RIM Blackberry 8700 Cellular Phone - Review Gist

Blackberry 8700c messaging device complete with EDGE wireless data, a first for any of the RIM Blackberry handhelds. The Blackberry 8700c will be the most powerful Blackberry device released so far. The tactile feel is excellent, and the keys' shape made it hard to press the wrong button. The full QWERTY keyboard is comfortable enough to use, and the user interface is rocket fast - especially when used with the scroll wheel that is located on the side of the device. *

The bottom line:
The RIM BlackBerry 8700g offers T-Mobile consumer and business users a robust, user-friendly messaging device and cell phone with great performance.

Calling addicts Browse reviews » "If you go on vacation for a week with your BlackBerry Curve, you won't need your charger."

Bright LCD display. *

The 320-by-240 pixel color display is crisp and clear for easy text viewing. Stellar e-mail and messaging device. Adds support for consumer IM networks. It also includes the jog wheel and escape button that make one-handed navigation possible on BlackBerry devices. Voice quality was good, and the device features a speakerphone that works nicely. Lacks a camera. Talk-time battery life was very good in our tests, at 8 hours, 40 minutes. *

Call quality on the 8700g was great as far as a Blackberry is concerned. The handset's icon-driven main menu looked colorful and vibrant, as did the full-color images people saw on the web browser. *

The button on the left side is easy to find by feel due to the three raised pips. Thankfully, for those with sensitive eyes, the 8703e's screen brightness can be adjusted manually to one of 10 levels. *

RIM puts the traditional BlackBerry design on a diet,
but fattens it up under the hood.

It's a full QVGA resolution, providing a lot of space for the applications that run well, like Google Local. It's vaguely reminiscent of the Blazer web browser for Palm OS, but even more limited and ugly. The machine's ROM is separate, so you're given more or less the full measure of memory for your discretionary use. *

Background noise is an issue and the 8700c seems all but incapable of blocking it out, something which is especially problematic on the city streets and busy restaurants where BlackBerry devices tend to appear. BlackBerry has attempted to improve the navigation with the addition of two prominent programmable buttons, one on the left side and one on the top middle of the key area. BlackBerry thumb has become as popular an ailment as tennis elbow due to people's reliance on the compact keypad ... *

RIM says the BlackBerry 8700 incorporates intelligent light sensing technology that automatically adjusts both the LCD and keyboard lighting to provide an optimized view in outdoor, indoor and dark environments. Colors, fonts and screen design, coupled with the relatively high-resolution, high-color LCD make the display very easy to read. *

The PDA's 320X240 pixel screen delivers bright colors and sharp resolution, and we really enjoyed browsing with the thumbwheel on the side of the 8700c. This PDA also features the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for secure access to corporate e-mail and applications. *

Even photos look excellent on the sharp screen. *

Call quality is good; the integrated speaker is very clear and loud. *

Voice quality was good, and the device features a speakerphone that works nicely. The 8700c's light weight does make it more convenient to hold, especially during lengthy conversations, and it comes with a speakerphone that is easy to access and surprisingly powerful. Talk-time battery life was very good in our tests, at 8 hours, 40 minutes. The file viewer worked fine with Word documents and Excel spreadsheets (though scrolling through a large spreadsheet on the small screen can be an exerc... *

The BlackBerry 8700c's speakerphone is plenty loud. Web pages and images is more enjoyable, as text and images are clearer and more defined. Colors are vibrant, with sharp, clearly defined images and text. It's great for navigating the intuitive menu or for viewing Web pages and images. A small LED above the screen flashes different colors to alert you to various messages: green for network activity, red for message notification, yellow for low battery, and blue for Bluetooth connectivity. *