BlackBerry Bold 9700

It is hard to resist the whole smartphone wave when everybody you know either has or is planning to buy either a BlackBerry or an iPhone.
Granted there are other smartphone platforms like Android in the market now, but at this point in time these two particular platforms still tend to dominate any discussion where smartphones are concerned.
While the BlackBerry Bold 9700 has been in the market for a few months now, this review is for those who are still sitting on the fence on which device would suit your needs better.
After using the phone for a few weeks, here are my top 10 findings of the Bold 9700 that will hopefully help you make your decision.
The outer package
Yes, aesthetics is important, especially at an age where manufacturers are touting the three "S" - slim, shiny and sleek. On a whole, the Bold 9700 is much sleeker than its predecessors. It sports a ­classier look with the faux-leather plastic on the back cover, soft touch paint and a chrome band that rims the outer edge of the phone, giving it an elegant finish without being too over the top.
The shiny casing at the top part of the phone is of course susceptible to scratches, but with a name like Bold, it merely defines character.
Rear view of the Bold 9700
In terms of footprint, the Bold 9700 though rigid in design is a neater package in terms of size and presentation in comparison to the first Bold installment.
It is certainly smaller and just a wee bit curvier.
But generally when it comes to the BlackBerry, it's not really the curves and design that takes precedence, but rather form and functionality.
Screen size and resolution
The second thing that you would notice with the Bold 9700 is of course the screen. There's nothing worse than a drabby and dull-looking screen.
Luckily that's not something that the Bold 9700 has to deal with. The screen is certainly noteworthy with the ability to display bright, colourful and crisp images, which is very helpful when viewing pictures or videos.
The 480 x 360-pixel resolution also ensures that images and text are sharp. However, it's a bit of a shame that such a vibrant screen is constricted within a 2.44in area, but it is nevertheless one of the most outstanding features of the phone and an improvement in the stable of BlackBerry devices to date.
Moving around – optical pad
Way back when the first BlackBerry was released, navigation was limited to the jog dial on the side of the phone and then most recently there was this flirtation with a trackball.
Thankfully the Bold 9700 sports an optical trackpad, which provides much smoother navigation and makes scrolling through pages much easier in comparison to the trackball for me. If you want a comparison in terms of usability, think about the touchpad and the trackpoint which some laptops have. You get the idea?
Qwerty keypad
Qwerty keypads aren't as daunting as they seem. Especially with the raised and slightly angled keys on the Bold 9700, it makes for a much-easier texting experience.
Although it is a bit smaller than its predecessors and can get rather tiring when writing either long e-mails or messages, it is definitely much easier to pick up and use as compared to a touchscreen keypad for sure.
The keyboard lacks certain shortcuts as with previous models, but once you think of the keypad as a miniature Qwerty keyboard, it makes it a whole lot easier to use.
Multitude of uses
Thus far BlackBerry devices have been positioned as the executive companion - for mobile e-mail communication at anytime and anywhere. But ever since data plans and devices made it affordable for the masses to be always connected - the lines have suddenly blurred.
What's important here is how services like e-mail is accessed. The Blackberry Internet Service uses a proprietary push technology, whereby the service automatically retrieves e-mail as well as attachments from the mail servers and pushes it directly to the device.
The e-mail client is very simple to set up and perhaps the no-frills user interface makes reading and writing e-mail messages that much easier.
It is said that the Bold 9700 features enhanced security and tighter integration, which would definitely make the IT department (if you're using it as a business device) happy. Instead of checking individual mailboxes, messages are unified in one inbox and these are sorted according to date.
The Bold 9700 comes preloaded with applications like Documents To Go. You can activate the trial version to edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the fly. But of course if you need additional productivity applications, or any other applications for that matter, the BlackBerry Apps World is now open to Malaysian users.
You can download free applications like Facebook, Flickr and a lot more. While you're at it, you may also want to download some maps as well as the Bold 9700 comes with a full function GPS.
I can see why many may perceive the BlackBerry as an enterprise tool largely because of its no-frills, straight-to-the-point approach.
But that's all changing with attempts at making the BlackBerry a more comprehensive lifestyle device. Case in point is the media player on the Bold 9700 and of course the host of social networking applications that you can download and use without much fuss.
Of course there's the BlackBerry Messenger, which really is a simple utilitarian application that only allows you to connect to your other BlackBerry friends to chat (with unlimited characters), share files and the lot.
The best part is that it uses the data line so everything is already paid for if you want to think about it that way. In terms of applications, more specifically games, this is where the Bold 9700 pales in comparison to the iPhone.
Thanks to the iPhone's accelerometer, there are many more games that are more interactive. This coupled by the touchscreen capabilities and screen size makes the iPhone a more versatile entertainment-inclined device.
That said, there are sufficient games that you can download for the Bold 9700 via Apps World but I hope puzzle games strike your fancy because that seems to be the dominant genre.
Browsing
Here's a slight sore point for the BlackBerry, or as many claim. The default browser is not particularly outstanding, and to some downright annoying.
When you access a particular page, you basically see the page in its entirety with the text the size of a pixel.
While you can't pinch and zoom as like with the iPhone, you can move the cursor to a particular spot and zoom in. But I reckon this does not really inhibit your browsing experience and all it takes is just a little getting used to.
Camera and flash
The onboard 3.2-megapixel camera produces decent quality pictures for you to quickly upload to Facebook or to send in an e-mail. There's also an integrated flash, which is nice to have for taking pictures under low light conditions.
In short, it serves its purpose but just don't expect masterpieces from it.
Multi tasking
I have to say that multi-tasking is something that the BlackBerry is pretty good at. You are able to quickly switch between applications, and yet have it still running in the background for when you go on to read a text message or answer a call.
This is a useful feature as you need not, for example, re-login to certain applications like Skype or other instant messenger services while you move on to surfing the Web.
Connectivity and call quality
Having used both the Bold 9700 and an iPhone 3Gs, I have to say that the former has better call quality and battery life is also a little bit better.
While 3G signals are very much dependent on operator choice, in terms of usability and connectivity to cellular and wireless networks the 9700 is a total breeze with just a few clicks of a button needed.
Memory
The Bold 9700 comes with 256MB of built-in memory and that's not a lot if you compare it with the iPhone and its various models.
But the Bold has a MicroSD card slot which instantly enables you to bulk up storage space to a maximum of 32GB.
In this case, the iPhone and Bold 9700 are on par. The only drawback is that the microSD card is a little tricky to remove.