1. Vol.inaz's Avatar
    Let me begin by saying that I am personally a phone nerd and am not a self admitting fanboy of android or any other mobile operating system. I have used every major OS including iOS and webOS as well. I recently was using a TBolt and do have a slight preference for android. With that said I have been keeping up with the new BB OS 7 devices and thought the Bold was absolutely a phone I would enjoy. I took the leap and purchased the phone on Tuesday. This is my first BB ever and first impressions were quite good.

    The phone fits in your hand amazing and the thin design was a world of difference and in a good way from my brick of an HTC. The screen is right up there with the iP4 which I owned for about 6 months. Like I said i was extremely impressed with the hardware and design quality of the 9930. Compared to other phones ive recently owned or demo'd it is one of the best feeling phones in hand. The thin build and light feel just oozes class and comfortability. The keyboard, like every other person who has had the phone has stated, is by far the best in the business and its not even close. Absolutely a joy to wrote emails and text and it really just makes you want to use it more the more times you get to use it. The only issue with the hardware i had was the camera and not because of the lack of autofocus. I got a dud only because I had an issue with a blue line straight across the screen that made its way into every picture or video I took on the device. Other than that issue I actually thought the camera took comparable photos to the thunderbolt or comparable HTC devices. It certainly is not on par with the iP4, which I personally think is the best in the business, but still was impressive. I should note that I didnt take any close up shots because I dont use my camera for this purpose so personally the phones camera is just fine for my needs.

    The software was a bit of a shock to get used to with all the in depth menu options. It is far from simple coming from other operating systems. I was in love with the integration that BB executes with email, social feeds, texting, and instant messengers like whatsapp. I love that you dont have to tell the phone when to update or when to check on new communications from these sources. I also love the fact that the system gives you options to store as much info as possible about every task or event you input into the phone. One of my big issues is the lack of functionality or customization within the OS. While very thorough, it is somewhat stale in its offerings. This is just my opinion and clean mean that the phone doesnt offer more than enough for the average user because it certainly does. The app selection was bare but I expected that. Thanks to crackberry I was able to find the right avenues to download needed items like gmail, google maps, and google sync which worked flawlessly. The browser was suprisingly good. I say that because BB's have been notorious for bad browser experience and this was on par with android. The big issue I had was the text resizing which is a feature in the browser but somewhat limited. Coming from Android I was used to being capable of zooming in as far as I wanted and the text resizes to my needs. In the new BB browser it does resize but only on double tap and doesnt offer it any further than that size. All in all I was happy with the browser rendering speed and smoothness of scrolling while in websites.

    One more thing on the screen is that i wanted to give RIM credit for the liquid graphics because scrolling and navigation was as smooth as butter. This is a very impressive device and being new to blackberry I was surprised at how impressive it was. The design and feel of the phone combined with that amazon keyboard is a device that feels professional and a joy to pick up and use. I did however return the 9930 not because I wasnt happy with it, it was just that BB wasnt necessarily for me. Like i said im not a fanboy of any OS or manufacturer and while I have used all the major US offerings the new 9930 definitely felt the best in hand. There is no perfect phone but there is perfect phones for certain people. Its all just personal preference. Ill definitely be checking out the new QNX phones by RIM. If there new software is as up to speed as their new hardware theybwill have a winner for me. Thats not a knock on the software its just that it wasnt for me. Very impressed with the new bold though and enjoyed trying it out.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-26-11 02:24 AM
  2. technology-fanboy's Avatar
    Very nice review.


    Remember, you can always pinch to zoom to get that perfect zoom level Try it
    08-26-11 03:06 AM
  3. alunkkk's Avatar
    Nice review bro..
    And Welcome to the worlds of BlackBerry..




    Rimpire Strikes Back !

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-26-11 03:52 AM
  4. dwaynewilliams#WN's Avatar
    I'm still contemplating getting this phone. I really want to try a physical keyboard again.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-26-11 04:10 AM
  5. robtanz's Avatar
    I'm still contemplating getting this phone. I really want to try a physical keyboard again.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    What a keyboard! It is buttery soft....mmmm....butter.
    08-26-11 04:33 AM
  6. belfastdispatcher's Avatar
    "In the new BB browser it does resize but only on double tap and doesnt offer it any further than that size"

    You can change the size of the text it re formats to after the double tap. In browser press menu and select options, you will find it there. The sizes are given in pixels so you'll have to go up quite a bit to notice a big difference, after a while you'll find the perfect one.
    Last edited by belfastdispatcher; 08-26-11 at 04:36 AM.
    08-26-11 04:34 AM
  7. badger906's Avatar
    A good read! I've used almost every mobile Os and even spent a good long while singing microsofts os7's praises! However blackberry feels like home! And I like the indepth and deep menu systems!
    Won't get many complaints from me!

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    08-26-11 04:56 AM
  8. Coffee Addict's Avatar
    Nice review. I'm about to pick up my 9900 today. So...excited after reading and following developments with this phone for past 4 to 5 months.
    08-26-11 05:06 AM
  9. HD123's Avatar
    The browser was suprisingly good. I say that because BB's have been notorious for bad browser experience and this was on par with android.
    Great thorough review. I am just dumbfounded however that you could find the browsing experience on par with android. I mean yes the browser is good for a BB, but even the usual suspects for reviews have stated "it still browses like a BB'' Meaning still having a long way to go until its on par with ios and especially android. I am curious as to what android device you were using.

    all the best.
    08-26-11 06:39 AM
  10. Dugganm's Avatar
    Remember, you can always pinch to zoom to get that perfect zoom level
    I was just about to post the very same thing! Thats what I've been doing...I didnt even realise you could double tap!
    08-26-11 06:49 AM
  11. tkong's Avatar
    "Rimpire Strikes Back !"

    And if you set your touchscreen sensitivity to 100, you can really fly on it
    08-26-11 07:17 AM
  12. sj-performance's Avatar
    great review. i love my 9930. wouldnt trade it for any other phone right now. and i just learned about the double tapping to zoom...wow! i didnt know this...defiantely awesome. and the browser on the 9900/9930 has to be RIM's best ever on any device....and ofcourse RIM's best phone ever
    08-26-11 07:34 AM
  13. sashas's Avatar
    Nice review. While I had a BB Bold 9650 for a year before just getting the 9930, I did have an iPhone before it.

    Your assessment is dead-on.

    The hardware/liquid graphics/keyboard are awesome. The phone is a true joy to use. The OS is pretty much the same (kinda crappy, pretty much unchanged since, well, I haven't been a BB user for that long...), but the unified messaging view is really great.

    Again, great review. But while you gave yours back I'm keeping mine .
    08-26-11 07:42 AM
  14. sashas's Avatar
    Nice review. While I had a BB Bold 9650 for a year before just getting the 9930, I did have an iPhone before it.

    Your assessment is dead-on.

    The hardware/liquid graphics/keyboard are awesome. The phone is a true joy to use. The OS is pretty much the same (kinda crappy, pretty much unchanged since, well, I haven't been a BB user for that long...), but the unified messaging view is really great.

    Again, great review. But while you gave yours back I'm keeping mine .
    08-26-11 07:43 AM
  15. Deu2e's Avatar
    Like the others have stated, nice review. I'm leaning towards getting this phone...as soon as AT&T releases it.
    08-26-11 08:01 AM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD