Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2008/05/12/blackberry_9000_bold/

RIM pitches 'power user' tri-band HSDPA BlackBerry

Bold sneaks in ahead of 3G iPhone

By James Sherwood

Posted in Personal Tech, 12th May 2008 10:11 GMT

Blackberry has launched its first tri-band - 850/1900/2100MHz - HSDPA 3G handset, dubbed Bold. The phone was first uncovered by the rumour mill back in 2007.

Manufacturer RIM states that the quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge Bold- aka the BlackBerry 9000 - is crafted from "premium materials", both inside and out. On the inside, this translates into integrated GPS and 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, while the device’s rear is finished in a “leather-like” material.

Blackberry_bold_9000_all_sides

RIM's Blackberry 9000: the email company's first tri-band HSDPA handset

A slot for SD/SDHC memory cards of up to 16GB support the 9000’s 1GB on on-board storage, which should give you plenty of space to store all those important emails, which Blackberry boasts can be sent and received during a phone call. Bluetooth 2.0 is also built in for headset usage.

Bold also has a two-megapixel camera with a 5x digital zoom. Images are displayed on the handset’s 320 x 480 display.

Music also makes an appearance on the 9000 handset, with a media player that plays images and video snapped on the handset with audio backing – which can be played out through the device’s dual speakers. Audio filters also let you switch between pre-set music modes, including Jazz and Hip Hop.

RIM’s Blackberry Bold handset will be available globally this summer, but a specific UK release or price hasn’t been pushed out yet.