October 30, 2010 By

RIM unveils the Blackberry PlayBook

With several players now entering the tablet market hot on the heels of the Apple iPad, it’s hardly surprising that RIM has thrown its hat into the ring.

In the case of the BlackBerry manufacturer, that hat is in the shape of the BlackBerry PlayBook, which aims to provide the business functionality that is traditional BlackBerry territory alongside more fun multimedia options.

Designed to compliment the existing BlackBerry portfolio, the PlayBook will work just as well for a sole trader or a large corporation.

The ability to multitask is what BlackBerry users demand, and that’s a core feature of the BlackBerry PlayBook. It is powered by a 1Ghz dual core processor and a new version of BlackBerry’s operating system has been designed specifically for the tablet, making it easy to switch between applications.

It supports Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and HTML 5, giving you a full browsing experience. And for recording video, there are dual HD cameras for video capture and conferencing can both record HD video at the same time, while media can be easily shared on external displays via a microHDMI port.

The PlayBook’s screen is a 7-inch LCD capactive touchscreen and it supports many forms of video playback. But one of its most impressive features is the easy integration with all BlackBerry smartphones, meaning that content and features such as BlackBerry Messenger can be used directly from your PlayBook.

Clove expect the BlackBerry PlayBook to be released in Spring 2011.
Features of BlackBerry PlayBook
7″ LCD capacitive touch screen
BlackBerry Tablet OS
1 GHz dual-core processor
Dual HD Cameras
WiFi
Bluetooth
3G connection via a smartphone
Ultra thin

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October 26, 2010 By

BlackBerry Torch 9800 – two smartphones in one

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 has been described by many as ‘two phones in one’, with its improved touch screen technology and additional slide-out qwerty keyboard. But rather than being a smartphone with an identity crisis, the Torch 9800 combines the best of both worlds and takes all the favourite bits from other BlackBerry models, bringing them together in one device.

RIM have always had a large, captive sector of the business market, but not all of their smartphones have greatly appealed beyond that spectrum. However, the BB Torch 9800 aims to address that and does so admirably, being packed with all the business essentials while also being seriously stylish and cool.

With the 9800 it’s all about choice.

Take the keyboard, for example. There’s a BlackBerry keyboard just a fraction thinner than the Bold’s, which slides away beneath the capacitive touch screen. Text can be entered from either the screen or the keyboard – you choose what’s most natural to you.

Perhaps for answering an email you’d rather use the keyboard and optical trackpad, while browsing your friends’ latest Facebook activity might be better on the touch screen.

Much talked about before the Torch’s release was the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, which will be familiar to seasoned BlackBerry enthusiasts while also being more powerful and easier to use. The interface has been redesigned and made simpler and it now integrates better with RSS feeds and social network sites such as Twitter and MySpace.

Though RIM is not anywhere near Apple when it comes to apps, there are an ever growing number available. The Torch 9800 is the first BlackBerry that comes with BlackBerry App World pre-installed, making it easier for you to browse and purchase applications. You can make the most of the enhanced multimedia features by using the YouTube or Podcasts apps.
Universal search enables you to search through email, messages, contacts, music, videos and more on the smartphone, as well as extend search to the Internet or to discover applications on BlackBerry App World.

Internet browsing has also been improved thanks to the inclusion of a new and rich WebKit-based browser.

The packed features of this smartphone will have many enthusiasts and BlackBerry newcomers alike keen to get their hands on one – one of the most coveted smartphones of the year.

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October 22, 2010 By

BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105 – keeping you connected

When it was brought out earlier this year, the BlackBerry Pearl 9105 caused a bit of a stir by being the first in the range to be released with a standard numeric keyboard, rather than the qwerty keyboard that had until then defined the BlackBerry’s design.

However, the functionality of the keyboard hasn’t been lost, meaning for essential features such as BlackBerry Messenger it’s as responsive as you’d expect. SuteType technology learns the words you use most in texts and emails so you can write messages at lightning speed.

The removal of the qwerty keyboard means that the Pearl 9105 has a sleek, candybar design and a real air of elegance, meaning it will be attractive to both BlackBerry officianados (for its functionality) and those who’ve never owned a RIM phone before (for its good looks).

There’s a 3.2 megapixel camera that enables you to snap high quality photographs and record video. And you can upgrade your phone’s memory to 34GB with a MicroSD card, meaning there’s plenty of space to store all your precious memories.

Video and music playback is easy and of excellent quality and other key features include built-in GPS with Blackberry maps, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and a good battery life. The 1150 mAHr battery will provide 30 hours music playback, 5 hours talk-time or 18 days stand-by time.

The easy to use, familiar handset means this is the ideal first smartphone, while its high-end feature set and performance will make the Pearl 9105 attractive to even the most experienced Smartphone users.

 

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October 18, 2010 By

BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 – a RIM smartphone without the price tag

If you’re looking for a cool RIM smartphone without the price tag, the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300 is the perfect choice.

The Curve 9300 is an entry-level BlackBerry, an upgrade from the hugely popular Curve 8520. But wait, there’s more. In designing the Curve 9300, RIM have taken all the best bits of the 8520 and spliced them with all the highlights of the massively popular BB Bold 9700 to create a universally interesting little smartphone.

Of smaller dimensions than the 9700 but larger than the 8250, one of the most talked-about upgrades to the 9300 is the addition of 3G connectivity, which makes it even easier to stay in touch.

Though described as an entry-level smartphone, the Curve 9300 doesn’t skimp of features – there’s Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS and a decent, front-facing camera, but what’s most impressive is the addition of dedicated media buttons along the top of the phone. These mean your music is easy to access and once again gives you a phone that’s the perfect hybrid of business and pleasure.

The optical trackpad, first introduced on the Bold 9700, gives smoother navigation than the trackball of old. It’s a touch-sensitive control, meaning you can navigate your way around menus with ease. It’s clickable, too. Then, of course, there’s the standard BlackBerry qwerty keyboard, which enables fast thumb typing for texts and emails.

With the 9300 mobile messaging is made simple and you will always be in touch – all at an attractive, lower pricepoint than the Bold 9700.

 

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July 8, 2010 By

Smartest smartphone user revealed!

BlackBerry Bold 9700 winner James Howell

James Howell is the winner of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 competition.

Back in April, we launched a search for the smartest business use of a smartphone.

The prize for one lucky winner was a brand new BlackBerry Bold 9700, and with more than 200 entries the competition was stiff.

What was clear from the wide variety of entries was just how versatile today’s smartphones are, not to mention how innovative their owners can be. Choosing the winner was a very difficult decision for the Clove Technology team.

However, the ultimate winner was James Howell, who works in the IT department of a school. James told us: “Working in a school, money for devices and equipment is limited. I use my BlackBerry to keep track of support requests, monitor the status of hardware around the site, and to switch on Bluetooth to find out when students are using their phones and shouldn’t be!”

Chris Love from Clove said: “It was great to see James win this prize of a Blackberry 9700, we even made it more special by sending him one of the white versions, so very unique! I hope it helps James further with his work at school, well done! Congratulations to the 10 runners up as well.”

James was delighted to receive his prize, a BlackBerry Bold 9700 and bag of BlackBerry goodies.

Ten lucky runners up won a bag of BlackBerry accessories.

Among the favourite entries were Hazel Rigiazo, a hairdresser whose smartphone features an app to enable customers to see what a new hairstyle would look like and whether it would suit them, Khaled Khalil, who photographed notes on a whiteboard during a meeting and emailed them to participants so that everyone had full notes, Luke Harwood, who uses his smartphone to book and organise gigs for his band, and junior doctor Abby Parish, who uses hers to refer to online papers and journals to assist in the treatment of her patients.

We also particularly liked the entry from Neil Tattersall, a busy dad who works from home. By playing lullabies through his smartphone’s speakers, he’s able to get his toddler to sleep – so he can get on with some work!

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December 3, 2009 By

Detailed video review of the Blackberry Bold 9700

In our travels on YouTube we found this detailed review of the Blackberry Bold 9700. It is for the US AT&T version of the handset, but the video quality is excellent and the review is detailed, so we thought it might be handy for those interested in seeing some more of Blackberry’s latest release.

Visit this link for an unboxing video of the UK spec Blackberry Bold 9700.

If you are interested in the Blackberry Bold 9700, we have them in stock at www.clove.co.uk now.

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December 1, 2009 By

Blackberry side by side review – Bold 9700, Curve 8900, Bold 9000

We found this handy side by side video review of the new Blackberry Bold 9700, Blackberry Curve 8900 and the Bold 9000. It is good for those of you who would like to see the differences between them.

If you are interested in any of the machines in this review, you can buy them from our main site www.clove.co.uk

Blackberry Bold 9700

Blackberry Curve 8900 (Javelin)

Blackberry Bold 9000

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November 27, 2009 By

Stuff.tv comparison of the Blackberry Bold 1 and Bold 9700 (Bold 2)

A video from stuff.tv comparing the new Blackberry Bold 9700 with the original Bold 1, from the launch event in Germany

You can see a full unboxing video of the new Bold 9700.

If you are interested in the Blackberry Bold 9700, we have them in stock now.

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November 19, 2009 By

Exclusive interview with Blackberry on the new Blackberry Bold 9700

You must see pretty much every new phone on the market. What would you say really makes the new Blackberry Bold 9700 stand out?

The Bold 9700 is an all-in-one package – there’s no need to take anything else with you on the go. It’s a phone, address book and calendar to keep you organized; it’s a camera and media player to keep you entertained; it has instant email, all the major social networking applications, instant messenger, games and endless applications for just about anything you need. There’s no need to carry multiple gadgets with you when you can do everything with this one.

Why should Blackberry users who have quite recently upgraded to the Blackberry Bold 1 or the Blackberry Storm consider upgrading to the Blackberry 9700?

Each BlackBerry device works the same way – the software remains constant on every piece of hardware that we have, so switching between BlackBerry devices is simple. The users already know the interface and know how to enjoy all the features BlackBerry has to offer. The benefit of the new BlackBerry Bold 2 over the earlier versions of the Bold and Storm is the new, small sleek size and design, along with the brand-new optical track-pad navigation system, giving the outer shell of the powerful Blackberry solution an overhaul in style.

For users running older versions of Blackberry, is now the time to upgrade?

As mentioned earlier, once you’re a BlackBerry user, it’s easy to switch between devices because the operating system looks and feels the same across all BlackBerry devices. Now is the time to upgrade if the user is looking for more powerful features on a BlackBerry, such as a speedy 3G processor, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, 3.2MP camera with auto-focus and 5x zoom, and a sleek new outer design.

Quite a few people moved from using Blackberry to the iPhone does the Blackberry Bold 9700 have the features to win them back?

This is a bit of a leading question, I’m not sure its factual because we don’t actually see a lot of BlackBerry users moving to the iPhone We see feature phone users moving to Smartphones and choosing usually an iPhone or BlackBerry, but not actively moving off BlackBerry to iPhone.

With the Blackberry 9700 we have created a market leading phone with all the features that Blackberry users love. We’ve kept the consistency with other Blackberry models for our existing user base whilst adding a large number of features all packaged in a beautifully sleek design to win new users and existing users looking to upgrade. One of the key reasons why Blackberry users love Blackberry devices is that they are amazing for email and all these benefits carry over for users who enjoy using social media applications. Coupled with its highly intuitive user interface, market leading performance and multi tasking abilities we believe the Bold 9700 really stands out in the market.

Blackberry has always had its reputation for business users and email. How does the Blackberry Bold 2 stack up against other leading phones for consumer features like its camera, video and social media apps?

BlackBerry’s solution is not comparable to any other smartphone. The way it allows users to simultaneously use applications is unique. Other smartphones make you open and close apps before moving onto the next one. But with BlackBerry, you are able to run all your social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc in the background while using the media player, games, etc. Then when you get a new message on one of them, you are instantly notified and you can check this without having to log back into the application. BlackBerry is the ultimate device for multi-tasking.

For those of us who have never owned a Blackberry what would say are the top 5 reasons they should consider the Blackberry 9700?

1) Powerful email, messaging and social networking solution – you are never out of touch no matter what your messaging tool of choice may be!
2) Beautiful, sleek and durable designs, including half-VGA high-resolution screens and full keypads
3) Long-lasting battery life – do more with your device for longer without having to stop and charge it up
4) Multimedia – music and video player built-in that syncs your favourite music and videos using popular programs like Windows Media player and iTunes, plus a great camera so you can share your photos however you like, via MMS, Email, Facebook, etc.
5) A strong fast processor and 3G speeds making browsing the internet easy and fast

When is the Blackberry Bold 9700 going to be available for the UK market?

Blackberry Bold 9700 is available now in the UK. You can buy your Blackberry Bold 2 now from Clove Technology

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November 17, 2009 By

Blackberry Bold 2 (Blackberry Bold 9700) vs Bold 1 (Blackberry Bold 9000) why upgrade?

We are sure many owners of the original Blackberry Bold 9000 will be wondering why they’ll want to upgrade only a year later. We’ll be answering these questions to help you come to your own conclusions.

In this post we’ll be comparing the new Blackberry Bold 9700 or Blackberry Bold 2 with its predecessor the Blackberry Bold 9000 or Blackberry Bold 1. In the world of smartphones a year is a long time and the Blackberry Bold has evolved.

If you are looking for a detailed Blackberry Bold 9700 review you can find one here courtesy of Shaun from PDA247

Blackberry Bold 9000 Blackberry Bold 9700
Blackberry Bold 9000 Blackberry Bold 9700

So what are the main differences that you really want to know about and what do they mean?

The keyboard

If you own the original Bold 9000, you probably love the keyboard. At the time it was the best QWERTY keyboard available on the market. Sure it added to the width of the phone and made it bit chunky, but avid emailers couldn’t live without it.

Well Blackberry has addressed the width and perhaps surpassed themselves with the keyboard. It’ll take a bit of getting used to and we wouldn’t be surprised if your first impressions are that it is not as easy as the original. However, Shaun described it in his detailed review as the best front facing keyboard on the market, light to the touch whilst being extremely accurate for super quick thumb typing.

So if you love your thumb typing, once you are over the initial change there should be no looking back.

Display

The display size is slightly smaller than the original, but this is made up for by the resolution which is larger at 480 x 360 pixels. The quality is exceptional for both pictures and video, so if you upgrade you’ll be getting more pixels for your money and even better quality.

Size

If you found the original Bold a bit chunky, you’ll find that Blackberry have worked wonders on the size of the Bold 9700. It is now a much sleeker device and is a whole 16g lighter. With 6mm less width, 5mm less height and 0.9mm less depth the handset it is a lot less bulky in the pocket, with a great in hand feel.

Again there should be no regrets in upgrading here.

Navigation

Gone is the trackball, being replaced with optical trackpad. It gives a very natural feel to phone. There has been talk of unreliability of the trackballs and the trackpad which was introduced on the Blackberry Curve 8520 is known to be very reliable and great to use.

Moving on from the trackball to trackpad should be a natural transition and with added reliability there should be nothing to worry about.

Connection

The big difference here is the Bold 9700 is a full 3g phone, making email downloads even quicker and really opening up the world of internet browsing.

It is a speedy phone already and the 3g just makes it even better.

Battery

With the Bold 9700 Blackberry have surpassed themselves, and produced a smartphone with phenomenal battery life. They have obviously worked hard to optimise the software to work efficiently with an industry leading 1500mAh battery. So you shouldn’t have to worry about lugging your battery charger with you all the time.

Blackberry stats claim up to 6 hrs talk time and 17 days standby time on the Bold 9700, compared with 4.5 hrs talk time and 13.5 days standby time on the Bold 9000.

So again it is another big improvement on the original.

Performance

The performance is fantastic, the combination of a 624 Mhz processor and an OS widely regarded as one of the most efficient in the business, plus 256MB of memory, performance isn’t an issue. You’ll be listening to music and switching between multiple applications without the Bold 9700 stuttering or stalling.

Camera

The camera has been upgraded from a 2 megapixel camera to a 3.2 mega pixel camera. It is unlikely to impress David Bailey, but with zoom capability and an LED flash, it is great for those quick off the cuff snaps you need to keep Facebook and Twitter up to date. The 2x digital zoom operated by the trackpad is quite handy, especially with its good autofocus function.

Video

The video camera is good, if not amazing. It stands up well to other phones on the market and does the basics you’ll need recording at 30 frames per second and capable of 480 x 352 recording.

There isn’t a full video suite for editing afterward, but it should meet most people needs.

Side by side specifications

Blackberry Bold 9000 Blackberry Bold 9700
Weight 136 grams 122 grams
Height 114mm 109 mm
Width 66mm 60 mm
Depth 15mm 14.1 mm
Screen size 2.44” (diagonal)
Screen resolution 480 x 320 pixelHalf VGA resolution 480×360 pixel
High resolution color display
Talk time 4.5 hrs 6 hrs
Standby time 13.5 days 17 days (UTMS)
Camera 2 Megapixels 3.2 Megapixels
Camera functions Flash, 3x digital zoom Auto focus, image stabilization, Flash, 2x digital zoom
Video Video available, micro SD recommended Normal mode (480 x 352 pixel)
Navigation Trackball Optical trackpad
Maps and GPS
 GPS Blackberry Maps GPS with A-GPSBlackberry Maps
Wifi 802.11a/b/g 802.11 b/g
Wireless networks
  • UMTS: 2100/1900/850 MHz
  • GSM®: 1900/1800/900/850/MHz
  • North America: 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  • North America: 1900MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
  • Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  • Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  • EDGE networks
  • HSDPA networks
  • 3G (HSDPA) compatible
  • UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6), 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1,4,8)
  • GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz
  • Quad-band support: GSM 850; GSM

All in all it is quite a comprehensive upgrade, both from the surface and under the hood. Nothing in itself may be a deal clincher, but added together the features make quite a compelling case for the new Blackberry Bold 9700.

If you are interested in purchasing the Blackberry Bold 9700, Clove sell them both Sim free and on contract. Find out more here…

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