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Boy Genius Reviews the BlackBerry Bold!

by Kevin Michaluk on 15 Jul 2008 01:15 PM
18
 

BG's BlackBerry Bold

Wow does time ever fly. It's been over two months since we posted the web's first review of the BlackBerry 9000. We spilled the beans on the then yet-to-be-named or officially announced BlackBerry Bold, and as we warned on every post in our review series, the review was conducted on what was likely a pre-production device that would feature some further improvements come full release.

Today the Boy Genius put up a solid review of a full-production BlackBerry Bold. It's definitely worth a read and it's nice to have confirmation that some of the OS enhancements that we didn't see in the early version of OS4.6 we reviewed have made their way onto the device as promised, including some cool tweaks to BlackBerry Messenger and a much-improved web browser. What's less cool are some of the potential hardware issues that have been observed... while BG says the overall build quality of the device is solid ("There are no creaks with the device, and it seems sturdy as heck"), he noticed the Bold's display scratches easily. Don't worry, we'll keep a big supply of BlackBerry Bold Screen Protectors in stock at ShopCrackBerry.com. At least the performance of the display is second to none. According to BG, "It is the most vibrant, color-rich, sharp screen we’ve ever seen on a mobile device".

Take a gander at the full review (warning: BGR site is crawling today, so have patience) and be sure to report back with your thoughts and comments!

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18 Comments

Posted by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

yay can't waaaiiiittttttt!!!!!!!

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

I just spoke with one of the managers for the BlackBerry Bold production here in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. And he says that RIM ordered last week, and will be receiving this week brand new screens for their production Bolds.

It sounds like the unit that BGR has isn't a 100% production unit. Carrier testers, beta Testers, and other software testers also got units without the final revision/update of the screen.

This is great news. And I can truly say it has 100% accuracy.

 
 
Posted by Bla1ze Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

So does that accuracy seem to indicate we shouldn't be holding our breath for a July 25th date for Rogers?

 
 
Posted by brice.berry Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

someone please tell me>>> is tmo(usa) getting the bold cause if not goodbye tmo (even though i thnk they have the best phone plans ever)

 
 
Posted by inkwell Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

why not just get an unlocked Bold and use that on Tmo? And isn't it a fact that it is going to AT&T and the Javelin is going to Tmo. And since Tmo doesn't have a perfected 3g, than why gt the Bold. Now if this is what you want more than the career's service, than I can see the reason for the switch

 
 
Posted by harryzwd Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

i cant see how someone could be using this phone for a month as stated - and expect that it was a FINAL production unit. that phone had to be manufactured well before it ever got into the end users hands...making it much older than that. i hope the build quality of the final units are better than that found on the one in this review.

 
 
Posted by kbrown Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

good catch! I read the whole review and was wondering why there were so many obvious defects in a production ready build, but now it seems obvious that they have a pre-production build, especially if they claim to have had the device for some time.

 
 
Posted by ncbuckeye Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

I think the Bold will eventually go to TMO and the Javelin will go to att, just a matter of when.

 
 
Posted by IAmTheWalrus Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

I was really syched about this product, but what BGR has written has given me pause before I switch providers and plunk down the money:
- Screen and casings that scratch easily, with statements like "The chrome you see on the Bold is nothing more than cheap plastic that scratches very easily"
- Constatly having to pull the battery several times a day
- Long startup times in excess of several minutes.
- Software errors 10 days before release which include "constant java errors, and the BlackBerry completely losing service and informing us it’s “Searching for Network…”."

Maybe I'll wait for the initial reviews, and then hold out for the second generation units if this this the problems the initial shipset will have.

 
 
Posted by renegade37918 Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

see any wrong with the bold

 
 
Posted by Wa Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

OMG ... this sounds dissapointing to say the least.
Whoa nelly! I may have to put the brakes on a sub par product if these items turn out to be true.

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

Most phones scratch very easily, that is why PDA phones should always be in cases or holsters. And instead of pulling the battery they could of done a soft reset. Exactly like the Curve.

 
 
Posted by CrazEtooN Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

Whether you pull the battery, or soft reset, it shouldn't be needed 10 times in one day. By the way, a battery pull and a soft reset on a Curve is not the same thing.

 
 
Posted by Kevin Michaluk Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

What's kinda weird is that my pre-release early OS 9000 was actually pretty stable. Got a bit warm, but didn't freeze up on me *that* often.

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

I think the 10 times a day thing is an great exaggeration. If you run 3rd party apps, perhaps. But that would be due to the 3rd party apps not fully supporting the 9000 YET.

And as he describes his usage: "300-500 emails a day, one hour of web surfing over 3G, Wi-Fi usually turned on, Bluetooth turned off, JiveTalk connected, and around one hour of phone calling (we don’t really use the BlackBerry as a phone) lasted us from 9AM until 4:30AM."

To me that's quite a heavy user! So even if it were true that he pulled the battery 10 times a day, it will vary with usage, no?!

 
 
Posted by speedmetal69 Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

I was just surfing tigerdirect.ca and have seen that they are taking pre-orders for the BOLD!!
Sorry but the link won't work on this site :(
So go to tigerdirect.ca and search for smart phones and it's the last item on the last page.

 
 
Posted by BlckBrryMD Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

I'm not worried, all of the early reviews have been with versions that are NOT the final spec and build. I haven't pulled the battery on my BBB8820 in months and I haven't wiped and reinstalled everything in months. Sounds to be like the early build still has a few bugs. Apple locks their stuff down, but RIM is wide open. Mobile ME isn't so "push" anymore as Apple quickly changes the wording (bait and switch) is what that is. Sounds like Apple can't keep it upm their servers that is, maybe they need some WIndows Servers or Linux servers.

 
 
Posted by hax0r Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 1307 days ago

How is your screen holding up and how is the plastic as far as scratches?