Tata Indicom and Research in Motion (RIM) today announced the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone in India. It is the first combined CDMA-GSM 3G-ready smartphone in the BlackBerry Bold series. This handset comes with full QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera, 512 MB of Flash Memory, an Optical Trackpad and so on.
“As the youngest dual-technology telecom service provider in India, the addition of a Smartphone like the BlackBerry Bold 9650 to our portfolio of products and services fromResearch In Motion is an important step in strengthening our offerings to consumers. Our pan-India reach, supported by the traditionally strong speeds on TTL’s cutting-edge CDMA network, will provide users with an exceptional voice and data communication experience, enhanced by the ability to share and experience multimedia, chat and social networking on the go,” said Mr Sunil Batra, President of CDMA Operations at Tata Teleservices Limited.The BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone delivers premium phone and multimedia features, together with global roaming support and the industry’s leading mobile solution for e-mail, messaging and social networking. We’re pleased to work with Tata Indicom to bring this powerful new smartphone to their customers in India,” said Frenny Bawa, Managing Director-India, Research In Motion.
BlackBerry Bold 9650 features a 2.4 inch display with 480 x 360 pixels resolution, 512 MB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory, Wi-Fi, 3G Connectivity, 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, GPS capabilities, Bluetooth 2.1, up to 312 hours stand-by time, up to 5 hours talktime and 1400 mAh battery.
Blackberry Bold 9650 is exclusively available in India for Tata Indicom customers at just Rs.27,990. Tata Indicom customers will receive a free data pack worth Rs.900 per month, as well as 500 MB of tethered modem dat
PERFORMANCE
The BlackBerry Bold 9650 is a solid performer in almost every category. As a messaging-centric device its web browsing capabilities are weak, but for most uses the 9650 is a smooth operator.
I did experience some glitches requiring the device to be powered on and off. Resets were relatively quick and occurred without any data loss.Wireless Data
The Bold 9650 boasts 802.11b/g, GPS, Bluetooth with profiles for streaming music, and support for UMTS/HSPA, CDMA/EV-DO and GSM based networks. In layman's terms, this means that this smartphone is one of the few offered by Sprint and Verizon that can be used outside of the United States.
The Bold 9650 boasts 802.11b/g, GPS, Bluetooth with profiles for streaming music, and support for UMTS/HSPA, CDMA/EV-DO and GSM based networks. In layman's terms, this means that this smartphone is one of the few offered by Sprint and Verizon that can be used outside of the United States.
The addition of Wi-Fi is a welcome improvement over the Tour, and is probably the biggest reason to choose this model over its predecessor.
The streaming audio profiles work wonderfully; I was able to stream high-quality Pandora radio over my car's audio system after initial pairing.
Call Quality
Call quality is spot-on with this version of theBold. From low to high volume the speaker supports a range of sound from deep to high. The speakerphone is sufficiently loud as well.
Call quality is spot-on with this version of theBold. From low to high volume the speaker supports a range of sound from deep to high. The speakerphone is sufficiently loud as well.
Messaging
The strongest point of the BlackBerry is its messaging.Connections to Gmail accounts sync messages and contacts seamlessly. A message sent from a computer will show up as a sent message on the device, which creates an incredibly useful completely current email record at all times.
The strongest point of the BlackBerry is its messaging.Connections to Gmail accounts sync messages and contacts seamlessly. A message sent from a computer will show up as a sent message on the device, which creates an incredibly useful completely current email record at all times.
SMS conversations are bubbled to seem like instant messenger chats, and instant messaging clients (AIM, GTalk, Y-Messenger, ICQ, MSN)all integrate well into the BlackBerry message indication system.
A neat feature I recently discovered in the newest version of the BlackBerry OS is the ability to port SMS contacts into the BlackBerry Messenger interface. This feature combined with the ability to placeBlackBerry Messenger contact icons on the home screen mean that users can place messaging icons for any of their contacts on the home screen for even quicker access. A job well done, RIM!
Entertainment
The entertainment options on the Bold 9650 come from the BlackBerry OS and from prepackaged Sprint apps. Offerings include the standard slew of games, (Brickbreaker, Word Mole, Texas Hold Em, Sudoku, Klondike) , Sprint apps for NASCAR mobile, Football, SprintTV, an upcoming Sprint Music Store, Pocket Express aggregator, and others. Social networking apps are also included.
The entertainment options on the Bold 9650 come from the BlackBerry OS and from prepackaged Sprint apps. Offerings include the standard slew of games, (Brickbreaker, Word Mole, Texas Hold Em, Sudoku, Klondike) , Sprint apps for NASCAR mobile, Football, SprintTV, an upcoming Sprint Music Store, Pocket Express aggregator, and others. Social networking apps are also included.
The web browser is the same standard one on most BlackBerry OS 5.0 devices come with, with minor cosmetic changes.As I mentioned earlier, thisapp is one of the weakest features on the phone, and isn't even in the same league as thebrowsers offered bytheiPhone or Android OS devices.ProductivityThe productivity apps, like the entertainment apps, are standard issue. The most useful apps are the Documents To Go suite by DataViz, which let you work with Microsoft Office files on your smartphone.
Other useful tools include multiple calendar support, contact grouping and Sprint navigation.
The biggest productivity asset of this device however is the BlackBerry OS 5.0 interface, which is an improvement over previous versions.
Camera
The 3.2 megapixel camera on the Bold 9650features auto-focus, video recording and flash.
The 3.2 megapixel camera on the Bold 9650features auto-focus, video recording and flash.
Using the camera has been made easier with this model. Previous auto-focus BlackBerrys required users to first focus and then completely press the key to capture an image. With the Bold the process has been simplified to a simple point and click - the device will focus itself.
Sample Images:
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Battery Life
With casual phone, messaging, and browsing use I observed just less than 18 hours of usable time from fully charge to battery-induced radio off. So you can probably expect to charge this device every night.
With casual phone, messaging, and browsing use I observed just less than 18 hours of usable time from fully charge to battery-induced radio off. So you can probably expect to charge this device every night.
It's true that RIM hit the mark with theBlackBerry Bold 9650. Unfortunately, that mark wasn't very high. As a messaging-centric device, the Bold is great. However, being a great messaging device isn't enough anymore to capture the consumer end of the market. As competition from Android and other platforms becomes stronger, RIM needs to innovate and add something truly unique to the experience in order to stay relevant.
The 9650 is an improvement over previous generations, but it's only a marginal improvement over the Tour and no improvement over the Bold 9700.
It's hard to look at the Bold 9650 and the competition and make an unreserved recommendation for the Bold. If you're a business user it's a different story, but for consumers, I'd say check out the competition before jumping aboard the BlackBerry bandwagon.
Pros:
- Feature-laden CDMA equivalent to Bold 9700
- Strong Gmail integration
- Can roam outside of the U.S.
Cons:
- Tired styling
- Jumpy trackpad
- Awkward charging port placement
Individual Ratings: *
Service, Warranty & Support
Ease of Use
Design
Performance
Value
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
Service, Warranty & Support
Ease of Use
Design
Performance
Value
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
BlackBerry Bold 9650 Review & Price in India is Rs 11,550
