BlackBerry Bold 9790 Smartphone Reviews and Deals

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 arrived in difficult times. RIM had already made its big play with the Bold Touch line and the new BB7 operating system that introduced touchscreen functionality to its premium line. Unfortunately, despite some innovations (well, for BlackBerry users at least), the release was a bit of a flop.

Then along comes the 9790, following in the wake of the ‘meh’ reaction to the Bold Touch 9900. Carrying much the same technology, it followed up from the popular Bold 9700 design – essentially a sleeker, lighter handset than the 9900 but otherwise much the same. Sounds like a disaster, right? But it all comes down to perceptions.

When RIM decided to push its BlackBerry handsets into the consumer limelight as smartphones started to become a worldwide phenomenon, it was always going to be risky. By putting itself up as a rival versus the might of the Apple machine, and then Google’s Android (not to mention Microsoft’s Windows waiting in the wings), it got into a fight it was never going to win and is now paying the consequences.

But this doesn’t take away from the fact that, still, the BlackBerry platform is number one in terms of business smartphones. We can only hope that its play into the mass market hasn’t done it irrevocable damage, as when taken simply as a smartphone, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 is a smart piece of kit. It may not have the apps, the processor or the screen to compete with an iPhone or Galaxy S, but when you don’t see it as rivalling them but look at its strengths, it has plenty to offer the right buyer.

Work

In terms of smartphones, what you get when you buy a BlackBerry is unrivalled email and messaging facilities, matched by top-of-the-range security features. When you add in quality syncing with your home computer, other BlackBerry devices (such as its PlayBook tablet), calendars etc, what you have is a device perfect for the workplace.

With its Enterprise and Internet services, BlackBerry is miles ahead of its rivals in terms of corporate business. Then you can add BBM, or BlackBerry Messenger, which is the securest messaging service in the business. Then the fact you can add all kinds of emails (PUSH as well as Hotmail etc) into one unified inbox – and delete them both ends – and you have an unbeatable suite of services, especially as you can add the likes of Facebook to that single feed too.

If you’ve not used a BlackBerry before, you can’t help but be impressed with these services. But if not, has anything changed here? Essentially, since the 9900, the answer is no – this is largely a cosmetic upgrade. From before then, of course, you have the addition of the touchscreen and the new OS. More on the touchscreen later; in terms of the new OS, it’s all good if unremarkable news. It’s a wonderfully smooth experience in terms of messaging, email etc – intuitive, slick and reliable. I can’t praise it highly enough. And the same goes for calling and contacts – the Bold 9790 simply doesn’t put a foot wrong.

In terms of dealing with documents, you’ll find the full version of Documents to Go. This means you can examine and edit Office docs to your heart’s content. All in all, you get what you expect from RIM and BlackBerry – a cracking business handset.

Play

But what if you’re not an office type? Is it worth owning a BlackBerry and more specifically the 9790? Well, that all depends on what you’re going to be using your handset for.

Smartphone users with Apple or Android phones are now seriously spoilt in terms of apps. There are thousands and thousands of them and the number is growing all the time. At the same time, camera technology is improving all the time, while touchscreen quality, processors and memory capacity is practically doubling with every new batch of smartphones.

In many ways BlackBerry has kept up in terms of how fast it has improved, but unfortunately it has always been a few steps behind in this area with no real chance of catching up. For example, the camera is five-megapixel with flash – really, don’t expect anything from it beyond happy snaps. There’s plenty of on-board memory though, at 8GB, while the 2.45-inch screen is clear and bright. The media player works fine in terms of music and video, but is far from spectacular.

BlackBerry App World works smoothly, but in terms of depth we’re talking kids paddling pool compared to the deep oceans of Apple and Android. Categories have hundreds of choices, not thousands, and if you’re looking for gaming we’d advise you look elsewhere. You’ll find choice, but it really isn’t designed as a gaming handset, so don’t expect much beyond some light diversions.

On the plus side, all your social media needs should be well met. As mentioned earlier, you can get all your messages into one feed, and this includes Facebook as well as Twitter (if you’re so inclined). The apps for these programs are pretty good and regularly updated, while all the other IM services are on tap too (alongside apps for YouTube and a couple of crappy games).  

Connectivity and performance

Back to BlackBerry good points, there’s nothing but love here. Syncing with PC is simple and works without a hitch; HSPA and 3G connectivity are of course covered, while you’ll find Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and also now NFC in your options too. All are easily accessed from a single menu and turned on and off extremely simply.

The GPS works really well too, although the installed BlackBerry Maps isn’t up to much. It’ll pinpoint you quickly, but it’s really basic looking and pretty horrible to use. That said, it does work – although you’d be a lot better off simply downloading Google Maps and having done with it.

Finally, there’s the BlackBerry Bridge for syncing up with your BlackBerry PlayBook. We’ll look into that more with our upcoming PlayBook review.

In terms of battery life, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 isn’t much to write home about but the 1200mAh battery will comfortably get you through the day, pretty much whatever you throw at it. Smaller processor, plus less going on thanks to the smaller screen, means battery use shouldn’t be a huge issue in all but the most demanding circumstances.

Verdict

As someone who has had BlackBerry handsets by choice for a few years now, I’m in two minds about the move away from RIM trying to take a bigger consumer plunge. I love the way BlackBerry’s work and what they do well, but I’d also looked forward to them making the multimedia and gaming side far better. But it’s not going to happen, so where does it leave me?

The legacy seems to be a slightly pointless touchscreen that I hardly use but that certainly isn’t detrimental. Beyond that, the Bold 9790 is responsive, slick, feels great in the hand and has so far been reliable. Messaging and call quality have been exceptional and so, in terms of a phone, I’m very happy with it. Compared to any other BlackBerry I’ve used, except the 9900, this is the best by quite some margin. But I would take this over the 9900 as I prefer the size, despite the keyboard being slightly fiddlier to use because of it.