Bold 9700 Keyboard Views

Wireless Products

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is simply the best of everything that Research in Motion currently offers in a smartphone, wrapped into a tight package. I'm sure there will be some Bold 9000 owners out there who may prefer the styling and bigger keyboard/screen size of the original Bold over the smaller and arguably more conservative 9700, but the 9700 meets or exceeds the 9000 on the features and specs sheet in areas that count: more memory, bettery camera and gone is the trackball in favor of the ohhh sooo slickkk optical trackpad. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 really is the pinnacle of the "traditionalo" BlackBerry Smartphone experience.

In terms of existing devices, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 really is a mash-up of RIM's original BlackBerry Bold (processor, battery, 3G), the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (3.2 megapixel camera, memory upped to 256MB of flash, 480 by 360 display), the BlackBerry Tour (similar keyboard) and the BlackBerry Curve 8520 (optical trackpad). But while the individual components may be inherited from other existing devices, the overall package is unique.

Keyboard: The BlackBerry Bold 9700's keyboard is similar to the BlackBerry Tour's with the exception that the bottom row of keys is slightly less tall. Overall, it's a nice compromise in terms of size and comfort between the Curve keyboard and the original Bold's keyboard. Over the past couple of my month's I've been using my Bold's 9000 as my main device, so have come to really love it. It's funny, when the Bold 9000 first came out I was one of the people who felt it was just too big. It's funny how times change - now I appreciate the extra size in the keyboard and extra 1/4v" of width on the screen. It's enough to nearly wish RIM would do a straight update of the Bold 9000 form factor, but up the memory and camera, switch to MicroUSB and put the MicroSD card slot under the battery door. But keep that keyboard and screen going in an updated device.

Like almost all BlackBerrys, the Bold 9700 places the screen and QWERTY keyboard front and center, with a strip of the most commonly used controls (talk, end call, back, etc.) dividing the two, easily accessible with a thumb. On the right-hand side, a bubbled-out volume rocker and camera shutter button make it easy to access those dedicated functions. On the left, it offers a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB charging and data connection, and programmable shortcut key.