As if to underscore the importance of the standard QWERTY-style keyboard, RIM has produced a line of Blackberry smartphones that not only feature a touchscreen that’s quite capable in its own right, but also an actual keyboard, rather than trying to share a screen. touch with a keyboard.
A mid-range smartphone that offers users a line of applications produced or endorsed by Research In Motion (RIM) that are extensively tested, the Blackberry Bold 9780 is also a particularly useful piece of smartphone equipment because of the QWERTY style keyboard.
No, it’s not the kind of keyboard you might use to write a long email, story, or note, but it’s the style of keyboard that, like the clamshell from Sanyo and Samsung we’re all too familiar with, makes it that much more easy thumb messaging. With touchscreen-based keyboards, you end up turning daylight off your screen when it starts to lose its sensitivity or using a stylus which can also slow things down.
A real keyboard, on the other hand, is there. It’s meant to take the abuse delivered to a keyboard and it’s surprisingly fast.
That the 9780 has this type of keyboard illustrates that at least one major manufacturer believes in the future of the keyboard and its usefulness. Also, since it’s actually a smartphone, the Blackberry Bold 9780 has quite a few apps that have been approved for use with newer RIM operating systems like 6.0. Standard RIM for Research in Motion and they make the Bold.
The Bold has several features, including a talk time approaching six hours or more, if not connected to a charger with the correct charging interface/cable. If so, then your battery health is borderline.
The 9790 is designed to work with both quad-band services in the 800 to 2100 MHz bands. Those services include GSM, EDGE, GPRS, HSPDA, and the like. No, it won’t work with CDMA devices, but like its more expensive cousins, it also offers not just standard wireless service, but WiFi service as well.
Acting in standard or text phone mode, the 9780 is a pretty smart device and when you add the 5 MP rear camera and auto capability, you find you have a pretty good device on your hands. However, when you add WiFi capability, you’ve just doubled the usefulness of the device, as it can not only deliver your messages and calls via standard cellular media, but you can also use WiFi to broadcast your messages. In fact, if your home network understands Bluetooth, you will not only be able to use the Bluetooth capability of High Contrast Color, but you will also be able to interconnect the Bluetooth service capability in your home network. It’s a nice feature that not only gives you reasonable range with Bluetooth, but you can also use it to help stream sound and other prominent apps.
At 4.3 by 0.6 by 2.3 inches and 4.3 ounces, it’s a lightweight smartphone with a lot going for it. It is true that the keyboard may seem superfluous at first, but give it a try and you will see that you really like it.