BlackBerry Bold 9700

A Retro Review of the Blackberry Bold 9700: A Classic Smartphone

It was the year 2009, the era of flip phones and basic feature phones. But amidst the simplicity of mobile phones, a new device was launched that took the world by storm - the Blackberry Bold 9700. With its sleek design, advanced features, and impressive performance, it quickly gained popularity among tech enthusiasts and business professionals.

Announced in October 2009 and released in November of the same year, the Blackberry Bold 9700 was considered a breakthrough in the smartphone industry. However, fast forward to present times, it is now a discontinued model. Let’s take a look at what made this device standout and why it is still remembered by many today.

Design and Display:

The Blackberry Bold 9700 came in a compact size with dimensions of 109 x 60 x 14 mm and weighed only 122 grams. It featured a QWERTY keyboard, which was popular for its ease of use and practicality. The device also had an optical trackpad, which replaced the traditional trackball, making navigation smoother and more effortless.

One of the key highlights of the Blackberry Bold 9700 was its display. It sports a 2.44 inch, 65K color TFT display with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. Although the color palette may seem limited compared to today’s smartphones, it still provided a sharp and vibrant display. With a screen-to-body ratio of 28.2%, the device was easy to hold and operate with one hand.

Platform and Memory:

The device ran on the Blackberry 5.0 operating system, which was upgradable to 6.0. This was a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the Bold 9000, which ran on the Blackberry 4.6 operating system. The Bold 9700 also boasted a 624 MHz CPU, which was quite impressive during its time and provided smooth and seamless performance.

In terms of memory, the device had a dedicated microSDHC slot and came with a 2 GB memory card. This was expandable up to 16 GB, providing users with ample storage space for their data and media files. The device also had 256 MB of internal memory and 256 MB of RAM, which was sufficient for its time.

Camera:

The Blackberry Bold 9700 featured a 3.15 MP, AF rear camera with LED flash. Although the camera specifications may seem basic now, it was considered a significant upgrade from the Bold 9000, which had a 2 MP camera. The camera also had features such as autofocus and LED flash, making it capable of capturing decent photos and videos.

Unfortunately, the device did not have a front-facing camera, which was not a common feature at the time. However, this did not hinder its popularity, as the device was mainly targeted toward professionals rather than selfie enthusiasts.

Battery Life and Network Connectivity:

The Bold 9700 packed a removable Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery, which provided an impressive standby time of up to 408 hours and a talk time of up to 6 hours. These numbers were quite commendable compared to the battery life of smartphones at the time, making it a reliable device for business travel and work on-the-go.

In terms of network connectivity, the device supported GSM and HSPA technologies, providing 3G speeds of up to 3.6/0.384 Mbps. It also had built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g support, which was a significant upgrade from the Bold 9000, which had only 802.11 b support.

Additional Features:

The Blackberry Bold 9700 had some notable additional features that made it stand out among its competition. It had built-in GPS and A-GPS support, making it an ideal device for navigation. The device also had a 3.5mm headphone jack, loudspeaker, and USB 2.0 support.

It also had a range of useful applications, such as a document editor for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files, making it a practical tool for professionals. The device also had a built-in media player for playing MP3, WMA, and AAC+ files, as well as a video player for DivX, WMV, XviD, and 3gp file formats. Other features included an organizer, voice memo, and dial for added convenience.

Price and Availability:

At the time of its release, the Blackberry Bold 9700 was priced at approximately 90 EUR, making it an affordable and attractive option for those looking for a premium smartphone experience. It was available in black and white color options, catering to a wider audience.

Final Thoughts:

The Blackberry Bold 9700 may be considered a blast from the past, but it is a testament to Blackberry’s innovation and determination in the smartphone industry. With its sleek design, advanced features, and impressive performance, it set the standard for smartphones at the time. Although it may not be a viable option for daily use in the current era, it is still remembered fondly by many as a classic and iconic device in the history of smartphones.

Latest BlackBerry Bold 9700 Specs and Prices

LAUNCH

• Announced:  2009, October. Released 2009, November
• Status:  Discontinued

PLATFORM

• Operating System:  BlackBerry 5.0, upgradable to 6.0
• CPU:  624 MHz

MEMORY

• Card slot:  microSDHC (dedicated slot), 2 GB included
• Internal:  256MB 256MB RAM

DISPLAY

• Type:  TFT, 65K colors
• Size:  2.44 inches, 18.4 cm2 (~28.2% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution:  480 x 360 pixels, 4:3 ratio (~246 ppi density)

BODY

• Dimensions:  109 x 60 x 14 mm (4.29 x 2.36 x 0.55 in)
• Weight:  122 g (4.30 oz)
• Keyboard:  QWERTY
• SIM:  Mini-SIM - Optical trackpad

MAIN CAMERA

• Single:  3.15 MP, AF
• Features:  LED flash
• Video:  Yes

SELFIE CAMERA

• -:  No

BATTERY

• Type:  Removable Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery
• Stand by:  Up to 408 h
• Talk time:  Up to 6 h

CELLPHONE NETWORK

• Technology:  GSM / HSPA
• 2G bands:  GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• 3G bands:  HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 - HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
• Speed:  HSPA 3.6/0.384 Mbps

SOUND

• Loudspeaker :  Yes
• 3.5mm jack :  Yes

COMMUNICATIONS

• WLAN:  Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UMA
• Bluetooth:  2.1, A2DP
• Positioning:  GPS, A-GPS
• Radio:  No
• USB:  microUSB 2.0

FEATURES

• Sensors:  -
• Browser:  HTML - BlackBerry maps Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) Media player MP3/WMA/AAC+ Video player DivX/WMV/XviD/3gp Organizer Voice memo/dial

MISCELLANEOUS

• Colors:  Black, White
• SAR:  1.55 W/kg (head) & & 1.39 W/kg (body) & &
• SAR EU:  1.36 W/kg (head) & & 1.18 W/kg (body) & &
• Price:  About 90 EUR

Disclaimer: Specifications shown may be different from the actual product. We cannot guarantee that the information provided on this page is 100% correct. This content is provided for information purposes only. All information included herein is subject to change without notice.