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BlackBerry’s latest mobile phone offerings include the Pearl 3G 9105. It owes much of its shape and styling to the older Bold 9700 but is a slimmed down, more compact version. Much of this is due to BlackBerry replacing the QWERTY keyboard with a good quality, well-designed alphanumeric one. This is not to say that it has lost any of its quality; this phone still includes plenty to text home about.

Email is where all BlackBerry phones excel and the Pearl 9105 is no different in this regard. Starting an account is easily organised and there is excellent space on the screen for reading messages and emails. They have introduced an integrated mail service that allows users to receive messages from a wide number of sources including Twitter updates and Facebook messages as well as traditional emails.

This is a departure from BlackBerry’s traditional business user market and the Pearl is most definitely styled for the teen consumer market.  While the camera and media systems are not top of the range they do have some interesting settings and are easy to use, especially with the media player controls being accessible from the top of the phone.

Some of the apps could do with updating and if, when released, the new BlackBerry OS 6.0 is made available to the Pearl then it will go some way to increasing the browser performance.

This is a great little starter BlackBerry, not a business user’s mobile created for mass typing and constant surfing, but a good phone for general daily use and keeping in contact with friends.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520, also known as the BlackBerry Gemini, has a mixture of business and consumer market targeted functionalities. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is part of a range of BlackBerry mobile phones (others include the BlackBerry Curve 8300 and the Curve 8900) that are relatively cheap mobile phones and which feature email, phone and texting services with more multimedia and social networking features.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 measures 4.29 by 2.36 by 0.55 inches. It weighs just 3.74 inches, making it one of BlackBerry’s lighter mobile phones. Its battery life allows for 4.5 hours of talk time and 17 days (408 hours) of standby time.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520’s main screen has a picture resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. Somewhat disappointingly the screen size is on the small side, measuring just 2.64 inches. Also relatively basic is the camera resolution of just 2 megapixels, although it does have a digital zoom.

The inbuilt video player supports MPEG4, H.263, H.264, and WMV files and the music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WAV and AMR files. The mobile phone has a memory of 128 MB RAM/256 MB ROM. It has a full QWERTY keyboard, microUSB, Wi-Fi, 2.0 Bluetooth and allows for email services on IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino and BlackBerry Connect.

All in all, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a relatively basic BlackBerry that achieves what it sets out to do, but does not dazzle. Many competitor mobile phones achieve similar results.

Long the domain of the serious business user, BlackBerry seems to be positioning itself to make in impact on the casual smartphone fan.  The BlackBerry Bold 9700 offers a slimmer design and first-rate media features, which will have the consumer market buzzing. 

Pros

Like previous BlackBerry mobile phones, the Bold 9700 shines in mobile email applications and has a fantastic battery life.  The handset is slim yet solid and feels comfortable in hand.  The original Bold rollerball has been replaced with a brilliantly responsive optical trackpad.

The keyboard is a pleasure to navigate, with solid and evenly spaced keys.  Users will never miss a trendy touchscreen.
Aside from mobile communications, the Bold 9700 also functions admirably as a music and media player.  The display screen is crisp and detailed, perfect for high resolution video playback.  They music player interface is comprehensive, audio quality is good, and the 3.5mm headphone jack is a nice touch.

The camera has an autofocus system and produces decent quality images, making this a passable alternative to a digital camera in a pinch.

Cons

New BlackBerry users will need some time to learn the confusing text-based menus.

The enter key doubles as the send key in SMS messaging mode and is positioned very near the delete button, which could lead to some embarrassing slip-ups for careless texters.

Conclusion

With the Bold 9700, BlackBerry takes a strong step into the broader consumer market.  Balancing work and play with ease, it holds up well against the latest mobile phones from competitors.

The BlackBerry 7100x was one of RIM’s earliest attempts at a more phone-like device.  Introduced in 2005, the 7100x was one of the BlackBerry mobile phones that aimed to combine messaging features with call quality.

Pros

Mobile email access is strong on the 7100x, with support for both corporate and internet accounts.  Users can install up to ten webmail accounts and there’s a maximum of 5MB of data storage integrated into the device.  Microsoft Office attachments open on the 7100x, and there are several useful apps preloaded to help business users manage contacts and appointments.

Even with its rather primitive technology, the 7100x is capable of displaying basic websites adequately, pulling up pages relatively quickly.

Cons

The email system does not preserve formatting on attachments, which could pose problems for heavily designed documents like Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentation.  Also, there’s no support for PDF files.  The low resolution screen (240×260) makes it difficult to properly view large or complex documents.

The 7100x is one of the few BlackBerry mobile phones without a full QWERTY keyboard, so some users may experience initial frustration in trying to learn the key positions.

The web browser functions passably for a phone without Wi-Fi or 3G, but sites with loads of graphics tend to load impossibly slowly and with poor image quality.

Conclusion

The 7100x contains many proprietary features, as it was developed for O2 customers.  Though most of the functions have been replaced by new mobile phones with better technology, the 7100x is still one of the best mobile phone deals for O2 fans looking for a low-tech handheld device. If the features do not meet requirements, then browse mobile phone reviews and mobile phone news sites for a suitable alternative based on desired specs.

This updated version of the BlackBerry Storm boasts several improvements on the original model and some really great features. The Storm 2 9520 comes with a Wi-Fi application that makes connecting to the internet while on the go even easier. Its sturdy and stylish design makes it the perfect accessory from boardroom meetings to shopping with friends.

The Storm 2 has a clickable touch screen with little to no lag behind while typing which is a big improvement on the original model. The rotating screen is another feature that is popular with some users allowing the change of viewing from portrait to landscape with just a turn of the handset. Memory capacity is smaller than some at 256MB but the phone supports SD memory cards with up to 2GB capacity.

There are many new mobile phones on the market at the moment, but the BlackBerry mobile phones are still a very popular choice. When you compare mobile phones against the Storm 2 you may find that this particular model is not as strong in some areas, such as with the lack of media apps available. Also, the battery life appears to be shorter than with other mobile phones and charging with the USB cable is very slow.

The clickable screen may be awkward to use and confusing for those trying to navigate round it for the first time but is very easy to get the hang of after a few tries and some may find the placement of the headphone jack awkward as it is located on the side of the handset and might be better placed at the top.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is not a high end mobile phone with blow your mind specifications, but instead offers some popular functions for those looking to own a BlackBerry on a budget.

On offer with this phone is a Wi-Fi facility ideal for those needing to connect to the internet while on the move and access to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook means staying connected couldn’t be easier, although the lack of 3G means lower downloading speeds.

For such a cheap mobile phone the sound quality is very good and the Curve 8520 offers independent music control buttons, so you can stop, play, pause and fast forward whenever you please, even if the phone is tucked away in your pocket. It boasts a full QWERTY keypad and has a sharp, clear and bright screen making texting easier.

BlackBerry mobile phones are often pricey, but in order to make the Curve 8520 available to those with smaller budgets they have forfeited popular functions such as GPS. The camera is of average quality and has no flash and the keypad can be slightly harder to use as it is smaller than on other models.

The lack of 3G is off putting, and it loses some good functions and sacrifices quality in a few areas to keep cost low, but for someone looking for their first BlackBerry mobile phone this is a decent all round option and one of the best cheap mobile phones on the market.

Blackberry mobile phones are ‘love them’ or ‘hate them’ technologies, however, one of the latest mobile phone deals on offer is the new Blackberry Storm 9520 that is a definite break from the traditional designs that we are used to seeing from this manufacturer.  Gone is the full QWERTY keyboard and in its place a full touch screen that allows you to select with ease.  This is possibly the best looking Blackberry currently on offer, and certainly doesn’t fall into the cheap mobile phones category.  When this baby hits the shelves properly it is going to be a popular contract mobile phone as the price on the pay as you go, or SIM free, is going to put it out of most people’s price range.

The Blackberry Storm 2 9520 looks like being one of the most promising mobiles on release at the moment, however in order to really know, the market is waiting with baited breath for the mobile phone reviews to start circulating so that we can find out what the critics really think. 

One feature that sounds really impressive is the fact that this handset has built in Wi-Fi technology, which means that this mobile can hop easily onto the wireless network system.  This provides an easy way to update your software or download the latest tunes, and with the built in memory card slot you can download as many tunes as the card will store. All these features make this potentially the best Blackberry mobile phone on the market today.

BlackBerry 8520 mobile phone reviews conclude that this is the beginner BlackBerry.  It comes with the new trackpad system, full QWERTY keyboard, mobile email, camera, and multi-media player. It has a good connectivity and makes an excellent introduction to the brand.

Opinions do differ between the new trackpad and the trackball system, with some commentators preferring the older style trackpad, while others find the trackball really responsive and easy to use.

While its screen and camera are not as high spec as higher end models, its not a G3, so there’s no GPS, but it more than makes up for that in other areas, with good memory, and ease of use for emails and text. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, mini USB and a 3.5mm jack point, which is ideal for attaching headphones, hands free kit or car stereo.

Not the most sophisticated social networking smart phone but it does give you reasonable access to the likes of Twitter and Facebook, with decent email functionality.

The Curve is more robust, when compared to the BlackBerry Pearl with a good clear screen and sharp sounding speakers. The screen is a little small, but they have also included dedicated multimedia keys for audio track play, selection and advancing. There is criticism of the quality of the camera as it is only two megapixels and has no flash, and the keyboard is not as comfortable as on other models.

Although there are drawbacks in certain areas with budget BlackBerry mobile phones, the Curve is a good buy.