When you first lay eyes on RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T), the words "sleek," "sexy," and "cool" don't exactly to come to mind. At 4.5 inches high by 2.6 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and 4.8 ounces, RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) is bulky and wide, making for a bit of a tight fit in a pants pocket. It doesn't exactly take your breath away like the iPhone 3G, but that's not to say it's a bad looking phone. RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) chassis and silver trim are attractive enough and the rounded edges give the handset a streamlined design.
Plus, if you turn the phone over, you'll notice that the back has a leatherette texture (no more slick plastic), providing a sophisticated look. If you want to customize your device a bit, RIM will sell replaceable backplates in different colors, including blue, gray, and red, for $29.99 each, which is a little pricey in our opinion. Now while the overall design isn't particularly flashy, the true beauty of RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) lies in the display. The smartphone boasts a 2.75 inch half VGA, non-touch screen that shows off 65.000 colors at a crisp 480x320 pixel resolution.
It's quite possibly the best looking screen we've seen on a smartphone to date. The iPhone and HTC Touch Diamond come close, but we did a quick comparison between the iPhone and Bold and found that pictures on the Bold looked slightly smoother and crisper. Colors pop on the screen and video playback was truly impressive. With such a beautiful screen, we're glad to see that RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) features an updated user interface, much like the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220.
Some of the new icons are a bit difficult to identify at a glance (e.g., downloads, applications, and settings), but as you scroll over, each item is identified by name along the bottom. As usual, you can customize the home screen with various themes, background images, font size and type, and backlight brightness and time out. Below the display, you get the standard navigation controls, which include Talk and End or power keys, a menu shortcut, a back button, and a trackball navigator. The one benefit of the phone's wider size is that these buttons are plenty large and easy to press.
RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) has a QWERTY keyboard that RIM likened to a modernized Curve keyboard, but it reminded us more of the BlackBerry 8830. We know some 8800 series users had issues with the keyboard, but we didn't have any problems with the Bold. The keyboard buttons are of a good size and have a nice tactile feel to them. We were able to compose e-mails and text messages with minimal errors. They're also backlit for easy typing in darker environments.
On the left spine, you will find a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a mini USB port, a customizable shortcut key, and a microSD or SDHC expansion slot. The right side holds the volume rocker and another user programmable convenience key. There's a mute button on top of the handset, and the camera and flash are located on the back. AT&T packages RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
Plus, if you turn the phone over, you'll notice that the back has a leatherette texture (no more slick plastic), providing a sophisticated look. If you want to customize your device a bit, RIM will sell replaceable backplates in different colors, including blue, gray, and red, for $29.99 each, which is a little pricey in our opinion. Now while the overall design isn't particularly flashy, the true beauty of RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) lies in the display. The smartphone boasts a 2.75 inch half VGA, non-touch screen that shows off 65.000 colors at a crisp 480x320 pixel resolution.
It's quite possibly the best looking screen we've seen on a smartphone to date. The iPhone and HTC Touch Diamond come close, but we did a quick comparison between the iPhone and Bold and found that pictures on the Bold looked slightly smoother and crisper. Colors pop on the screen and video playback was truly impressive. With such a beautiful screen, we're glad to see that RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) features an updated user interface, much like the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220.Some of the new icons are a bit difficult to identify at a glance (e.g., downloads, applications, and settings), but as you scroll over, each item is identified by name along the bottom. As usual, you can customize the home screen with various themes, background images, font size and type, and backlight brightness and time out. Below the display, you get the standard navigation controls, which include Talk and End or power keys, a menu shortcut, a back button, and a trackball navigator. The one benefit of the phone's wider size is that these buttons are plenty large and easy to press.
RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) has a QWERTY keyboard that RIM likened to a modernized Curve keyboard, but it reminded us more of the BlackBerry 8830. We know some 8800 series users had issues with the keyboard, but we didn't have any problems with the Bold. The keyboard buttons are of a good size and have a nice tactile feel to them. We were able to compose e-mails and text messages with minimal errors. They're also backlit for easy typing in darker environments.
On the left spine, you will find a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a mini USB port, a customizable shortcut key, and a microSD or SDHC expansion slot. The right side holds the volume rocker and another user programmable convenience key. There's a mute button on top of the handset, and the camera and flash are located on the back. AT&T packages RIM BlackBerry Bold - black (AT&T) with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
