BlackBerry 9900 Bold Review

It feels like we have been waiting a long time since learning about this device at BlackBerry World 2011. But finally we have managed to have some hands on time with it before the launch in August.

The BlackBerry 9900 Bold is a touch and type hybrid and continues on (in terms of size) from the Bold 9000, which is still a favourite among corporate customers the world over. While the BlackBerry Torch offered both a touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard, many users complained that the keys were too closely positioned together. So although the touchscreen was a nice addition, typing was a bit of a nightmare for all involved. The Bold 9900 has rectified this.

BlackBerry has really built some hype around their new device and for good reason; without doubt this device looks good, performs well and rectifies issues found in the OS6.? The Bold 9900 has a woven glass back panel which not only looks great but adds a touch of class and sophistication. The device has aluminium highlights around the edging which also add to the solid feel, and all whilst claiming the crown and title of slimmest BlackBerry device to date. You can really feel the difference when holding it, the Torch, the Curve; they all feel oversized and heavy in comparison to the 9900.

Around the edge of the 9900 you will find a slight redesign to the buttons. They are all aluminium to begin with, long gone are the nasty tacky black plastic buttons of the Torch. The screen lock button is now lowered into the aluminium casing, the media keys are positioned on the right with a Camera shutter button lower down on the same side. The left hand side is home to the 3.5mm headphone slot and the microUSB port. Around the bottom of the device you will find 2 charging points for usage with a desktop charging stand.

The woven glass back panel removes easily to reveal a slim, lightweight battery, which despite the rumours before BlackBerry World 2011, is removable. Underneath the battery is the SIM card slot and access to the microSD card slot, which is actually one of the more annoying things about the 9900 Bold. With the battery in the device it seems like you can add and remove microSD cards at will, however the battery is just a millimetre or 2 too big. Something the BlackBerry Torch and old Bold 9000 did very well was allowing access to the microSD card slot without needing to remove the battery every time. It is only a small grumble, but a grumble nonetheless.

he display on the Bold 9900 is 2.8inches, ever so slightly larger than the 9780s screen which was 2.4inches. Originally I was worried that the touchscreen would not feel natural, but after only a few minutes I felt completely at home, in fact I have found myself trying to tap the screen when troubleshooting older none touchscreen devices since. The only downside is the screen is slightly small compared to what we are used to on touchscreen mobiles, therefore it does take a little concentration to make sure you are aiming your fingers correctly.

The screen response time was impressive, and responded to my gestures without fault or error. When it comes to actually displaying icons and items on screen, the 9900 is miles ahead of any other BlackBerry on the market. It is super crisp and ultra sharp when browsing, reading emails or updating your LinkedIN status. In summary the screen is a TFT capacitive touchscreen with 640 x 480 pixels. It includes touch sensitive controls, proximity sensor for auto on and off controls and an accelerometer sensor for auto rotate.

Under the hood there is a 1.2GHz processor ensuring BlackBerry OS7 runs as it should. The processor is a step in the right direction for RIM and a huge improvement over the 624Mhz processor that was shamefully included with the 9780. I experienced very little lag when testing the device, and when I did it was whilst switching between processor hungry applications like App World, Protect and Foursquare. The sharper graphics on the 9900 Bold are highlighted by the new fresh look of BlackBerry OS7 which includes some redesigned icons and ultimately give the OS a classier, more up to date look and feel. RIM are advertising the browser on OS7 as 1.6 times faster than that of OS6, something I noticed immediately when trialling the device. The zoom was smooth and pages load quickly and cleanly with little or no lag whilst the resizing the page to fit the screen.

The QWERTY keyboard on the 9900 Bold is one of the biggest features in terms of how user friendly the device really is. It feels more spacious than the 9780 and the keys almost bounce as you select them and type out short or long messages. Even whilst typing and send lengthy emails, you wont get that nagging feeling of cramp that smaller keyboards give you.

In terms of connectivity the 9900 performs as you would expect of a flagship device. Tri-Band HSDPA 3G support, GPRS with A-GPS support, EDGE, 14.4Mbps HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n and dual-band support and not forgetting support for NFC Technology.

The 9900 Bold has some impressive specs including weighing in at 130g and is 115 x 66 x 10.5mm in size. The internal storage is 8GB with 768mb RAM. The microSD card slot can support up to 32GB cards. The camera is a 5MP with autofocus and LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection, image stabilization and supports video recording at 720p.

Conclusion

With all the bad press surrounding RIM recently and a disappointing start to the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook, RIM needed to deliver a device that stood out from its existing line up. The BlackBerry 9900 Bold does just that. With a new look OS, speedy web browser, sleek look and feel and better performance; the 9900 is a great device to take over as the flag ship model.

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