BLACKBERRY BOLD 9900Price: Rs 32,490
Specs: 2.8-inch touch; 5 MP camera; 8GB memory, expandable to 32 GB; EDGE, Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, A-GPS; 130 gm; 1230 mAh battery.
BAG IT OR JUNK IT? BlackBerry loyalist will certainly love to upgrade to this phone
There was a time when BlackBerry used to enjoy an enviable position among the corporate set. Its secure push email was so popular that RIM could afford to omit even basics like a camera. But the evolution of the smartphone market forced RIM to come up with something innovative. Launched some time back, Torch, a bulky touch phone with a slider QWERTY keypad, received mixed response from the users. Trying to impress everyone, BlackBerry has now introduced the Bold 9900.
All BlackBerry smartphones look alike and the Bold 9900 is no different. Be it a touch or a non-touch phone, the basic design of the BlackBerry branding has a display with five basic functions keys at the bottom. These include call answer, option, mouse pad, back and call cancel key. There usually is a well-laid QWERTY keypad below that. It is only the thickness and the broadness of the handset that differentiate it from others. Although broad, the Bold 9900 is just 10.5 mm thick. A metal rim running along the corners gives it a rich look. The phone boasts a 2.8 inch capacitive touch display that is usually used for navigating or selecting. The physical QWERTY keypad is very comfortable to use, making it the best in the industry. By far we had one of the best experience of a touch and type candy bar.
RIM has not only focused on looks but has also given the much needed attention to the internal hardware and software. With the launch of the Bold 9900, BlackBerry also released BB OS7. The interface looks similar to the OS6: a strip of six apps running on the homescreen. Touching the header reveals another two set of rows with six apps each and dragging it down hides it completely. With all applications placed under 'Applications' , there are customised headers, including favourites, media, download and frequent. Unlike the notification bar in Android phones that appears on the top, the one on BlackBerry is placed neatly below the time. From the single bar, you can control profiles, view pending notifications such as calls, emails, social feeds, messages, etc, and even search. With every alphabet typed, it customises the search across all applications, including Google Search. If you prefer, it also supports voice search.
A similar user interface was found on the Torch but the liquid graphics added in OS7 makes it look vibrant as colours have been added to the phone's native icons. Having one of the fastest single core processors, a1.2GHz processor, along with 786MB RAM, the phone has the advantage of enhanced performance. It comes with a much faster web browser that supports pinch and zoom. The OS7 brings NFC capability to the smartphone but unfortunately, it is only an upcoming technology. A 5 MP camera is placed at the back. It captures impressive images.
The phone's camcorder is capable of capturing videos at 720p resolution. We don't have many complaints about the battery either as with multiple email accounts configured along with access to social feeds, BBM and WhatsApp, it easily managed to get through a day's usage.
BLACKBERRY HS 300 Price: Rs 2,400
BAG IT OR JUNK IT? An impressive Bluetooth headset you will fall in love with.
BlackBerry isn't a known name in the accessory space and even we were skeptical about the accessories the company shared with us. But a look at the HS- 300 surprised us-a cute looking, compact Bluetooth headset peeping out of the transparent packing with words 'Take Charge' mentioned below. Done in black with the BlackBerry logo on the top, it is light and really comfortable to wear. A slider key placed on the side with LED indicator, it makes turning it on/ off easy while saving the power. The front panel is a multifunctional key that mutes and turn off mute during an ongoing call. A long press accepts voice commands and two taps can end a call.
The HS 300 supports voice prompts. For instance, as soon as you connect the headset, it says connected. Similarly, when tapped once, it activates mute. As claimed by the company, a quick 15 minute charging gives it the power to run for two hours. And a complete charge gave us close to four hours of talktime. You might point out that the volume control is missing from the headset, but you will find it has an automatic voice control that increase the volume when in noisy surroundings.
Easy to pair with most of the phones, we tested it with BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro. It has four ear pieces and a hook to customise it.
BLACKBERRY VM 605 Price: Rs 4,699
BAG IT OR JUNK IT? At its price, you could consider getting this one for your car.
"Is it a phone? It's definitely a new phone from BlackBerry. But where is the keypad?" were the first few words that a friend blurted when we unpacked the BlackBerry Visor Mount Bluetooth Speakerphone - VM-605. The first look reminded us of the movie Alien vs Predator due to its flawless gloss finish. But how would somethign the size of a handset look when mounted on a car's sun visor? Not bad we say.
The front panel acts as call control and the speaker grill is placed below the control clubbed with a line of LED indicators above the call button. It can be used for phone calls and for playing music as it supports A2DP. The voice clarity over the speakerphone was excellent at both the ends. It has an FM transmitter, music playback and GPS navigation directions over the car's audio system. The VM605 delivered over 10 hours of talk time on a single charge. It actually turns itself off after a long period of inactivity, unlike other car kits that only go to sleep. It worked well with most phones we tested it on, including a Nokia N8 and N900. But the best part was pairing it with the latest Bold 9900.
The BlackBerry VM-605 comes only with a car charger, which is quite a letdown should you want to charge it at home. For Rs 4,699 the VM-605 makes you a safer driver without burning a hole in your pocket.
SONY ERICSSON XPERIA MINI PROPrice: Rs 15,000
Specs: 3-inch display; 5 MP camera; 512 MB RAM, 400 MB storage, 32GB expandable; EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS; 136 gm; 1200 mAh battery
BAG IT OR JUNK IT? Compact yet feature loaded. Value for money.
Wondering why are we reviewing the Xperia Mini Pro now when it was launched last year? Sony Ericsson has come up with an upgrade that not only shares the same name but even looks like its predecessor. The original Mini Pro had a compact design packing a touch display and a slide-out QWERTY keypad. The new Mini Pro has both but the welcome addition is the bigger 3-inch display.
The onscreen QWERTY keypad in portrait mode proves a utility feature as it eliminates the need to slide out the physical keypad every time you want to type. It runs on the latest version of Android OS, v2.3 and has a 1GHz processor (rare in this price segment). It smartly handled push mail account and auto sync for Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. The web browsing experience was decent. It comes preloaded with WhatsApp, Foursquare, LiveWare Manager, Extension Search, Wave Secure, Virus Scan, Moxier Pro, UEFA.com. It has a 5 MP camera and a good 1200 mAh battery.
SONY ERICSSON W8: MUSICAL DROID
Price: Rs 9,900
Specs: 3-inch display; 3.2 MP camera; 168 MB RAM, expandable up to 16GB; EDGE, 3G,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; 108 grams; 1200 mAh battery.
BAG IT OR JUNK IT? Perfect combination of music and brains.
Back in 2009, Sony Ericsson brought its Cyber-shot and Walkman series under one hood, Entertainment Unlimited. With the launch of yet another Walkman phone, the W8, it looks like the company is trying to relaunch its Walkman-series. Combining the smartness of the Android operating system with what was once considered the best in music, the W8 is a compact device weighing 108 gm and comes with two back covers-bright orange and simple black. It supports touch input and has a 3-inch capacitive display. The customised Sony Ericsson interface for small display has a dedicated icon each on four corners and one can add widgets in the homescreen. Operating on the older version of the OS, Android v2.1, the phone does offer an onscreen QWERTY keypad in portrait mode that made typing relatively easy.
However, with v2.3 aka Gingerbread already available, the older Android version is a bit disappointing. Falling under smartphone category, this phone can handle push email, web browsing and videos with ease. By entering Google account details, we were able to download applications from the Android market without any hassle.
On the music front, it has a lot many things to offer. Being a member of the Walkman series, the sound output was good. The interface of the music player is simple but equaliser is missing from this phone. The standard pair of headphone included in the pack was comfortable to wear. A pair of wired portable speaker bundled in the sales pack is equally good. With the pause/play control added to the speaker, it automatically turns into a speaker while accessing calls. There is also a small FM accessory added to the pack using which users who want to enjoy FM radio over loudspeaker, doesn't need to connect the headphone. This small accessory works as the antenna. Overall, it impressed us with its music capability.
For all this, the W8 is powered by a 600 MHz processor and 168MB RAM. The review unit we received did slow down and restart automatically a couple of times. What disappointed us a bit was the average battery backup that hardly lasted a day with heavy usage on a single charge. If used carefully, it can last a day.
