Buy BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (T-Mobile) Low Price Now
BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (T-Mobile) Reviews
Powerful and refined, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone for T-Mobile includes built-in support for both 3G connectivity and voice calls over Wi-Fi networks (802.11b/g). Enabled for T-Mobile's expanding high-speed 3G network, the Bold 9700 offers fast data delivery and an enhanced Web-browsing experience that lets you connect quickly to social networking sites such as Facebook. And, of course, you'll enjoy all the communication and connectivity features you've come to expect from a BlackBerry phone--including email served up by the BlackBerry Internet Service and a full menu of messaging options (SMS, MMS, and IM). The BlackBerry Bold offers built-in support for 3G cellular connectivity and both data downloads and voice calls over Wi-Fi. |
 Other features include access to BlackBerry App World, a 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera with video capture capabilities, and Bluetooth connectivity. |
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 offers easy access to BlackBerry App World, the official app store for BlackBerry smartphones, enabling you to browse and download fun and functional mobile applications to their phone. Many applications are readily available directly on the smartphone, such as Slacker Radio for easy access to free music, TeleNav GPS Navigator for turn-by-turn directions (trial version), and visual voicemail for easier access and response to voicemails.
Staying Connected
With BlackBerry's push email technology, your email will find you without having to initiate a connection. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, notifying you as new email arrives. In addition to the text, you can also receive and view attachments in a wide range of popular file formats, including Microsoft Office, Corel WordPerfect, and Adobe PDF. Browse the web with the integrated, full-featured browser, which quickly and efficiently displays HTML pages as well as enables you to set up RSS feeds to stay connected to up-to-the-minute news and blog posts. And keep up with your contacts using a variety of instant message (IM) networks, including the integrated Blackberry Messenger as well as downloadable clients for Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, and Lotus Sametime.For corporate users, this BlackBerry device delivers all the enterprise email and messaging capabilities you've come to expect. It's supported on the BlackBerry Internet Service, giving you access to up to 8 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, enabling advanced security and IT administration within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments.
Key Features : BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (T-Mobile)
- Fast 3G connectivity via T-Mobile's HSDPA/UMTS network (1700/2100 MHz bands, UMTS/HSDPA; see more about T-Mobile's 3G service below)
- Unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi Calling with T-Mobile's Unlimited HotSpot Calling service or the new Wi-Fi Calling with MobileOffice solution for business customers. Get great coverage at home when used with a T-Mobile HotSpot @Home wireless router, and receive unlimited nationwide calls over Wi-Fi, at home or at any U.S. T-Mobile HotSpot. (Learn more)
- Quad-band GSM phone for good global voice connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands)
- BlackBerry OS 5.0
- Support for BlackBerry App World featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include travel, productivity, entertainment, games, social networking and sharing, news and weather, and more.
- Visual Voicemail enables you to listen to your voicemail messages in any order, respond in one click and easily manage your inbox without ever dialing in to the network.
- GPS navigation and location-based services via BlackBerry Maps and other third-party solutions. (Learn more)
- 2.44-inch display with 480 x 360-pixel resolution and 65K color depth.
- 35-key backlit QWERTY keyboard
- 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, image stabilization, 2x digital zoom, flash, and geotagging capabilities.
- Video capture capabilities with up to 480 x 352-pixel resolution for sharing (176 x 144 pixels for sending via MMS)
- Multi-format digital audio and video player with compatibility for MP3, WMA 9 Pro/WMA 10, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, and more.
- BlackBerry Media Sync is built right into your BlackBerry Desktop Software and lets you sync your desktop iTunes or Windows Media Player music files with your BlackBerry smartphone. If you're a Mac user, just choose the "media" option and you're ready to sync your iTunes music collection from your BlackBerry smartphone onto your Mac.
- Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity with stereo music streaming (A2DP) capabilities as well as hands-free headsets and car kits.
- Memory expansion via microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 32 GB. A 2 GB card is included with the phone, and it also has an internal 256 MB memory.
- Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging (via popular services including AOL, Yahoo!, Windows Live Messenger, and Google Talk)
- BlackBerry Browser for accessing Web sites.
- Organizer tools including calendar, task list, memo pad, and calculator
- Airplane mode allows you to listen to music while the cellular connectivity is turned off
- Integrated hands-free, full duplex speakerphone
- Voice-activated dialing capabilities
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 weighs 4.3 ounces and measures 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches. Its 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 6 hours of talk time, and up to 360 hours (15 days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies, as well as T-Mobile's 3G network (1700/2100 MHz).
What's in the Box
BlackBerry Bold 9700 handset, rechargeable battery, charger, 2 GB microSD memory card, USB cable, wired hands-free headset, BlackBerry Desktop Software, quick start guide, user manual
T-Mobile Services
- High-speed data connectivity via T-Mobile's 3G network: In addition to its quad-band GSM connectivity, this phone is also compatible with T-Mobile's UMTS/HSDPA 3G network, which operates on the 1700/2100 MHz AWS spectrum. This phone is designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE) to provide faster data speeds when accessing the Web or downloading content from the T-Mobile Web2go content portal. T-Mobile's 3G network now covers 170 million people in more than 235 cities nationwide and by the end of 2009 is planned to be available to approximately 200 million people across the U.S. In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the via T-Mobile's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.
While this phone is optimized for use with T-Mobile's high-speed 3G network, many of its functions will also work well on the moderate-speed EDGE network. If you plan to access the Internet extensively on your phone, 3G network coverage may serve you best.
Activities that work well on EDGE or 3G networks:- Email, instant messaging, and texting
- Downloading ringtones, CallerTunes, wallpaper, light data files
- Sending photographs via e-mail or picture messaging
- Viewing content-heavy websites (lots of images or videos playing)
- Viewing YouTube and other video files (they will play on EDGE, but require loading time)
- Uploading large files (photos, videos, presentations) to sharing websites
- Downloading large files from an e-mail or a website
- T-Mobile HotSpot Enabled service: Effortlessly transition between Wi-Fi calling and T-Mobile's wireless network while you talk with T-Mobile's Unlimited HotSpot Calling service or the new Wi-Fi Calling with MobileOffice solution for business customers. Unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi Calling requires either Unlimited HotSpot Calling mobile plan or Wi-Fi Calling with MobileOffice service, qualifying rate plan, broadband Internet connection and wireless router. Regular plan minutes are used when call does not originate on Wi-Fi network.
BlackBerry Maps
Always know where you are and how to get where you need to be with BlackBerry® smartphones featuring BlackBerry Maps and GPS (Global Positioning System) capabilities. Enter an address and receive directions to businesses, restaurants and other locations. Type or paste the information, or launch a map by clicking on a pre-existing address in your address book to view routes and step-by-step directions.- Interactive maps allow you to pan left, right, up and down and to zoom in and out
- Local search lets you find locations based on keywords. Enter a search term like "pizza" to find pizza places near you
- Send maps via email
- Bookmark your favorite locations for future reference
- Fully optimized for BlackBerry smartphones for fast loading times and efficient data usage
- BlackBerry Maps works with your current wireless network, so no carrier switching is required.
Technical Specifications
- Video format support: DivX 4, DivX 5/6 partially supported, XviD partially supported, H.263, H.264, WMV3, MPEG4, Sorenson Spark & On2 VP6(Flash support)
- Audio format support: .3gp, MP3, WMA9 (.wma/.asf), WMA9 Pro / WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, Professional AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
- Email support: BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service (POP3/IMAP4)
- IM client: Yahoo, MSN Live, AIM, Google Talk, ICQ
- USB connectivity: USB port allows charging and data synchronization of the device with a USB "A" to micro-USB "B" cable
- Bluetooth support: Mono/Stereo Headset, Hands-free, Serial Port Profile, Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP) and Bluetooth SIM Access Profile (version 2.1)
Customer Reviews
Great Phone From a former iPhone & Android User
I've been a long time AT&T costumer. I thought I could live without having an actual keyboard when it comes to texting, but after a week without my Sidekick Keyboard - I decided to ditch my Samsung Eternity for the Blackberry Bold 9700.
I was hesitant about purchasing this smart phone because I was never a fan of Blackberry's (RIMM). I had a BB during their initial boom in the early part of the new millennium. However, the poor browser, poor cell phone network, lackluster screen color, non desirable keyboard, awful battery life, whack OS, & lack of T9 predictive text just couldn't win me over.
After I realized that I couldn't text on a touch screen phone, unless it was the iPhone. I decided that I must have a cell phone device with an actual qwerty keyboard, if I expect to survive my text message & email addiction.
I picked up the Blackberry 9700 with my corporate discount and walked away with a nice high end phone at a very reasonable price. I have to say that I really enjoy the web browser on the new BB. You can zoom in & out with ease. I thought no browser could compare to the iPod Safari besides the Android G1, but after getting this device - I can safely say that this browser is also one of the best. Its right behind the safari and G1. Prior models were confined to small screens, thirty-five dollar internet only data plans, and no ability to zoom in or out. You were subjected to a small screen and reading small text till your eyes was squinting like grandmas.
Pros:
3G
New Optical Trackpad (Over the old Trackball)
Big vibrant screen
Threaded Text Messaging
3.5 MM headjack
New OS (Runs a bit quicker without the lag time)
Decent call quality
Excellent new broswer
Mini SD up to 32GB
Use your songs as ringers
Wi-Fi
Personal Email (Up to 10 accounts can be added)
IM
Themes
App Store
My Favs
Full HTML Web Browser (Sometimes)
Excellent Multimedia Player (Accepts every format possible)
Includes 2 chargers (Wall Charger & USB charger)
Includes ear phones and carry case
Cons:
For long time BB users, this device is really just a cosmetic upgrade with a new OS (Flashier Icons)
Micro USB (No more Mini USB)
Video & Camera (3.2 Megapixel as oppose to 8.0)
Cheap plastic rubber casing
Non RIMM Consumer Changes Mind!
For anyone who has wanted a BB but held off on getting one and want an entry level Blackberry at a decent price - this is the model to get. Everything about it is an upgrade. The device is basically the BB Bold with a different casing. The battery life could still use some more juice. With excessive email checking & non stop texting, the phone usually needs a charge after a day and a half of usage (Sometimes i can go a charge for 2 days before a charge so thats not bad). I did set the brightness of the phone to the lowest brightness available and it has lasted for a little over 2 days with no charge needed. Even on the lowest brightness, the screen is still very bright, sharp, & crisp. And i still do unlimited texting & web browsing. However, AT&T doesn't offer the best mobile minute plans on earth & their data plan is probably one of themost expensive around. They are fully aware that their signal is one of the best & in doing so, make up for it by charging their non-friendly services at non-friendly prices, which usually doesn't offers an abundant amount of minutes, unlimited data, internet, email, text etc will end up costing you a lot!
I pay under seventy bucks a month for a decent amount of mins & unlimited everything else. My friend has a similar plan on Verizon, its not unlimited, and her bill is always over a hundred each month.
3G and UMA - at last!
I can't say the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is pretty - it looks to me like a cheapie, bits of chrome and leather on a plastic casing, with a "keyboard" whose keys can only be operated by a kid. Blackberry used to make more fashionable phones.
But then, as they say in the world of motor vehicles, we get under the hood. This thing (in the version that T-Mobile sells) has: WiFi (a.k.a. wireless networking), 3G, GPS (free) and: UMA! This is too cool.
I am going to assume you're well familiar with the jargon by now, except perhaps for UMA. UMA, or Unlicensed Mobile Access, is a technology that lets you use a wireless Ethernet (WiFi, in common parlance) network for voice calls, using an otherwise standard GSM cellphone. It's been around for a while, and I've used the service for several years, but what excited me so much is that the Blackberry is the first phone T-Mobile offers that has both 3G and UMA. The terms I am using - 3G, EDGE, GPRS, UMA, all belong in the European GSM technical cellular standard, the same system that is used by T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless, in this country, a system that is in use in over 90% of the world. Verizon and Sprint are using an American developed technology called CDMA, which is, to all intents and purposes, dead outside the USA. American wireline companies, back when, had no option but to use this technology when cellular telephony was introduced, for very valid legal and regulatory reasons, but Verizon, Sprint and Nextel did not switch to GSM when they could, while other North American carriers did, and so their CDMA phones are unusable on anybody else's networks (with exception of a few specially designed hybrid handsets, which are effectively two cellphones in one, using two different carriers). A GSM phone you can buy anywhere, and use anywhere, provided it is a modern quadband phone, and it is "unlocked" (or "no-line", as it is called in parts of Asia) - all GSM phones can be.
But back to Blackberry's new Bold 9700, which I just began using. There is a lot wrong with it - the keys are too small, the display is too small, Blackberry has been trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. I understand they want to get as close to a "regular" cellular phone form factor as they can, while retaining Blackberry's PDA features, but they have gone too far, IMO. It is functional and usable, but a pain. The old Blackberry 6230 I got in 2004 is the smallest form factor that is comfortable to use as a PDA.
But there is a lot right with the Bold 9700, much more so than there is wrong. For one thing, I live somewhere with little cell service, so UMA, for me, is the ideal solution - when I get home my UMA phones automagically switch to my wireless network, and then I receive and make my calls using that. Additionally, calls made over WiFi do not count toward your airtime minutes, all calls within the United States are effectively completely free of charge. I can't tell you how wonderful this is - T-Mobile (the only carrier in the United States that offers UMA) charges a flat rate across my account to put UMA on all lines - and "Hotspot service" is available at most MacDonalds and Starbucks outlets in the US, too. The only problem was that the choice of handsets was limited, and no handset was available that offered 3G as well as UMA. They do exist - an LG phone available in Europe has UMA, but that is enabled only when you buy the phone from Orange in the UK or France.
Enter the new Blackberry. It has 3G and UMA, and more besides, like WiFi and GPS, something I have gotten used to as I have been using the Nokia 6110 Navigator 3G phone for this purpose since 2007. GPS shouldn't be in cars, it should be right in your hand, and go where you go. We stopped buying carphones, too, nobody in their right mind would have a phone locked to their vehicle, right? As I had not seen the magic "3G" indicator on the screen of one of my cellphones in the US, I drove out towards Fredericksburg after receiving and setting up the Blackberry 9700 I just bought. Much to my surprise, I got a good 3G signal on T-Mobile's network much closer to home than I expected - at the local Giant store, which sits in a nearby shopping center built only two years ago. That is actually on the edge of the semi-rural area I live in, where cellular service is spotty at best. And it is quite a bit farther from Fredericksburg than I had expected.
What is important about 3G? As many teenagers and students already know, you can have reasonable speed internet, voice and your primary life databases all in one device. There really is no longer a need (depending on where you live) to have anything "wired" any more. Especially a device like the Blackberry, coupled with a technologically savvy phone company like T-Mobile, gives you everything.
The device itself has 3G internet as well as WiFi internet, and it can, in T-Mobile's version, be used as a digital modem for your laptop or desktop computer - something called "tethering". Having a separate data card for your laptop is completely obsolete - using Google Voice, you can even have a secondary phone ring when the primary does, so you don't have to break your data connection when a call comes in. The cost of the second line is only $10 per month, good if you do a lot of talking as well as a lot of internetting at the same time. Having said that, with your laptop connected to the internet using a 3G connection on a 3G phone, you would be able to use Skype for voice communications, and need not bother with the phone in that respect.
Now, I gotta talk to you about GPS. You know the GPS units we've been getting for the car - standalone GPS, maps loaded on the device, etc. And then there is the GPS mobile phone companies are trying to sell us, which actually isn't GPS at all, but just a clever application that uses the GPS chip that has to, by law, built into a cellphone in the US, these days. Its sole purpose is to let the emergency services know where you are when you make a 911 call.
Unlike "true" GPS, this method relies on the phone using the chip to figure out your location, then downloading local maps, provided yours is a wireless broadband phone - 3G or EV-DO. That's fraught with problems - if you lose your network connection your GPS is dead, I've just experienced that with the LG phone I was trying out, whose GPS application spend most of its time not working, when it cannot get a data connection in the rural area that I live in. When I leave the house, where it uses my WiFi connection, it dies as soon as I am halfway down my driveway.
So: if you want a phone with GPS, you're best off getting one that can function as a standalone GPS unit. Like the Nokia 6110 Navigator I picked up in the Philippines in 2007 (they weren't sold in the US), which has a complete GPS unit, with Route 66 navigation software, and preloaded maps, those that are not included with the phone you can buy and download from Route 66. The Nokia (its successor is the Nokia 5800, which Nokia does sell in the US, but the 5800, too, uses instant download mapping) does the "on the fly" GPS as well, where you can access free maps from Nokia itself. Nokia does let you download maps to your PC using the Ovi Map downloader, but once you have them on your handset you have to buy a subscription if you want to use navigation with them.
I will be trying out RIM's own application, Blackberry Maps, which comes with the 9700, and which, from a quick peek, uses the on-the-fly download principle, but has a cache you can set the size of. I am hoping that cache will retain maps after they have been downloaded, obviating the need for 3G where there is none. At least this application comes with the phone for free, and can use WiFi as well as 3G and EDGE. With T-Mobile's Hotspot service, you could stop in at a Starbucks or McDonalds, I suppose, and download local maps using their free WiFi. Something I had gotten used to with my Nokia, using an external Bluetooth GPS antenna, the 9700 can do too. Using a GPS antenna built into the handset in a car, where the metal prevents the GPS antenna from functioning properly, is a headache - the external antenna you can park on the dash, against the windshield, its rechargeable battery will easily last a day or so, and the phone does not have to power its built in antenna. I am using Nokia's LD-3W antenna, which set me back $100, a couple of years ago. Holux M-1000 32 Channel Wireless Bluetooth GPS Receiver is a cheaper version, that works in the same fashion, providing a Bluetooth serial port.
For the moment, that is really all I can tell you, not having used this unit extensively. I have moved all of my email addresses to the Blackberry, although final storage of my email happens on one of my laptops, but it is very convenient to have the mobile alert me to all emails, and being able to weed out the spam directly from the phone. I've tried to get rid of all of the links and applications I don't need, loaded a very few apps that are central to my life: Tivo, Maps, Google Voice, Google Maps (just because I like seeing a picture of my house from satellite ;), synchronization is now set to go to Yahoo rather than Outlook (which means you can sync your life even when you're nowhere near your laptop or PC) - Yahoo and Blackberry both use Intellisync to synchronize PDA data, if you want to know why it is Yahoo and not Microsoft's Live attempt at gathering even more marketing data from you.
I am genuinely not interested in running a million apps on my PDA. Its primary function is that of a phone (Blackberry's Bluetooth audio implementation is a cut above the rest, by the way), I run applications on my travel laptop, a tiny 10.5" Acer. Having GPS, calendar, address book and a secure document available is part of what I must have, even the Tivo app I do not need, I can log into my Tivo from my laptop using the Blackberry as a data modem. This is not a religion for me, it is a tool...
Buy BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (T-Mobile) Low Price Now
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