BlackBerry Bold

The BlackBerry Bold is a line of smartphones developed by BlackBerry Limited. 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 refreshed with OS 6. In 2011 came the 9790 and 9788 along with the 9900/9930 series. The 9900/9930 and 9790 are touchscreen smartphones, released in August and November 2011.

The Bold family is known for its distinctive form factor; QWERTY keyboard, typical BlackBerry messaging capabilities with a different keyboard than the Curve series. The Bold series is usually more expensive and has more expensive materials (e.g. leather, soft touch, carbon fiber, metal) than the Curve (plastic, glossy), and has higher specifications. There are two basic form factors with the Bold line: the original larger size on the 9000 and 9900 Series and the "baby bold" form factor the other models have.

Early series

BlackBerry Bold 9700
Main article: BlackBerry Bold 9700

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 (codenamed "Onyx") is a high-end mobile phone data device (smartphone) developed by BlackBerry and released on December 18, 2009. While many things including the form factor are similar between this model and the larger models, the difference in the 9700's specifications are as follows:[1]

  • Wi-Fi calling supported UMA (Carrier dependent)
  • Browser – HTML browsing, View Movies/Clips from websites built for mobile streaming, RSS feed support
  • Voice Dialling

All the familiar pre-loaded BlackBerry applications are available on the Bold 9700, including but not limited to: WordToGo, PowerPointToGo, BrickBreaker and WordMole. The Bold 9700 also offers BlackBerry Messenger 4.7 but is upgradable to 7.1 in the BlackBerry App World. By upgrading the OS to version 6.0, a user also automatically upgrades to higher versions of applications.

BlackBerry Bold 9650
BlackBerry Bold 9650
SloganLove to be Bold.[2]
Availability by regionSprint Nextel: May 23, 2010[3]
Verizon Wireless: June 3, 2010 (Online) June 10, 2010 (Retail Stores)[4]
Blackberry Bold

The BlackBerry Bold 9650 is part of the 9600 device series which takes design cues from both its predecessor, the BlackBerry Tour 9630, as well as its GSM variant, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 & the BlackBerry Bold 9780. Changes from the Tour include built-in Wi-Fi, 512MB of onboard storage, and an optical trackpad instead of the trackball. It utilizes a 528 MHz processor, and has a 3.4 MP camera available as an option. The major difference between the 9700/9780 vs the 9650 is that the 9650 is the World Phone Edition that can use CDMA & GSM networks globally; the 9700/9780 only runs on GSM networks. Sprint Nextel announced that they would be the launch carrier for the Bold 9650 shortly after the device was introduced, releasing the phone on May 23, 2010. Verizon Wireless followed closely, releasing the phone exclusively online on June 3, 2010, followed by its retail stores on June 10, 2010. It was released in Canada the week of April 27, 2010.[5]

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Series

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 is a high-end mobile phone data device (smartphone) developed by BlackBerry, released globally in November 2010.[6] On September 7, 2011 China Mobile and BlackBerry announced a variant known as the Bold 9788. The 9788 variant is identical to the 9700 except that the 9788 uses a Chinese 3G standard known as TD-SCDMA.

The Bold 9780 shares the same form factor as the 9700, and the only notable differences are an improved camera (5.0 MP vs. 3.2 MP) and double the onboard memory of the 9700 (512 MB vs. 256 MB). Both devices are OS 6.0 capable, with the 9780 having OS 6 already installed plus the chrome around the old bold has disappeared.

BlackBerry 7 series

On August 3, 2011[7] BlackBerry announced their seventh major release of BlackBerry OS. It included several major changes such as universal voice search, support for HTML5, Liquid Graphics and Near field communication. It also has many optimizations which improve web and gaming experiences as well as social network integration as well as some layout changes with some new icons. BlackBerry OS 7 comes bundled with the premium version of Documents To Go. On January 9, 2012[8] BlackBerry announced BlackBerry OS 7.1 which allows Wi-Fi Tethering, BlackBerry Tag and UMA calling.

BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930
BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930
Availability by regionCanada August 10, 2011 (Rogers)

United Kingdom August 12, 2011 (Vodafone)
Canada August 12, 2011 (Bell, Telus)
United States August 15, 2011 (Verizon)
United States August 21, 2011 (Sprint)
United Kingdom August 21, 2011 (O2)
United States August 31, 2011 (T-Mobile)
Australia September 1, 2011 (Optus)
Australia November 3, 2011 (Vodafone)
Hong Kong Sept 7, 2011 (SmarTone, 3, China Mobile, Vodafone, CSL)
Canada Oct 19, 2011 (WINDMobile)

United States Nov 6, 2011 (AT&T)
SuccessorBlackBerry Q10

The BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 (codenamed internally as "Dakota/Montana", also known as Bold Touch) is part of the 9000 device series. Introduced in August 2011, it is the first of the Bold line to provide a touchscreen. It marks a return to the form factor of the original 9000 and its popular wide-set physical keyboard.[9] It takes design cues from both its predecessor, the BlackBerry Tour 9630, as well as its GSM variant, the BlackBerry Bold 9700.[10]

  • Thinnest BlackBerry to date
  • Glass fibre Cover for battery compartment
  • NFC technology

The Bold 9900 was launched in Thailand at the DTAC 3G Expo on September 3–4th 2011. Soon after, many users were complaining that the phone was not 100% reliable for daily use as it often "froze" during the use of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger). The browser was also one of the main problems, as the touch was not as smooth as BlackBerry advertised. Both issues were promptly resolved through the over-the-air software releases of BBM 6.0 and BlackBerry OS 7.1, respectively. The Bold 9930 operates on both GSM and CDMA networks whereas the Bold 9900 can only function on the GSM network. However, the Bold 9900 can function in GSM bands that the 9930 cannot use. A 4G LTE version was available with select carriers eventually.[11]

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Introduced on November 15, 2011,[12] the BlackBerry Bold 9790 follows the ergonomics of its predecessor, the Bold 9780, with an upgraded 1 GHz processor. The camera does auto focus (as compared to fixed focus of its predecessors), but can only produce VGA resolution videos. Java is not supported on this device.

Model comparison

Early series
Mobile phone with a physical keyboard, made by blackberry
BlackBerry Bold 9000
Model BlackBerry Bold 9000 BlackBerry Bold 9700 BlackBerry Bold 9650 BlackBerry Bold 9780 BlackBerry Bold 9788
Image Blackberry 9000 Blackberry 9700 BlackBerry Bold 9650 BlackBerry Bold 9780
Announce Date May 12, 2008[13] October 21, 2009[14] April 26, 2010[15] October 27, 2010[16] September 6, 2011[17]
Display 480x320 px 2.6 inch[13] (built on 110 µm pixel) at 221 ppi 480x360 px 2.44 inch[14][15][16] (built on 100 µm pixel) at 244 ppi
Processor 624 MHz Marvell Tavor PXA930[18] Qualcomm MSM7600 @ 528 MHz 624 MHz
Memory Internal storage 1 GB microSD slot only; 2 GB card included
RAM 122MB 256MB 512MB
Inputs Trackball, keyboard Optical trackpad, keyboard
WiFi / Bluetooth 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP
Compatible Networks 2G GSM and 3G HSPA 2G GSM, 3G CDMA and 3G HSPA 2G GSM and 3G HSPA 2G GSM and 3G TD-SCDMA
Operating system BlackBerry OS 4 / 5 BlackBerry OS 5 / 6 BlackBerry OS 6
Battery 1500 mAH 1400 mAH 1500 mAH
Weight 136 g (4.8 oz) 122 g (4.3 oz) 136 g (4.8 oz) 122 g (4.3 oz)
Dimensions 114 mm × 66 mm × 15 mm (4.49 in × 2.60 in × 0.59 in) 109 mm × 60 mm × 14 mm (4.29 in × 2.36 in × 0.55 in) 112 mm × 62 mm × 14 mm (4.41 in × 2.44 in × 0.55 in) 109 mm × 60 mm × 14 mm (4.29 in × 2.36 in × 0.55 in)
Camera 2.0 MP 3.2 MP 5 MP

BlackBerry 7 series
Model BlackBerry Bold 9900 BlackBerry Bold 9930 BlackBerry Bold 9790
Image BlackBerry Bold 9900 Photo of a black BlackBerry Bold 9790, english keyboard.
Announce Date August 3, 2011[7] November 15, 2011[12]
Display 640 x 480 px 2.8 inch TFT LCD (built on 88 µm pixel) at 287 ppi 480 x 360 px 2.45 inch TFT LCD (built on 100 µm pixel) at 246 ppi
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 2 MSM8255T processor 1.2 GHz[19] Marvell Tavor MG1 PXA940 1 GHz
GPU Adreno 205 PowerVR SGX 543 GPU
RAM 768 MB
Storage 8 GB Internal Storage
microSD slot
Inputs Multi-touch touchscreen, volume controls, proximity and ambient light sensors, 3-axis accelerometer, Digital Compass, GPS/aGPS
Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n Dual band
Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP + EDR
Near field communication
Compatible Networks GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
UMTS/HSPA 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (RDE7*UW/RDY7*UW) or 2100/1700/900 MHz (RDV7*UW) 2100/900 MHz 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (REC71UW) or 2100/1700/900 MHz (RED71UW)
CDMA/EVDO — 800/1900 MHz —
HSDPA 14.4 Mbit/s 7.2 Mbit/s
HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
Operating system BlackBerry OS 7
Battery 1230 mAH Replaceable Lithium-ion polymer battery
12.8 days standby (GSM/UMTS)
6.3 hours talk (GSM)
5.9 hours talk (UMTS)
50 hours music playback		 1230 mAH Replaceable Lithium-ion polymer battery
12.8 days standby (CDMA/GSM/UMTS)
6.6 hours talk (CDMA)
6.3 hours talk(GSM)
5.9 hours talk (UMTS)
50 hours music playback		 1230 mAH Replaceable Lithium-ion polymer battery
18 days standby (GSM)
17 days standby (UMTS)
5.2 hours talk(GSM)
5.3 hours talk (UMTS)
33 hours music playback
6.3 hours video playback
Weight 130 g (4.6 oz) 107 g (3.8 oz)
Dimensions 115 mm × 66 mm × 10.5 mm (4.53 in × 2.60 in × 0.41 in) 110 mm × 60 mm × 11.4 mm (4.33 in × 2.36 in × 0.45 in)
Camera 5 megapixel
4x digital zoom
Flash
HD video (720p) at 30 fps		 5 megapixel Continuous auto focus
2x digital zoom
Flash
VGA at 30 fps

References
  1. "BlackBerry Bold 9700 Specifications". Archived from the original on 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  2. "BlackBerry – Bold Smartphones – The Bold BlackBerry Smartphones 9650, 9700, 9000". Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. "Advanced Features and Refined Style of BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone Coming to Sprint". 26 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  4. "BlackBerry Bold 9650 also coming to Verizon". CNET.com. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  5. "BlackBerry Bold 9650 Release Date". Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  6. "BlackBerry Bold 9780 Release Date". Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  7. "Research In Motion Introduces New BlackBerry 7 Smartphones". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23.
  8. "RIM Showcases New BlackBerry 7.1 OS at CES 2012". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2012-05-20.
  9. "Are the Next-Gen BlackBerry Torch 9810/9860 & Bold 9900/9930 Looking for an Audience?". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  10. Myriam Joire. "BlackBerry Bold 9900 hands-on (update: video)". Engadget. AOL.
  11. "BlackBerry Bold 9900 4G". Consumersearch. 4 November 2020.
  12. "Research In Motion Expands BlackBerry 7 Portfolio with the New BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 Smartphones". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25.
  13. "RIM Introduces the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17.
  14. "RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Bold 9700 Smartphone". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2012-04-28.
  15. "RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2012-01-05.
  16. "RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Bold 9780 Smartphone". Research in Motion. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07.
  17. "RIM and China Mobile Introduce BlackBerry Bold 9788". Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  18. Wilson Rothman (12 May 2008). "BlackBerry Bold (aka 9000) Officially Official". Gizmodo. Gawker Media.
  19. "RIM BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 (RIM Pluto) Specs - Technical Datasheet - PDAdb.net". pdadb.net.
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