Product Spotlight: BlackBerry Bold 9000

BlackBerry Bold In Case

Research in Motion, in marketing the BlackBerry Bold 9000, states the PDA "embodies elegant design-without sacrificing the features or functionality you expect from a premium smartphone." While IT consultant Erik Eckel, using the Bold in the field, found the device intuitive and well built, he believed too many sacrifices were made in the handset's design.

RIM includes a convenient belt-clip case with the BlackBerry Bold. No such case is included with the iPhone.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

The BlackBerry Bold Case

Including a case with a smartphone may seem trivial, but battery life improves when the Bold is stored in this proprietary case. A specially placed magnet triggers a low power mode, thereby extending battery life.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

Low Battery

The BlackBerry Bold's high-resolution, non-touch-sensitive screen provides ready access to e-mail. Red asterisks alert users that new e-mail has arrived in the selected account, as can be seen here.

Unfortunately, battery life is an issue with many 3G smartphones. The Bold's battery, in fact, was unable to provide sufficient power for an entire workday when used for e-mail, voice calls and mating with a Bluetooth earpiece.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

BlackBerry Bold Rear View

The BlackBerry Bold features a leatherette backplate, a slightly conflicted and dated design element, as the rest of the phone boasts sleek, modern lines. In addition, the phone includes a 2 megapixel camera capable of capturing still images and video.

The fit and finish are outstanding. The Bold's overall style is sleek, and it keeps with contemporary black/silver designs. In short, this phone looks good whether heading to the lake in an F-150 or taking a seat at the front of the boardroom.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

Bold Left Side View

The Bold's left side holds ports for an audio headset jack and a USB connection. The middle button is a programmable convenience key, next to which sits the unit's media card slot.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

Bold Bottom View

The Bold's bottom holds a docking mechanism, as well as a microphone.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

Bold Left Side View

The Bold's volume control and right convenience key are found on its right side.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

Bold Top View

The Bold's Mute/Standby key is found on the top of the phone, to the right in this image.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic

BlackBerry Bold

The BlackBerry Bold features an outstanding QWERTY keyboard that provides accurate typing thanks to tactile, well-designed keys.

The requisite Send and End keys are present immediately below the display, while the BlackBerry's integrated trackball is positioned between the BlackBerry Menu and Escape keys.

The 480x320-pixel, 65,000-color display is crystal clear, while tiny. The smaller screen and integrated Web browser fail to maximize handheld potential, but the small screen at least delivers sharp focus.

Images by Erik Eckel for TechRepublic