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Review: BlackBerry Bold 9700

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The BlackBerry 9700 is one of those phones that gets nearly everything right and has minimal quirks or other problems. The hardware is top notch, feels great to hold and interact with, and slims down its footprint. The trade-off is that you have a tighter keyboard and a smaller display.

The BlackBerry user interface hasn't made any leaps or bounds in usability over the years, but it offers a wealth of features that can be configured and controlled by the end user to suit their tastes.

The messaging capabilities of the 9700 are solid, with email support being the strongest of the bunch. The new threaded SMS software looks and works great, and all the IM clients on board mean you can also get the message. The one detraction is that social networking such as Facebook and Twitter aren't integrated into the device as they are on some of the newer Android phones.

The music client is a bit on the weak side, but the performance of the camera and video camera were surprisingly good. The browser isn't the best that's available, but it surely beats what is available on feature phones.

In sum, for those who need a QWERTY-equipped smartphone with all-around solid performance, the 9700 is a really good pick.

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BlackBerry Bold 9700

2.4" display 480 x 360 pixels
1,500 mAh battery
Memory Card Slot, Hardware Text Keyboard, Headphone Jack (3.5mm)

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