, belt holster and reference manual.
Connectivity
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 comes with lots of features which we saw on Tour but this phone has a couple of extras too. For instance, this phone now has 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi so you don’t have to depend on 3G for the data connectivity. There are a couple of Wi-Fi options as well, including DNS lookup, diagnostics, WEP encryption, ping test utility, etc.
Email has always been BlackBerry’s strong point and the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 delivers it well here too. You can use this handset to sync along with your company’s BlackBerry Enterprise server for delivering corporate e-mail in real time and it supports Novell GroupWise, IBM Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange. Through BlackBerry Internet Service, up to 10 personal or business IMAP4/POP3 accounts can be accessed. There is also a built in attachment viewer to checking out Microsoft Office documents, GIF, JPEG, PDF, Corel WordPerfect, etc. The PINs can be swapped with other BlackBerry devices for faster communication. For IM freaks, the phone comes preinstalled 5 instant messengers including Yahoo, Google Talk, AIM and there is also the standard BlackBerry Messenger.
Multimedia
RIM BlackBerry handsets have never been good in multimedia but there you do get barebones interface. Supported file formats are AMR-NP, MIDI, eAAC+, AAC+, AAC, WMA and MP3 for audio. Supported video files are H.263, WMV and MPEG-4. The phone has 3.2 megapixel camera which can record videos too. Our indoor photos looked hazy but outdoor shots were decent.
Feature-set
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 comes with voice activated dialing, speakerphone, smart dialing, speed dial, conference calling, and multimedia and text messaging. Bluetooth and GPS are there the former’s supported profiles include stereo and mono Bluetooth headsets, AV remote, hands free kits, dial up networking and serial port profile. The phone also comes with lots of social networking apps like Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, etc. and there are Sprint services like Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, Sprint Football Live, and Sprint Navigation
Verdict:
There is nothing out of the box done here but we still liked some of the new additions on the phone. Pick it up if you are globe trotter and need a good messaging phone.
