BlackBerry Bold 9700 review
The Bold 9700 is the latest in RIM’s flagship line up and its sleek design has got our mouth watering. Does it really deserve to be range topper though? We review it to find out.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is our favourite RIM device to date. It takes the essential, top-running features of the Bold 9000 and adds a sleek body and much-improved OS with 5.0.

To select anything, you simply press down on the trackpad and will hear and feel a satisfying click as it responds.
The same satisfying response can be said of the keyboard too. It's full QWERTY none of this SureType here, and each key is angled, as it was on the Bold 9000.
The keys may be smaller, but the texture means you want miss a key because they're so well defined under the fingertip.
The top of the Bold 9700 is angled, like on the Curve 8900. What you won't see on the Curve 8900 though, are the mute and lock buttons, almost invisibly built into the panel, at either end. Click on these and you'll feel them only very lightly give underneath your finger.
We thought this was a little unreliable it's very hard to judge whether you've activated the option, so you'll have to check on the screen that you've either locked the keyboard or muted the phone.
Packed into the Bold 9700's sleek frame is all the connectivity you could want. There's Wi-Fi a/b/g, HSDPA, A-GPS complete with Google Maps and Stereo Bluetooth all onboard.
The introduction of OS 5.0 on the Bold 9700 just adds to the ultra sleek design of the hardware. And, although you won't see any big changes to the look of the interface in general, it's what inside that counts.
If you're a BlackBerry Messenger user, this has been revamped, and you can make great use of BlackBerry's barcode messaging feature.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.
Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.
As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.
-
Is ChatGPT making us dumber? A new MIT study claims using AI tools causes cognitive issues, and it’s not the first – Microsoft has already warned about ‘diminished independent problem-solving’
News A recent study from MIT suggests that using AI tools impacts brain activity, with frequent users underperforming compared to their counterparts.
By Ross Kelly Published
-
Hackers are using Microsoft 365 features to bombard enterprises with phishing emails – and they’ve already hit more than 70 organizations
News A new phishing campaign uncovered by researchers at Varonis shows threat actors are abusing Microsoft 365's Direct Send feature to launch phishing attacks.
By Emma Woollacott Published
-
Plans announced to resurrect former steelworks as a ‘green’ data center
News Plans have been put forward to transform the former Ravenscraig steelworks in Scotland into a green AI data center.
By Ross Kelly Published