The BlackBerry Bold is a line of smartphones developed by BlackBerry, Ltd.. 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 9700 and 9780 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; efficient, finger-friendly QWERTY
keyboard, typical BlackBerry messaging capabilities with a distinctive, more premium keyboard
than the Curve series. The Bold series is usually more expensive and has more premium
materials unlike the curve, and has much better 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
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is a high-end mobile phone data device 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: Wi-Fi calling supported UMA
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 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. BlackBerry Bold 9780 Series
The BlackBerry Bold 9780 is a high-end mobile phone data device developed by BlackBerry,
released globally in November 2010. 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 and double the onboard memory of the 9700. 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 BlackBerry announced their seventh major release of BlackBerry OS. It
included several major changes such as universal voice search, support for HTML 5, Liquid Graphics
and Near field communication. It also has many optimization which improves 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 BlackBerry announced BlackBerry OS 7.1 which allows Wi-Fi Tethering, BlackBerry
Tag and UMA calling. BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930
The BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 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. It takes design
cues from both its predecessor, the BlackBerry Tour 9630, as well as its GSM variant, the
BlackBerry Bold 9700. Thinnest BlackBerry then
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. 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 version was available with select carriers eventually.
BlackBerry Bold 9790 Introduced on November 15, 2011, the BlackBerry
Bold 9790 follows the ergonomics of its predecessor, the Bold 9780, with an upgraded 1 GHz processor.
The camera does auto focus, but can only produce VGA resolution videos.
Model comparison Early series
BlackBerry 7 series References
External links BlackBerry
BlackBerry Bold [1]