BlackBerry 8700g Review

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The new BlackBerry 8700g improves upon earlier models by incorporating EDGE and doubling the amount of available memory. As it turns out, those are just two of the features that make RIM's new smartphone for T-Mobile a winner.

Measuring 4.3 x 2.7 x 0.77 inches, the 4.7-ounce handset sports a Qwerty-style keypad featuring textured and contoured keys that deliver excellent tactile feedback. The handset's large, 2.2-inch light-sensing screen is designed to automatically set display brightness to match local lighting conditions. The 8700g comes in a stylish midnight blue and black color scheme, distinguishing it from the gray 8700c for Cingular, which preceded this model by a few weeks.

Sporting the "Intel Inside" logo, the BlackBerry 8700g integrates a speedy Intel processor expressly designed for mobile applications; a spacious 64 MB of user-accessible memory; a USB port for synchronizing handset files with other computing devices; and a Bluetooth radio. Also on tap are dedicated "send," "end," and "mute" keys, together with additional keys that are user-definable.

The BlackBerry 8700g offers excellent support for Web browsing and messaging, and you can view e-mail attachments in a wide range of formats. Even better, the smartphone's onboard "enterprise-activation" capability is designed to quickly integrate BlackBerry handsets with corporate Outlook, Lotus Notes, or Novell Groupwise e-mail accounts running on I.T. platforms equipped with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, version 4.0 or higher.

When working in tandem with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, the handset has access to corporate intranet content. A browser "push" capability is also on board to enable the device to receive content updates automatically from Web-based applications.

The BlackBerry 8700g has great voice quality performance, with calls coming through loud and crystal clear. The incoming call notification function can be set to tone, vibrate, on-screen, or LED. Moreover, the smartphone fully supports call forwarding, conference calling, and speed dialing.

The quad band phone delivers up to four hours of continuous talk time and can be operated for up to 16 days in the standby mode. The handset's battery is easy to remove, which means that it can be replaced for a fresh unit while on the go.

Available from T-Mobile. Those looking for access Wi-Fi hotspots while on the go should consider the purchase of T-Mobile's MDA smartphone.

Specs: Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS radio; 2.2-inch, 65,000-color screen; 312-MHz Intel PXA 901 processor; 64 MB of flash memory; 16 MB of SDRAM; Bluetooth 2.0; USB port; speakerphone.

Pros: Higher-speed EDGE data-handling capability; 35-key Qwerty-style keypad.

Cons: No expansion card slot or Wi-Fi capability; limited Bluetooth connectivity.