Blackberry Bold 9700: Boldly going where no Blackberry has gone before..?

David Swan
Friday, 06 November 2009 18:57

Your IT - Entertainment

Key features of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone include:

* Sleek design measuring 4.29" x 2.36" x 0.56" (109 mm x 60 mm x 14.1 mm) and weighing only 4.3 oz (122 grams)
    * Sharp and dazzling 2.44” light-sensing display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi)
    * Highly tactile full-QWERTY keyboard – with finely sculpted keys and chrome frets – for fast, accurate typing
    * Innovative touch-sensitive trackpad that allows intuitive and responsive navigation
    * Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) with support for Wi-Fi calling via UMA where available
    * 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording
    * BlackBerry® OS 5.0, offering users email management and calendar enhancements* as well as a better browsing experience with faster JavaScript and CSS processing
    * Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications, as well as photo geotagging
    * Media player for videos, pictures and music (music play now extended up to 38 hours), plus support for BlackBerry® Desktop Manager for both PCs and Macs, and BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone**
    * 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, dedicated volume controls, Lock and Mute keys seamlessly integrated across the top of the handset
    * microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB cards today and is expected to support 32 GB cards when available; a 2GB card is included
    * 256 MB of Flash memory
    * Premium and easy-to-access phone features, background noise suppression technology and high quality speakerphone
    * Bluetooth® (2.1) with support for Secure Simple Pairing, hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals
    * Support for BlackBerry® services including  access to up to 10 supported email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo!®, Windows Live™ Hotmail®, AOL® and Gmail™); and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support, which features advanced security and IT administration for corporate deployments
    * Available in two versions to support various carrier 3G network frequency combinations:   
         o UMTS/HSDPA 2100/1900/850/800 MHz and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM
         o UMTS/HSDPA 2100/1700/900 MHz and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM
    * Removable, rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time and 17 days of standby time in 3G mode

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone is expected to be available in Australia and New Zealand in late November. In all honesty it doesn't seem terribly different to its predecessor, the Blackberry Bold, however that's just judging from on-paper specs as I'm yet to toy with the handset myself.

Check out a pic of the new handset on the third page.