RIM BlackBerry BOLD 8900 Review: Dare You Go! (PDA, unlock, Repair, Auckland)

Some handsets will work their socks off to have their fifteen minutes of fame, others are simply born into stardom. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is certainly fortunate to carry a name that stands for popularity and excellence in the RIM family of phones. But this kind of fame can be less a blessing and more of a curse if the successor fails to live up to the standards set by its illustrious namesake.

These high expectations have quite often turned otherwise decent handsets into a byword for failure. It's simply not enough to provide incremental improvements when upgrading an iconic handset. The iPhone somehow gets away with that, but Apple usually does. But for regular mobile phone manufacturers it takes something new and it certainly takes something better for the successor to achieve the same kind of success.

Key features:

2.44" 65K-color TFT landscape display with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels

Comfortable four-row full QWERTY keyboard

Quad-band GSM support and tri-band 3G with HSDPA

Wi-Fi and built-in GPS and BlackBerry maps preloaded

3.15 autofocus megapixel camera, LED flash

624 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM

BlackBerry OS v5

Responsive trackpad navigation

Hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)

DivX and XviD video support

Good web browser

Office document editor

3.5 mm audio jack

Decent audio quality

Smart dialing

Great battery life

More compact body and lighter weight compared to the Bold 9000

Good build quality

Main disadvantages:

Many features are locked without a BlackBerry Internet Service account (plan)

Mediocre camera performance and features

No FM radio

No video-call camera

No TV-out functionality

No built-in accelerometer

No built-in compass

It's pretty obvious where the RIM R&D team is heading with the BlackBerry Bold 9700. It's hard to really overhaul a handset that was considered almost perfect by most of its users without testing their loyalty, so they embarked on optimization instead. It's not a bad formula for success to just keep the same functionality, stick it in a smaller, fitter body and improve the performance wherever possible.

One glitch or an important feature sacrificed to fit the compact package and the plan goes down the tubes. The smartphone market is increasingly competitive and smaller companies like RIM know they have little room for error. The new Bold 9700 looks fit and hot, no doubt about that. Let's see if it performs to our expectations, and yours.

Note: If you have any question about Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS or Apple iPhone 4 repair, unlock, jailbreak or broken screen replacement, feel free to get in touch with Abby Technology Limited.

We specialise in the mobile phone repair, BlackBerry Storm repair, Blackberry Pearl unlock, UK cell phone network unlocking and Apple iPhone repair in North Shore, Auckland; Wellington, Hamilton and Christchurch, New Zealand.

__________________

This post is sponsored by:

Abby Technology Limited

Mt Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand

Mobile: +64212640000, abbytechnology[a]gmail.com

Sony Ericsson Elm Preview: The First Look (Tech, News, Mobile Phone Repair, Unlock)

The Sony Ericsson may be green at heart but it sure looks like a red hot package complete with imaging, connectivity and novel design. Makers are keen to ride the green wave and phones are rushing to catch up. It seemed Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart had a slow start. But after a nice and easy rehash and the no-frills Naite, the GreenHeart is getting a speed boost with the Elm and the Hazel. Eco-friendly materials are combined with top-notch features and the already must-have social networking.

The Elm is not the standard feature phone we've got used to seeing from Sony Ericsson. Its true power is well hidden inside and the exterior makes sure the Elm will take more than a casual look. This candybar packs all the connectivity you will ever need - Wi-Fi, DLNA, GPS receiver, Bluetooth, 3G support with HSPA and microSD card slot.

Sony Ericsson Elm at a glance:

General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
UMTS 900/2100
GPRS/EDGE class 10, HSDPA 7.2Mbps

Form factor: Candybar

Dimensions: 110 x 45 x 14 mm, 90 g

Display: 2.2" 256K-color TFT display, 240 x 320 pixel resolution

Memory: 280MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)

UI: Proprietary Flash-based UI

Still camera: 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, smile detection

Video recording: VGA @ 30fps

Connectivity: Wi-Fi with DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, GPS receiver with A-GPS and Wisepilot trial

Misc: Splash-resistant body, accelerometer sensor for screen auto rotation, SensMe, Noise Shield, Clear Voice and Intelligent Volume Adaptation, social networking integration with homescreen Widget Manager, HD Voice Ready

Battery: 1000mAh BST-43 Li-Pol battery

Surely, the specs above reveal the Elm's intention to give you a square deal besides the eco-friendly factor. In this quick preview we'll be trying to look beyond the promises the Sony Ericsson Elm is making. The handset we have is far from mature software-wise but the hardware is all there and the finish looks good. The trademark Sony Ericsson Flash-based UI is at its usual best but some of the promised extras will obviously have to wait for a more final unit and a proper review.

The Facebook integration is no news since the C901, but the Elm is keen to bring more - Facebook, Twitter and MySpace all a click away on your homescreen, courtesy of a novel widget system.

Since none of those are available on our test sample, we guess widgets and social networking will perhaps be the final touches to the Elm - and some of it will even be left to carriers themselves. But there's still enough stuff to check about an ambitious handset with a small environmental footprint and a long spec sheet.

This post is sponsored by:

David Lim (Mobile Phone Repair and Unlock blog author)

Auckland, New Zealand

Mobile: +64211172222

Lock Your Spot before 15 May, 2010 and change your life 360 degree from 16 May 2010. It will change the way you feel, act and live! Tell your friends now or someone else will!

Lock your spot before May 16, 2010 and change your future forever! What - Who - Give -Watch

How bad is your Apple iPhone 3GS phone signal? (Tech News, Report, Auckland)

Do you have trouble getting the most of out of that expensive smartphone because your operator's 3G network just isn't up to scratch? If so, Radio 4's Today programme would like to know about your problems.

Many iPhone users have been complaining for months that they're not getting the service they expect because O2's network is overloaded. I called last year to complain about the patchy coverage in my area of west London where the 3G symbol often just disappears from my phone - and was told there was a problem with a dead patch where the network had not been able to install a new mast.

Just after Christmas, Ronan Dunne, O2's chief executive, admitted that he was very disappointed in the network's performance in London and blamed it on the explosion in data use by all those proud smartphone owners, who'd acquired iPhone apps and were determined to use them. But he insisted that the problem was restricted to the capital and was being eased by major investment in the network.

So what's your experience of this and other 3G networks? Is O2 any worse than Orange or Vodafone which now both have the iPhone as well as a range of other data-hungry phones? And is it true that the problem is restricted to the capital - or are there other problem areas, where 3G coverage is supposed to be there but often fades away.

On Friday, Mr Dunne will be appearing on the Today programme, and by then we'd like to have a better idea of the state of the 3G networks in the UK. My impression is that they're facing huge strains as millions of people discover that modern phones are mini-computers which can do all sorts of clever things online - if the networks are up to it.

If you have any questions on Apple iPhone 3GS, 4 unlocking or Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS repair and jailbreaking, please do feel free to contact us.  Abby Technology Limited (3071547) provides professional level of Apple iPhone jailbrea unlocking and insurance claims assessment services.  If you Vodafone Apple iPhone is out-of-warranty, Abby Technology Limited will be the one happy to look after you!  Our email is abbytechnology[a]gmail.com

Lock Your Spot before 15 May, 2010 and change your life 360 degree from 16 May 2010. It will change the way you feel, act and live! Tell your friends now or someone else will!

Lock your spot before May 16, 2010 and change your future forever! What - Who - Give -Watch

Skippy Lim at garden, Auckland, New Zealand (Apple iPhone 3GS used)

My adorable Skippy, posing at the garden (home), Auckland, New Zealand. I used the
Apple 3GS's camera to take this shot on 23-12-2009.