Full review: BlackBerry Bold for AT&T

Remember the Bold? Unveiled in May, slated for stateside release over the summer, and then beset by delays, the BlackBerry Bold has already had a troubled history, which some observers calling it a "disaster" that was "boldly going nowhere." But at last, the AT&T-branded Bold is here—and actually, it was worth the wait.

Now, I have to admit—I'm not much of a BlackBerry fan. I've always felt that the bare-bones BlackBerry menus were as ugly as sin and tricky to use, while RIM's attempts at full-HTML browsers and media players have always seemed clumsy, at best. Ask me to pick between a BlackBerry and an iPhone, and I'd pick an iPhone every time.

But with its sleek, sturdy shell, comfy keypad, revamped interface and gorgeous display, the Bold ($299 with a two-year contract, available Nov. 4) is making me rethink my old anti-BlackBerry bias. Indeed, this is a BlackBerry I could live with—quite happily, in fact.

OK, but what about all the delays? The Bold was reportedly set to arrive in AT&T's lineup months ago, and European carrier Orange temporarily pulled the Bold for its shelves for unspecified "software issues." Now, I don't know what's been going on behind the scenes at AT&T (word has it the carrier was wary of running into the same 3G reception complaints that hit the iPhone 3G), but after a few days of testing the Bold in New York City, I can report that I haven't noticed any reception or software problems—and so far, I've had a pleasantly glitch-free experience. If the Bold's a lemon, I've yet to see any evidence of it.

Anyway, the aptly-named Bold makes quite an impression, what with its chrome trim, roomy keypad, and razor-sharp 2.75-inch display. Measuring 4.5 by 2.6 by 0.6 inches, the Bold certainly isn't slim, but at 4.8 ounces it's not nearly as heavy as it could have been. (Back in June, I wrote that the Bold was "not exactly featherweight," but in retrospect, it's nowhere near being a brick, either.)

The Bold comes armed with the latest version of the BlackBerry OS (4.6, to exact), and it's a major improvement. The main and contextual menus look much more sleek (although you'll find plenty of plain-text menus if you dig deep enough), and overall, I was pleased by the Bold's peppy performance (which you can chalk up to the 624MHz processor, twice as fast as on previous BlackBerrys). Also much improved: The Bold's rendering of HTML-formatted Web pages and especially e-mail messages, which you can now view with images, links, and formatting (for the most part, at least) intact.

Top-notch messaging on the Bold pretty much goes without saying; BlackBerry Enterprise Servers are naturally supported, as well as a potpourri of Web mail services and POP/IMAP accounts. Tapping out messages on the Bold's generous QWERTY keypad was no problem.

I was also pleased with call quality on AT&T's network here in Manhattan; calls sounded loud and clear on both ends, with little to no echoing and no dropped calls (well, not yet, at least). The Bold's speakerphone is loud and relatively boomy—in fact, hearing callers over New York traffic was surprisingly easy.

The Bold really shines when it comes to multimedia. Thanks to its 3G capabilities, the Bold can tap into AT&T's Cingular Video streaming clips and download full music tracks over AT&T Music, while the phone's adequate 2MP camera and video capture abilities should satisfy amateur shutterbugs.

But I was most impressed with the Bold's media player—we're talking iPod-quality video and audio here. Videos (DivX and XviD are "partially" supported, along with H.263, H.264, and WMV3 files) looked smashing on the Bold's 480 by 320-pixel display; indeed, I'd watch a two-hour movie on the Bold without complaint. Music sounded great as well, with plenty of detail and rumbly bass on the low end—heck, even the external speakers pack a punch. The Bold also scores with its 3.5mm headset jack, good for standard earphones, as well as its support for stereo Bluetooth headsets. Nicely done.

Rounding out the Bolds features: Wi-Fi, GPS, 1GB of on-board storage plys a slot for microSD memory expansion, a quad-band GSM radio for placing calls on worldwide networks, and voice commands.

Battery life on the Bold was pretty much par or the course—it never crapped out in the middle of a workday, but I had to recharge it every night.

Of course, BlackBerry fans will have a lot of choices in the coming weeks—not only is there the Bold on AT&T, but also the touchscreen Storm on Verizon, not to mention the Javelin, the upcoming revamp of the Curve. I've yet to see either the Storm or the Javelin in person, but if you're a BlackBerry traditionalist—that is, if you're not ready to make the touchscreen plunge quite yet—the Bold makes for a solid choice. Does the $299 price tag sound steep? The consider waiting for the Javelin, which lacks 3G access but will likely come with a more down-to-earth price tag (think $199 or so).

Got any Bold questions? Fire away.