Hands-on with the BlackBerry Bold

The latest from RIM looks sleek enough, and I admired its subtly revamped interface and smooth video playback. But if you're looking for jaw-dropping innovations here, prepare to be disappointed.

I got a chance to heft the Bold—the first BlackBerry to support AT&T's 3.5G network—at a recent NYC press event, and "heft" is the key word. About the same size as the BlackBerry 8800, the Bold impresses with its curved lines and silver trim, but at 0.55 inches, the new smartphone feels relatively thick, and it tips the scales at 4.7 ounces—not exactly featherweight.

The Bold's new, 480 by 320-pixel display is as sharp as advertised, and I liked the redesigned icons, sleeker menus, and smoother fonts. But the changes are only skin deep, seeing as the standard contextual-menu structure remains basically unchanged from previous BlackBerry models (and hey, if you're an experienced 'Berry user, that's not a bad thing).

Video playback on the Bold looked relatively smooth and sharp—and overall performance was crisp thanks to the Bold's upgraded 624MHz processor. But the display itself is a bit short and squat, making for puny-looking videos.

I tried the Bold's "roomier" keypad, which, honestly, feels about as roomy (or cramped, depending on your points of view) as the Curve's—nothing all that new here.

So in other words ... beyond the Bold's speedier processor, tweaked interface, and support for North American HSDPA data networks, the Bold doesn't represent a quantum leap over its predecessors. That'll have to wait for the rumored touchscreen Thunder, which RIM reps at the event would neither confirm nor deny.

Other Bold specs: Wi-Fi (nice), Bluetooth, GPS, 1GB of flash memory plus microSD memory expansion, a 2MP camera, a 3.5mm headset jack, and replaceable backplates (blue, gray, and red—none of which I saw at the show).

Word is that the Bold will land in AT&T's lineup in August (whether that constitutes a delay is a matter of debate); no word on pricing yet.

Note: I originally wrote that the Bold is about the same size as the Curve; in fact, it's closer in size to the 8800 (as some readers pointed out below). I stand corrected. 

Related:
BlackBerry unveils the 9000 — er, the Bold