BlackBerry Bold in-depth review (Verdict: iPhone is still a bit cooler)

Blackberry Bold is pretty rockin

(Credit: Research in Motion)

APCMag just published a very detailed review of the upcoming Blackberry Bold which was released in Canada today and in the US over the next few months.

The net takeaways:
- The Bold appears to be the best Blackberry yet, with higher quality camera, screen and keyboard
- The new UI has done a lot toward making the device much more usable. Of course, Verizon or someone else will come along and bastardize all that work, then we'll lament the fact that the iPhone has a better interface.
- Folder icons in the UI may/may not be interesting to people. They remind me of some of interface tweaks that Palm OS used to support. Hard to say right now.
- The new email client finally supports HTML mail and has some revamped fonts which make viewing much clearer

Overall, Blackberry Bold looks much better than the last rev of devices (which have really been mediocre) and business users will likely embrace it with both hands.

For the record, I use a Blackberry. I prefer it over the iPhone for the keyboard and the fact that I don't do well with AT&T cell reception. I do however think the iPhone interface and feature set is far more appealing, and if I was going to be stuck on AT&T I would go iPhone.

[rdwalton]

The iPhoney may look cooler, but the damn thing doesn't work, so I can't imagine why Cnet would say it's still cooler. Oh, I forgot Steve Jobs is your savior too.

I have the iphoney 3G and I can't use the 3G because it basically renders my phone incapable of receiving calls and I constantly have to reset the thing to get my mail pushed out to my phone and imobileme doesn't do what it promised.

Hey Cnet, grow a pair and stop giving the rotten-Apple a free ride this crappy phone.

[WinstonSih]

DITTO! I COMPLETLY AGREE!

[b_baggins]

So, have you returned your iPhone for a refund? You get a 30-day grace period you know.

[bubblebathgirl]

LOL - don't be so angry. The iPhone works much better then the Blackberry and is much easier to use.

The iPhone screen is roughly twice as big, video plays and looks better then on any other smart phone, there's the APP store, and the UI is obviously better then any other on the smartphone planet.

There's a reason why CNET says the iPhone 3G is #1 ... because it is.

So don't be angry, if you like your BBerry then good for you, but the fact is that the 3G has put the smack-down on the smartphone community, and everyone else is just playing catchup.

[dionne08]

hahahahhahahahah What they said! :)

[pness412]

Is it just me or does anyone else pickup the fact that Cnet has an obvious "hard on" for the iphone, every prize fight and review or comparison seems to lean towards the iphone.

[Cigardj]

For a while I thought I was the only one, but pness412 is on the same track as I in terms of CNET cutting the Iphone so much slack during prize fights. As a fan of the BlackBerry I acknowledge its short comings, but I personally would not want another device in my hand when I trying to make commerce happen. The BB still shows the business community; you are serious about your business. The Iphone is Friday night at the martini bar with hopes of adding new photos to your blog.

[b_baggins]

That's more of a comment to the ultimate 'badness" of the iPhone, since CNet actually has a documented history of trying to bash Apple products every change they get. Even in their iPhone prize fights they de-emphasize wifi in their feature list because none of the non-iPhone contenders have it, while they heavily play stereo bluetooth as a must-have feature.

[amacey]

I was a long time BlackBerry user (5-ish years) who was forced off of BlackBerry and into the realm of Windows Mobile as a result of my company being acquired by someone who didn't use Exchange, and thus had a Q for the past year and a half. While I greatly admire the simplicity and effectiveness of BlackBerry, I recently switched to the iPhone 3G and it works great for me. I haven't had a single problem with it.

That being said, if i were forced into another network I would undoubtedly use the latest and greatest BlackBerry. But the iPhone is simply effective AND fun to use.

[dude7895]

I'm confused as to why cnet is in love with the iphone. It doesn't even work properly! Isn't the purpose of a phone to make calls, which the iphone can't even do in 3g. I'm starting to believe that cnet is getting paid off by apple.

[andwrig]

That's great but when does the damn thing come out in the US?

[Benf]

I didnt even have to read the article to know what CNET's opinion was, typical and predictable

[rolleisl26]

I have owned the original iphone and now the new one
The original iphone has some issues but the new one well it looks good
has a nice feel and the ipod on the 3g sounds much better than the original iphones
But
the 3g is a total nitemare
i have had so many dropped and crappy connections
on 2 instances the 3g didnt even work ie i could not make or receive a call and i had to turn the 3g off to receive or make a call.
The funny thing is i went on vacation with the phone and it did seem to work better outside of the philadelphia area here in and around philly the phone is a total pos
i feel its partially the phone and partially at&t in either case they both need to get their **** together and fix this ASAP
btw apple has already replaced my phone once
They connected to a computer in the apple store in ardmore and he goes right away this phone has to be replaced they wanted me to come back to get the replacement i refused i said i am not making another trip here gas is money and so is my time replace it NOW
and they did

[tsatsut]

dave did you write this article and quote sources just to promote the iphone......*smh*. quit cnet and go work for steve jobs then. waste of my ******* time.

[daverosenberg]

Are you all blind? Seriously? I USE A BLACKBERRY.
--------
For the record, I use a Blackberry. I prefer it over the iPhone for the keyboard and the fact that I don't do well with AT&T cell reception. I do however think the iPhone interface and feature set is far more appealing, and if I was going to be stuck on AT&T I would go iPhone.

[tlsimmon2]

Hey Dave, I heard they were having problems with the battery on the Blackberry Bold and that's why they keep pushing the release date back. Have you heard this and got any scoop on when they'll release it?

[mlrdfans]

The iphone does not have PUSH email like the Blackberry does and has had; which make Blackberry a standout among corporate phones that rock! The iphone also has problems with battery life (when you use it like you're suppose to be able to). Also, when the iphone battery goes bad, you have to SEND it away for replacment and cannot do it yourself; thus, leaving yourself without a phone while they send you a demo to use.
With iphone, you have to keep checking your email through internet service and waiting for it to download. I also heard that when the iphone gets so much info coming through, it JAMS the phone and it has to be reset. Most ppl don't know or feel safe doing this themselves, and end up taking it into a store to have done.
Iphone rating a 3..............Blackberry Bold a 9.5 and going up!