Streaming video is as smooth as I’ve seen on a BlackBerry (T-Mobile’s 4G connectivity helps here), and audio from the speakers comes through crisp, clear and plenty loud. But again, the small screen makes it hard to watch a clip any longer than the Double Rainbow Guy.
The 5-megapixel camera also leaves a lot to be desired, and as with most BlackBerry phones feels as though it were tossed on as an afterthought. It has an LED flash you can toggle on and off with the ability to record video at 720p. But compared to other modern smartphones, the engineering here feels downright lazy, capturing stale-looking images with flat uninspired colors. Here’s one I took using the Bold’s native camera app:
And here’s one straight from an iPhone 4:
There’s no contest. (Oh, and there’s no front-facing camera either.)
(MORE: The Top 10 Camera Apps For the iPhone)
The Inside
On paper the Bold holds its own: It comes with a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor and 8GB of internal memory. BlackBerry’s OS 7 is smooth and loads apps quickly, and when augmented with the new touchscreen makes for a seriously fast UI.
On the upside, BlackBerry’s strengths like email and BBM are as brutally efficient as ever: No unnecessary frills or window dressings; just straightforward and super-fast messaging that keep you up to the minute with push notifications.
It may not be the prettiest set-up in smartphone land, but it’s a well-designed OS that does exactly what you tell it to do.
(…review continues on next page…)