Sorry no pics as it wasnt mine but a friend of mine who works for Voda network ops...he tends to get these devices pretty early...3 weeks ago i played with a Blackberry Storm2 which i think is pretty damn good...so much so that im getting one hopefully by tommorrow fingers crossed through him as i cant buy one offline through voda at the moment and the price he has given is pretty cheap compared to others that are selling it offline.
Anyhow had a play with it last night and i have to say its pretty damn good....is it better than the Bold 9000??..depends really...i like the small form factor, the keys are very bold like so i liked the fact they kept that...its quite a bit smaller than my Bold so took some time getting used to. The trackpad is an absolute god send...geez forget about trackball issues ie getting dirt and the trackball getting stuck like it does now and again on my Bold...very easy to navigate and make selections.
The OS on his was a bit buggy but thats to be expected...one of the reasons why Voda have held back their shipments at the moment but from what i saw and played with it...its definitely a step in the right direction...one thing i will say is that the phone is very fast and smooth...mainly due to the fact that it has 256mb of app memory compared to the measly 128mb of app memory that comes with the Bold 9000...the CPU is the same as it is in the Bold 9000 so is very quick...i think the Bold has the fastest cpu out of all the BB's out on the market.
All in all i was very very impressed with the 9700...its nice, well built, smaller than the Bold 9000 and lighter...its similar to the 8900 curve but a much better handset. Its around the same thickness as the Bold...maybe slightly thinner.
One good thing i liked the most was the sd card slot is now easier to access..it sits on top of the battery ie just under the camera...also the battery cover is rock solid ie it fits tightly...perhaps a bit too tight but a good change nonethless seeing as previous Bolds had loose battery covers. Also the 3.2mp camera is much better than the 2mp that comes with the Bold 9000...still not as great as the 5mp or even 12mp camera phones out there but honestly you dont buy a BB purely for its camera
...but its definitely better and takes better quality pics than the 9000 Bold.
The thing i didnt like was the faux leather backing but unlike the previous bold...its only the middle of the battery cover that has it...so is not a big deal really...its a very well built device and looks the part ie keeping in line with the Bold high end look.
Would i get one??...yes without a doubt...in fact ive already pre-ordered a sim free unbranded 9700 last week for £400 which i think is an excellent price...hoping to get it by the 3rd week of Nov as a couple of places are saying 11th of Nov but they arent 110% sure...doesnt bother me when its coming as ill have my Storm2 to play with in the meantime.
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