BlackBerry Bold 9700
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The BlackBerry Bold 9700 (codenamed Onyx) is a
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
developed by telecommunication company
BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...
, formerly known as Research in Motion (RIM). The second device in the Bold series, it succeeds the model 9000 and precedes the Bold 9650. The device, which runs on the
BlackBerry OS BlackBerry OS is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system developed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices. The operating system provides multitasking and supports specialized i ...
, features several improvements over the 9000, including introduction of an optical trackpad, and a reduced size overall. Other visual changes were carried out in order to appeal both men and women. Upon release, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 received mostly positive reviews from critics. The smartphone was commended for its design and most changes were favored, such as the trackpad. However, critics were ambivalent towards the dated software and the slow browser, and some concluded that the device did not set itself apart from previous models. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 was succeeded by the upgraded version, the
BlackBerry Bold 9780 The BlackBerry Bold is a line of smartphones developed by BlackBerry, Ltd. The family was launched in 2008 with the 9000 Model. In 2009 the form factor was shrunk with the 9700 and the Tour 9630. In 2010 BlackBerry released the 9650 and 9780 refr ...
, introduced in October 2010. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 was discontinued in December 2011.


History


Rumors and prototypes

Starting April 2009, various rumors circulated regarding the smartphone and other reportedly planned models for the BlackBerry line-up. The first rumor reported that a trio of devices were being developed as
high-end In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast t ...
smartphones, codenamed Onyx, Driftwood and Magnum. All of them were rumored to contain a "hybrid concept" with a touch screen and a
QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden t ...
keyboard, with similar prototype designs but destined to different networks. Onyx was rumored to be released only for AT&T markets. An image of one of Onyx's early prototypes surfaced online, with a similar hardware to the 9000's, including the same trackball. That prototype was early reviewed by website CrackBerry, which confirmed diverse details about the device, such as the 480×360 display, the 3.2 megapixels camera and connectivity features—Wi-Fi and GPS. The same day, other information regarding technicalities were revealed on a surfaced AT&T filesheet about the smartphone. Already known as the BlackBerry 9020 and having started production, a photo of the device surfaced, though it replaced the trackball with a trackpad. A previous prototype with a trackball was put up for sale on
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
, where it passed the mark of $600; four days later, a pre-launch list of then-upcoming smartphones for AT&T surfaced online on August 9, 2009, which listed the device. A
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...
press image was leaked on September 8.


Announcement and release

On October 7, 2009, technology website
Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
reported that mobile carriers
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...
and
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
would publicly announce the Bold 9700 on October 21, 2009. Two days later, the website posted that rumors were circulating on the Internet, which predicted that the smartphone would be released to the United States T-Mobile on November 11, 2009. The aforementioned carrier was then revealed to be sending invitations to "executive briefing" events—taking place in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
on November 3, 2009; in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. T-Mobile Germany announced on October 15, 2009 that the Bold 9700 would be released in that country in November. The device was officially presented in
Bochum, Germany Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous German federal state of North R ...
—where it was developed—on October 21, 2009. The launch event was hosted by BlackBerry (then known as RIM) vice chairman
Mike Lazaridis Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis (born March 14, 1961) is a Canadian businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and founder of BlackBerry, which created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. With an estimated net worth of ...
.
Boy Genius Report Boy Genius Report (also referred to as BGR) is a technology-influenced website and covers topics ranging from consumer gadgets, to entertainment, gaming, and science. Founded in October 2006 by anonymous web personality Boy Genius (also referred ...
reported on November 4 of that year that the smartphone would be available early five days later for "select business customers". On November 16, it was officially released to the general public in the United States under T-Mobile; AT&T released it on November 22. A new white version of the Bold 9700 was hinted at by Research In Motion (RIM)'s Thai website, which posted an image of that version. On April 7, 2010, it was exclusively released on
T-Mobile Netherlands T-Mobile Netherlands BV is the largest mobile phone company in the Netherlands. It was owned by Deutsche Telekom before being sold to WP/AP Telecom Holdings IV B.V., a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and Apax Partners. It still licences the T ...
. It was first released in North America by operator
Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...
in Canada, followed by its first release in the United States by T-Mobile, in May 2010, at a retail price of $100 with a contract. The AT&T release occurred on the 26th of that month. A special "Team Canada" edition of the Bold 9700 was also given to
Future Shop Future Shop was a Canadian electronics store chain. It was established in 1982 by Hassan Khosrowshahi. By 1990, the chain had become the country's largest retailer of computer and consumer electronics. In January 2013, the company operated 139 l ...
employees once they reached a certain number of sales.


Features


Hardware

The smartphone considerably reduces its predecessor's sizes, measuring 4.3 by 2.4 by 6 inches (10.92, 6.09 and 15.24 centimeters, respectively). The Bold 9700 has a 624 MHz processor and a 256MB Flash memory. The device uses a 2.44 inch
HVGA The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height a ...
(approximately 6.1 cm) non-touch LCD display at a resolution of 480×360 pixels. The resolution of the display was compared to that of
HTC Magic HTC Magic (marketed as T-Mobile myTouch 3G in the United States, and as NTT DoCoMo HT-03A in Japan) is an Android smartphone designed and manufactured by HTC. It is HTC's second Android phone after HTC Dream, HTC's first touch-only flagship An ...
, as it has also HVGA quality. The model changes its predecessor's
trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the o ...
to an
optical trackpad An optical trackpad is an input device based on an optical sensor, which detects the displacement of a finger that is moving on top of it. The sensor is used typically in smartphones, where it replaces the D-pad, and in ultra-portable or ultra-mob ...
, with simple functionalities such as swiping the thumb to move it and press it to make a selection. This change prevented problems including the accumulation of dust behind the trackball. Similarly to previous BlackBerry models, BlackBerry 9700 has a 35-key
QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden t ...
-type physical keyboard, which is smaller than that of Bold 9000. On the top of the device, there are two buttons that respectively lock or mute it; on the right side of it, rubberized keys are found, which can either control the audio volume or the music player; further down, there is a camera shutter key. Cosmetic changes including the addition of a
leatherette Artificial leather, also called synthetic leather, is a material intended to substitute for leather in upholstery, clothing, footwear, and other uses where a leather-like finish is desired but the actual material is cost prohibitive or unsuitab ...
battery cover were carried out in order to appeal to both sexes. The 3.2-
megapixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...
camera is accompanied by a LED flash, and allows autofocusing and video recording. More features include a microSD slot and a headphone port. Relatively to its connectivity, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 has support for 3G HSDPA networks and integrates
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
and GPS. The
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...
version of the Bold 9700 supports UMA technology—unlicensed mobile access, which allows making voice calls with a Wi-Fi network and not just with a cellular network.


Software

Upon release, the smartphone came with version 5 of BlackBerry's
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...
, the
BlackBerry OS BlackBerry OS is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system developed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices. The operating system provides multitasking and supports specialized i ...
. For the Bold 9700, the system came with upgrades, specifically for Messaging, Calendar and Browser applications; support for
BlackBerry Enterprise Server BlackBerry Enterprise Server designates the middleware software package that is part of the BlackBerry wireless platform supplied by BlackBerry Limited. The software plus service connects to messaging and collaboration software (MDaemon Messagin ...
(BES) and BlackBerry Internet Service, the latter allowing having up to 10 personal or business-oriented
POP3 In computing, the Post Office Protocol (POP) is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. POP version 3 (POP3) is the version in common use, and along with IMAP the most common ...
or IMAP4 e-mail accounts registered. The software also comes with "personal information management tools" and pre-loaded applications, such as a calculator, a clock, a task list and
Documents To Go Documents To Go is BlackBerry's cross-platform office suite for Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Maemo, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, Android, and iOS. Also, a larger-screen version would have been included with the Palm Foleo, but Palm, Inc. cancelled the de ...
; along with more downloads found in
BlackBerry World BlackBerry World (previously known as BlackBerry App World) is an application distribution service, aka an 'app store', and application by BlackBerry Limited; for BlackBerry 10 devices, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and a majority of BlackBerry OS devi ...
(then BlackBerry App World), though extra applications can only be downloaded to the smartphone's main memory and not to the microSD memory card. The phone's browser contains a faster
JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior, of ...
and enabled CSS processing, which allows faster page loading; it also supports widgets, streaming and Google Gears. The device also features speed dialing. The media player, which has basic functionalities such as searching, creating playlists and shuffle and repeat modes, supports MP3, WMA, WMA ProPlus, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+ songs; it also plays MPEG4, WMV, and H.264 video files which can be played in a full-screen mode. Users' personal libraries can be synced from desktop/laptop media players through BlackBerry Media Sync. An updated version of the operating system, BlackBerry 6, was announced by Research In Motion on August 3, 2010. It was initially announced for the Bold 9700, Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G models, while it debuted on the BlackBerry Torch smartphone. It improves several functionalities of BlackBerry 5, such as: icons on the home screen are arranged in five different views, which the user can view separately by swiping the trackpad; a search tool ("Universal Search"); an improved web browser, based on layout engine software
WebKit WebKit is a browser engine developed by Apple and primarily used in its Safari web browser, as well as on the iOS and iPadOS version of any web browser. WebKit is also used by the BlackBerry Browser, PlayStation consoles beginning from the P ...
, which contains diverse tabs that can be open simultaneously; pre-loaded social networking apps and enabling "rich content" on text messages, which are displayed in a chat-like format. It was released by T-Mobile on March 4, 2011; AT&T released it for Bold 9700 and Curve 3G models on April 29, 2011;


Critical reception

Gareth Beavis of
TechRadar ''TechRadar'' is an online publication owned by Future and focused on technology. It has editorial teams in the US, UK and Australia and provides news and reviews of tech products and gadgets. It was launched in 2007 and expanded to the US in ...
awarded the smartphone four stars out of five. He pointed out that users who would upgrade to the phone from its predecessor could experience difficulties with typing, due to the reduced size of the keyboard, which he called "a little cramped for is taste. Beavis stated that he liked its "solid build quality whichcradles a battery with unrivalled lasting ability", the screen quality and the new optical trackpad. However, he opined that the device "still feels like the BlackBerrys of old" and felt it needed to be upgraded, along with its software features. Laura June from
Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
said that the "device feels nice in the hand" due to the "smaller, more sleek form factor of the whole package". Unlike Beavis from TechRadar, she felt "typing on
he keyboard He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
is a joy", while she agreed that "the larger-handed among us ould feelpretty cramped". She wrote:
And, at the end of the day, that's one thing we can't get past—serious BlackBerry enthusiasts will tell you that the interface is doing just fine, and there are plenty of reasons to get hooked on these devices. For us, however, the BlackBerry UI is showing its age, and ultimately, beautiful hardware aside, this device is essentially exactly the same as every other BlackBerry.
Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices i ...
' Nick Mokey referred to the Bold 9700 as a "recommended product". Awarding it four stars out of five, he stated that the overall "solid feel of the phone helps" stand out an "overall aura of quality". He found that the keyboard was "bordering on too small", although he named it the "finest" keyboard that can be "fold dinto a space this size". He also called the screen "amazing" and its call voice quality "excellent". Concluding the review, Mokey compared the smartphone to a Curve 8900 with a better battery, keyboard, a trackpad and what was missing on that phone—3G Internet coverage. He wrote: "Although the Bold 9700 lacks the frills of an iPhone or
Palm Pre The Palm Pre , styled as palm prē, is a multitasking smartphone that was designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux-based mobile operating system, webOS. Th ...
, for utilitarian business users, it’s one of the most polished smartphones on the market today." Jamie Lendino and Sascha Segan from '' PC Magazine'', who respectively reviewed the
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
and
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...
versions, gave the smartphone a rating of four out of five points. The former described the Bold 9700 as "powerful, comfortable, and even somewhat chic" and its keyboard as "comfortable, quiet, and accurate". Emphasizing the quality of the voice calls, Lendino wrote they were "crisp, clear, and with plenty of gain in both direction". She regarded the Internet browser as "poor", noting that some pages take more than one minute to fully load; she also claimed the video playback was problematic. Sascha Segan named it "evolutionary, not revolutionary", having a similar opinion to Lendino though remarking that the video player ran with no problems and emphasizing the photo camera power.


References


Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackberry Bold 9700 Mobile phones with an integrated hardware keyboard