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Mobility

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

By matthewmiller November 7, 2008, 1:32 PM PST

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Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

BlackBerry Bold retail box

BlackBerry Bold retail box

The BlackBerry Bold is the first BlackBerry with HSDPA support and also includes WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS. It has a powerful 624MHz processor and comes with 1GB of on-board flash memory. The following gallery shows the hardware and some of the new screens you will see in BlackBerry OS 4.6.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

BlackBerry Bold Getting Started Guide

BlackBerry Bold Getting Started Guide

The Guide is found under the top flap when you open up your box.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Here is the Bold

Here is the Bold

The Bold is found under a protective plastic shield and cardboard flap.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Takes several minutes on initial startup

Takes several minutes on initial startup

I made sure the battery had some charge and then turned on the Bold. It takes something like 3-4 minutes for the initial startup of the device and this clock icon appears.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Bold starting up in hand

Bold starting up in hand

The Bold still fits nicely in my hand, but it is a bit wide and not as sleek and sexy as some of these latest devices. It is definitely a masculine device.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Clock feature when plugged in via USB

Clock feature when plugged in via USB

When I plugged the device in to a PC or into the power source the clock appeared on the display. You can switch between analog or digital mode and also setup alarms using the Clock application.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Bottom half of the Bold

Bottom half of the Bold

There are four hardware buttons around the traditional trackball with the full QWERTY keyboard below that.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Right lower side of keyboard

Right lower side of keyboard

You can see there is a right shift as well, along with a symbol key to access more characters.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Four hardware buttons

Four hardware buttons

You will find send and end buttons on the outer part of the front, with the back and menu buttons closer to the trackball.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Trackball

Trackball

The trackball is like the ones found on the Pearl and Curve devices and IMHO is one of the best navigation controls ever found on a mobile device.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Back of the Bold

Back of the Bold

The back looks pretty plain with just the camera up top. The back is also textured, as you will see closer in the next few photos.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Close up of the back textured cover

Close up of the back textured cover

The cover feels like leather over plastic and may actually be leather, but I doubt it. It feels great in your hand and gives a professional look to an already solid device.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Left side of the Bold

Left side of the Bold

I was very pleased to see two standards used on the Bold with the 3.5mm headset jack and miniUSB connector for syncing and charging. Nothing makes me happier than seeing these two standard ports on mobile phones. Just above the 3.5mm headset jack is the left stereo speaker opening too.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Mid to lower left side

Mid to lower left side

There are customizable application launcher buttons on each side of the Bold and this one is found about halfway down the device. Below this button is the externally accessible microSD card slot. The cover flips open easily, yet seems to protect the card as well.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Mysterious bottom design

Mysterious bottom design

I am not sure what these two features are on each side of the bottom of the device, but they do not seem to perform any function.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Bottom of the Bold

Bottom of the Bold

The back cover release switch is found in the middle of the bottom with the microphone and another opening (I believe it may be a lanyard opening) found on either side.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Treo Pro, Bold, and E71

Treo Pro, Bold, and E71

Here are three of the latest and greatest QWERTY devices, each running a different operating system.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Three devices stacked

Three devices stacked

The Bold is under the Treo Pro and E71 in this photo showing some size comparisons.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Three devices from the bottom

Three devices from the bottom

The Bold is noticeably wider than the Treo Pro and E71, but is actually a bit thinner than the Treo Pro. The E71 is the slimmest of them all.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Right side stacked up

Right side stacked up

Here is a shot of these same three devices from the right side.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Default standby screen

Default standby screen

This is the display you will see when you first turn on your AT&T BlackBerry Bold. Other carriers throughout the world have it as well and may have other backgrounds.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Customizing the standby screen

Customizing the standby screen

I am a big fan of the Dodge Challenger and included an image of one on my standby screen.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Display after pressing the Menu key

Display after pressing the Menu key

When you press the left Menu key you will be taken to this display that shows everything loaded on your device. You can move the icons around and change the types of icons by changing your themes.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

More icons on the device

More icons on the device

As you can see there is a LOT loaded on the device just as part of the operating system. The PR company that sent the review unit also loaded a few trial applications for evaluation.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Month view is still lame

Month view is still lame

With all of the improvements in the BlackBerry OS, I have to say the calendar is still a bit lame and needs some attention. The month view is pretty worthless and just shows you the days of the month without any details at all.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Media application

Media application

BB OS 4.6 offers a much improved media application that lets you manage and view your videos, photos, ringtones, music, and voice notes.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Music player

Music player

The music player is pretty basic, but meets my basic player needs.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Ringtones

Ringtones

There are several ringtones and other included alarm and notification sounds on the Bold.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Recording a voice note

Recording a voice note

Voice recording is a very handy utility to have while driving when a thought pops into your mind that you want to remember for the future.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

XM Radio access included

XM Radio access included

You can pay to listen to XM Radio on your Bold through an AT&T subscription.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Cellular video included

Cellular video included

The AT&T cellular video service option is also available on the Bold.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Browsing on the Bold

Browsing on the Bold

I use Google Reader quite a bit for reading content on the go and the new browser works well with the mobile version. The browser is much better than previous browsers, but still doesn’t support flash.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Setup folder

Setup folder

Setup wizards can be found in the Setup folder.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Games are included

Games are included

You actually get some fun games on the Bold, including Texas Hold’Em and Klondike.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Handmark Express on the Bold

Handmark Express on the Bold

Handmark Express is a full featured application that requires you to pay a monthly service fee for many of the services.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Viigo

Viigo

I never tried Viigo before, but it also provides you with a lot of useful data and I understand it is currently available for free.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Options are still lame

Options are still lame

The Bold and OS 4.6 are pretty polished, but then you select Options and are taken back to the 90s. It would be nice to see BlackBerry improve this interface as well.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Documents To Go Standard is included

Documents To Go Standard is included

You can view and edit documents (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) with the included applications from DataViz.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Premium Edition gives you more functions

Premium Edition gives you more functions

You can also upgrade to Documents To Go Premium for creating new documents and getting access to more functions like spell checking and word count.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

Watching Ironman on the Bold

Watching Ironman on the Bold

Videos look fantastic on the Bold and I think I have found my new media player and ultimate converged device.

Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

BlackBerry Bold retail box

BlackBerry Bold retail box

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Image Gallery: First Impressions of the BlackBerry Bold

BlackBerry Bold keyboard

BlackBerry Bold keyboard

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