[ BlackBerry Bold Review Series - Table of Contents ]
The Web's First Review of the BlackBerry Bold 9000.
Remember those three BlackBerry 9000 units that showed up on eBay? As I made note in an earlier post, when the auction got pulled by the powers that be (err.. RIM?!!) there were still two units remaining, leaving one Crazy BlackBerry Addict anxiously waiting for the delivery of this next generation BlackBerry smartphone.
As luck would have it, it turns out I’m the Crazy BlackBerry Addict! When mention of the eBay 9000s came up in the forums, there was plenty of discussion as to whether the devices were legit or not. The images accompanying the auction seemed too good to be photoshopped and were unlike any other leaked 9000 pictures I had encountered previously, so it only took a few minutes to make the decision to click the Buy it Now button and PayPal over the funds. At £399.99GBP + £19.99GBP shipping (~ $828USD) it was a gamble, but potentially a good deal considering previously reported rumors that the 9000 could carry an MSRP in the $900-$1,000 range. Worst case scenario if things went south I’d eat KD for a month and have a good story to tell.
As for these particular BlackBerry 9000s, the image above says it all. 100% the real deal. It was delivered to my house yesterday afternoon and I’ve been playing with my eBay-purchased toy ever since. You’ll want to keep it locked to CrackBerry.com. I was planning on writing up one super review, but there's simply WAY too much info to put into one post. Part I (this post) will cover the unboxing and initial impressions/comparisons and after getting a few more hours facetime with the device Part II will get into the device features and OS4.6. I'll follow that up with an in-depth video walk through and we are also going to record a Special Edition BlackBerry 9000 podcast. Craig and I will record the show Friday evening, so if the posts and video leave you with any unanswered questions be sure to call them in to our Podcast Hotline at 1-866-904-5772 ext. 222 and we will answer them on the show. My fridge is stocked with Red Bull, I have a BlackBerry 9000 in hand and I don't plan on sleeping until every feature has been tested and menu option explored. Let the FUN begin!
Read on for my initial reactions to the BlackBerry 9000 >>
[ Disclaimer: Changes to the Hardware and upgrades to the Software will likely be made before the BlackBerry 9000 is officially released ]
Unboxing the BlackBerry 9000
I made the eBay purchase on April 27th and it arrived a week later. The seller didn’t offer any alternative shipping options so I was stuck with 5 Business Day International delivery. The last couple of days I was beginning to think my BlackBerry 9000 would wind up meeting the same fate as did the O2 8300 Curve I had tried to buy from the UK when it wasn’t yet available from AT&T. Apparently it left Europe but got lost in transit and never made it to Canada. I like to think it’s lying at the bottom of the ocean, waiting to be discovered by a worthy individual. That image is more pleasant than the unfortunate truth (thief!).
No Fancy Box, but the eBay BlackBerry 9000 Crossed the Pond Unscathed
The 9000 arrived in a well wrapped package that contained an even better well-wrapped package. No fancy BlackBerry box, but inside were the goods that mattered:
Wall charger (European connector – thanks, but no help to me!)
USB cable
Black rubber skin case – unbranded and stinky (the whole box smelled like rubber)
Battery
& last but not least, one BLACKBERRY 9000 Smartphone
Once unpacked, I pulled the back cover off the device (you push in the button at the bottom and the entire back side of the phone essentially comes off) and inserted the battery. Now for the moment of truth. After a few seconds the red LED lit up (blindingly bright LED light I might add) and a few seconds later the display lit up and from there the 9000 took a leisurely 1m49s to boot up.
Battery Door Release at Bottom - Reveals BIG Battery Compartment
BlackBerrys always take a long time too start up – it’s a smartphone law of nature - but I thought maybe the 9000’s mighty processor would cut down on that time. And it did, but not by much. I conducted a quick boot-up race with my BlackBerry 8320 Curve clocking in at 1m59s and BlackBerry 8830 at 2m13s. There’s a good chance the 9000 will be snappier come its full commercial release, as I’m sure this pre-production 9000 is running a lot of “diagnostic stuff” in the background. Regardless, boot up time really isn’t an issue, as unlike so many other smartphones (cough..Windows Mobile...cough), BlackBerrys rarely crash! :-)
Rolls Royce
