| BlackBerry 8800 Expert Reviews |
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BlackBerry 8800 -- by John Frederick Moore --September 10th 2007 |
| Full Review |
| Still the gold standard for busy executives on the go, newer versions of the BlackBerry have made it easier for the rest of us to stay connected, as well. With the BlackBerry 8800, that means easy access to multiple e-mail accounts, a full QWERTY keyboard, and stellar battery life. You also get GPS navigation, push-to-talk, voice dialing, and a holster that “senses” your BlackBerry. The lack of Wi-Fi connectivity and high-speed Internet access are the only real blemishes on an otherwise stellar smartphone. |
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Call quality: Earlier versions of the BlackBerry had a reputation for doing everything well except phone calls. That’s certainly not the case with the 8800. Call quality was excellent on both ends. Although we could hear some persistent low-level white noise in the background, voices sounded absolutely clear. Callers also expressed surprise that we were calling from a cell phone, much less a BlackBerry. The speakerphone also worked well, with callers reporting no problem hearing us at normal speaking levels. 
You also get voice dialing, a handy hands-free feature, or if you just don’t feel like scrolling through hundreds of contacts.
Audio quality: Music playback through the BlackBerry’s speaker was decent, but it would sound much better through a pair of stereo headphones. Unfortunately, the BlackBerry 8800 only comes with a single earbud. In any case, don’t give up your MP3 player. |
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| Menu/phone book: You can use the included Desktop Manager software and USB cable to sync contacts, calendar, tasks, and e-mail between the 8800 and your computer. We synced all of our Microsoft Outlook information without a hitch. The Desktop Manager also makes syncing music, photos, and videos to the device a snap.
The address book is very intuitive. If a contact has more than one number associated with it, when you press the Send button (the green phone icon on the left), a menu will ask which number to dial (work, home, mobile, fax). You can store as many contacts in the BlackBerry 8800 that its memory will allow and an additional 250 on the cell phone’s SIM card. Note: The cell phone comes with about 64MB of flash memory (though much of that will be unavailable due to applications, etc).
Messaging: This is why you purchase a BlackBerry, of course. It’s easy to set up multiple e-mail accounts (up to 10) through the initial setup menu on the device. Alternatively, you can set up your e-mail accounts online through the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) Web site. In either case, make sure your BlackBerry data plan is active. Otherwise, you won’t be able to set up e-mail accounts or surf the Web. We set up Comcast and Gmail accounts without a hitch.
Picture/video: Unlike the BlackBerry Curve, the BlackBerry 8800 does not include a camera (you’re using this strictly for business purposes anyway, right? So this actually might be a good thing for you especially if your place of business doesn’t permit cell phones with built-in cameras). But you can add pictures or video clips to the device via the desktop manager, Bluetooth, or e-mail attachments. You can store media files about 2MBs in size on the BlackBerry’s internal memory or files larger than that on an optional MicroSD storage card.
Music: Music playback is more of a bonus than a core feature here. The BlackBerry 8800 supports several formats, including MP3, WAV, MIDI, and unprotected AAC (Apple’s music format) and WMA files (Microsoft’s music format). Again, if you want to store songs that are larger than 2MBs in file size, you’ll need an optional MicroSD storage card. Though you get the usual features such as shuffle and repeat, and you can create playlists as folders. One feature we like: If you receive a call during music playback, the song automatically pauses and resumes where you left off when you end or ignore the call. You can also save songs as ringtones, but you can’t delete it from the list of tones if you no longer wish to use it.
Connectivity/Bluetooth: The BlackBerry 8800 supports Bluetooth for transferring contacts and media files with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. You can even sync contacts with your computer using Bluetooth. You may have trouble, however, beaming contacts with standard cell phones. We paired the BlackBerry 8800 with a Samsung A640, but could not transfer contacts in either direction. On the down side, the BlackBerry 8800 is missing two key features: high-speed Internet access and Wi-Fi, so heavy Web surfers will find the performance sluggish. |
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| Look and feel: With its midnight blue frame, silver trim, and smoothed edges, the BlackBerry 8800 is a sleek-looking unit. It’s thin enough to slip into a pants pocket and feels substantial, but not heavy, while holding it to your ear during calls. Still, it’s boxy shape makes it a bit awkward to hold up to your ear. We’re glad to see the scroll wheel become a standard BlackBerry feature. You can scroll four ways and press down to select items. We also like the large and crisp display. And because the BlackBerry automatically adjusts the brightness depending on ambient light, you should have no problems reading the display under any lighting conditions. On the downside, both the casing and the screen are prone to smudges and fingerprints.
The BlackBerry 8800 also comes with a holster that features a proximity sensor to detect when the BlackBerry is in place. It automatically shuts off the screen, and you can set different notification settings for incoming calls, e-mails, and other functions depending on whether the device is in or out of the holster.
Keypad: The keys on the QWERTY keyboard are fairly small, a bit cramped, and slippery, but the keys have slightly raised edges that make it easy to get the hang of typing. The number keys are highlighted in white, and the BlackBerry is smart enough to recognize when you’re dialing a number or entering text. |
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| Battery performance was truly impressive. If you make a lot of phone calls and send and receive e-mails constantly, you should be able to go three or four days before you need to charge the battery. If you’re primarily checking e-mail, you should get about a week’s worth of juice. Also, the BlackBerry 8800 will charge when connected to your computer with the USB cable. So when you’re on the road, you don’t need to pack the charger. |
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BlackBerry 8800 Expert Rating
