Blackberry Bold 9700

Compared to the BlackBerry Bold 9000, the 9700 has a lot of improvements. It is a little bit smaller and lighter, works faster and supports more multimedia formats.

It has a 3.2-megapixel camera, compared to a 2-megapixel model on the Bold 9000, and its trackpad works much faster than the Bold 9000's trackball.

Like its sibling, the Bold 9700 comes with a full Qwerty keyboard for typing e-mails, SMS messages and the like. Although the keyboard is tiny, I had no problems using it.

Like other RIM smart phones, you can access e-mail on the go with the BlackBerry Bold 9700, thanks to RIM's popular push-mail technology.

I tested it on DTAC's Edge network. The phone also supports a 3G connection, but there was no 3G network available for a trial.

Setting up the Bold 9700 to fetch my e-mail from Hotmail was a breeze. When new mails arrived, they were delivered to the handset.

The handset also comes with the Facebook application and three instant-messaging applications: Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk.

Its Facebook application is very effective. I could update my Facebook status easily from the Qwerty keyboard. And when someone commented on my posts, the Bold 9700 alerted me with a beep signal.

The Bold 9700's Facebook application also let met post photos taken with the handset. The application automatically resized each photo and updated it to the mobile album directly, which was very effective. Applications on other handsets may require you to e-mail the photos to a certain address before they are uploaded.

I had no problem connecting to my Live Messenger account to chat with friends.

The Bold 9700's camera worked quite well and the quality of the photos was good for a mobile phone.

The stereo handset also played good quality music with good bass and clarity.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is a really effective device for online life and social-networking on the go.

Its suggested retail price is Bt22,900.

Key specifications: BlackBerry Bold 9700

Wireless networks: 3G (HSDPA) compatible, UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz ; GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz

Camera: 3.2 megapixels

Display: 2.44 TFT LCD with 480- x 360-pixel resolution

Memory: 256MB, expandable with microSD card

Video format support: XviD partially supported, H.263, H.264, WMV3, MPEG4, Sorenson Spark & On2 VP6 (Flash support)

Audio format support: .3gp, MP3, WMA9 (.wma/.asf)/WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, professional AAC/AAC+/eAAC+

Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth v2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g

Battery: 1500 mA/Hr removable/rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Size (mm): 109 x 60 x 14.1

Weight: 122 grams with battery