May 13, 2008 Research In Motion (RIM) has introduced the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, plus a next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor for downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also gets a newly designed full-QWERTY keyboard, with AZERTY and QWERTZ configurations to support different language groups also available, and a half-VGA (480x320 resolution) color LCD, which is fused to the undersurface of the lens, improving definition and clarity.
The support for 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards provide even broader high-speed network coverage, making the phone suitable for use in enterprise or campus wireless LAN deployments, over Wi-Fi hotspots and on wireless home networks. A new "Push Button Setup" is included, making it faster for users to connect to protected wireless networks that require a sign on process and, through its integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can pinpoint its exact location, supporting applications like BlackBerry Maps and other location-based applications or services. With its improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone even allows users to navigate while on a call.
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone’s audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It also comes with Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals. It is a quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSDPA handset that supports global roaming and features noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.
It comes with the standard BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser - users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz Documents to Go suite. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in "Page View" or "Column View" or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP – real-time streaming protocol).
Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the Bold works with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments, as well as BlackBerry Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), and the BlackBerry Unite! software for SOHO and home users.
Though aimed primarily at business use also, a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability and built-in flash is included, along with an enhanced media player that can play movies smoothly in full screen mode and manage an entire music collection. The media player also gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters that boost or soften audio ranges and for managing music and video, Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry as well as Roxio Photosuite 9 LE, is built-in or for users that manage their collection with iTunes, the new BlackBerry Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync digital music collections. Audio can be played in stereo over the handset’s dual speakers, and when using wired headphones or external speakers.
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case or sleeve and USB cable. Replaceable leather-like backplates that come in a range of colors are also available. The removable/rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery provides multi-hour usage with a target talk time of approximately 5 hours and 13 days standby time. Also included is 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot that is accessible from a side door with the BlackBerry Bold expected to support upcoming 16GB microSD/SDHC cards.
The Blackberry Bold smartphone (model number: 9000) is scheduled to be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this northern hemisphere summer.
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