Review of RIM's ultimate BlackBerry, the Bold 9000 for AT&T

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000

RIM's hard core business devices, the 8800 series, have long been overshadowed by the slicker and more entertaining Curve and Pearl model lines. That trend has ended, though, now that the new Bold 9000 series of devices are shipping. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 maintains the 8800's slightly larger form factor and keyboard but packs in a high-resolution display and modern multimedia features and stuffs them into a striking new design.

The corporate suits, it seems, no longer have reason to be envious of the regular folk.

Physical Aspects

The Bold 9000 is fairly large by BlackBerry standards. At 115mm x 67mm x 15mm (4.5" x 2.6" x .6") in size and 139.1g (4.9oz) heavy, it is 1mm wider and taller than even the BlackBerry 8800, and weighs a few grams more as well. It is still pocketable, but is getting a bit large for people with smaller hands. But if you can deal with the heft, the Bold is a very beautifully designed and solidly built device that will look at home in boardrooms and ballrooms alike.

The satin finish metal frame that makes up the exterior edges of the Bold perfectly sets off the black face and faux leather rear cover of the phone. It is an extremely rich and classy looking phone. The half-VGA (480x320 pixel) display just adds to the look, offering gorgeous colors and fine detail alike. It is, quite possibly, the best looking display on the market. That fine display sits above an equally fine full QWERTY keyboard that offers large keys with superb tactile feedback. It is one of the best QWERTY keyboards available on a phone today.

Like most modern BlackBerry devices, the Bold 9000 uses a trackball controller instead of a d-pad. While it works pretty well, we feel that it is somehow less perfectly tuned than the trackball found on the Curve 8300 series of BlackBerry smartphones. It is still good, but just not quite on the mark. It won't be an issue during day to day use of the phone, but it does make navigation slightly less smooth an experience than it otherwise could have been.

On the right edge of the Bold one will find the volume control and the right "convenience" key, which is by default set to activate the camera. Another convenience key is located on the left side of the phone, and it calls up a task-switcher on the screen that provides quick access to recently used applications. The miniUSB power/data connector and a full 3.5mm headphone socket are also on the left edge of the phone, next to a nicely hinged cover for the microSD memory card slot. It is just a shame that it is so hard to remove a card from the slot. Up top can be found the mute key, which can be used to put the phone into standby mode, while the camera lens and assist LED are located on the back.

Apart from the trackball issue, which is likely software related, there is virtually nothing about the Bold 9000 other than its size and weight that one could find worthy of complaint. The build is rock solid, the design is beautiful, and the hardware is supremely functional. Even how the magnetic latch in the included belt holster automatically turns the phone's display on and off shows that RIM is paying attention to the details.