The BlackBerry Bold 9700 –Perfect Combination of Function and Fashion

One year ago today, we reviewed briefly the BlackBerry Bold 9000. As the prototype, the BlackBerry Bold was RIM's latest generation of smartphones and it was really a beauty. The Black and Chrome look was something new and stylish. Under the hood it was packing more power, memory, and the ability to do voice and data at the same time. There was 3G, WiFi and GPS all in the same package. Such a marvelous smart phone was the BlackBerry Bold.

Today RIM has expanded on the design with the Storm, now Storm 2, Tour, Curve 8900, and now Bold 2. The BlackBerry 9700 brings function to fashion. The BlackBerry Bold is really fashionable; we couldn't have put it on G style if it wasn't, but RIM messed up. The Storm and Curve 8900 seems a trend of slimmer and sleeker.

Enter the Bold 2. All the under the hood power, more memory (256MB compared to 128), better camera (3.2MP compare to 2.0), better OS (OS 5.0), the triple threat of 3G/WiFi/GPS, and now a leaner/sexier frame. The BlackBerry 9700 went back to the gym hard and came out trim and healthy. It shed the pounds and now takes firm of its title as the BEST Blackberry of the line!

Considering the best elements of all its siblings, the BlackBerry 9700 looks like a mix of the Curve 8900, Tour, Bold, and Curve 8520. The new trackpad has replaced the trackball. This happened to be my only gripe with the Bold. As your Blackberry is only as good as the functioning trackball in it. The body is smaller than the Bold. Though having the same buttons as the Bold, the keyboard is packaged in a smaller layout than the Bold. The screen has a higher resolution (480×360 like the Curve 8900) and it was packed into a smaller space. So, it is definitely smaller than the Bold. The picture will look sharper.

Overall, this phone is fantasy. The Blackberry Bold is the first choice of the Blackberry devices. It is the flagship of the line! The Bold 2 maintains that flagship status and now in a more fashionable package!