BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction to BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 is a smartphone that was announced in May 2011 and released in August of the same year. Known for its classic business-oriented design, the device was part of the BlackBerry Bold series and was manufactured by Research In Motion (RIM). Despite being discontinued, it remains memorable for its physical QWERTY keyboard paired with a capacitive touchscreen, providing a unique combination that appealed to many users at the time.

Design and Build

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 boasts a sleek and professional design. It has dimensions of 115 x 66 x 10.5 mm and weighs 130 grams, making it relatively compact and easy to handle. The device features a QWERTY keyboard, which is a signature element of BlackBerry phones, allowing for efficient typing. The build quality is robust, with a plastic casing that offers durability despite its lightweight nature. Furthermore, it is available in two classic Black and White colors, appealing to a wide range of users.

Display Characteristics

Equipped with a 2.8-inch TFT touchscreen, the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 offers a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, resulting in a respectable pixel density of approximately 286 ppi. The 4:3 aspect ratio provides a balanced and clear viewing experience for text and media. The screen’s contrast ratio is recorded at 1304:1, ensuring that colors are vivid and bright, making it suitable for reading emails and browsing the web.

Operating System and Performance

Running on BlackBerry OS 7.0, the Bold Touch 9900 was designed to provide a seamless and efficient user experience. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm QC 8655 processor, which enhances its performance capabilities, ensuring smooth multitasking and quick access to applications. The combination of this processor and the operating system allows users to enjoy features like BlackBerry Messenger and a variety of productivity tools.

Memory and Storage

The device comes with 768MB of RAM, which was quite adequate for the tasks typically performed on smartphones of its era. It also includes 8GB of internal storage capacity. For those needing additional space, the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 offers the convenience of a dedicated microSDHC card slot, allowing for storage expansion.

Camera Capabilities

The primary camera of the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 is a 5 MP shooter with an LED flash. It is capable of capturing decent quality images and videos, with video recording support at 720p resolution. While it lacks a front-facing selfie camera, the main camera was suitable for basic photography needs and video capturing.

Connectivity Features

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 supports GSM and HSPA network technologies, with 2G and 3G bands ensuring reliable connectivity options. The device offers Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for local wireless connections, and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR ensures easy pairing with other devices. Additional features include GPS and A-GPS for navigation, NFC for wireless communication, and a microUSB 2.0 port for charging and data transfer. While it lacks a dedicated FM radio, these features provide comprehensive connectivity capabilities.

Battery Life

The phone is powered by a removable Li-Ion 1230 mAh battery. It provides up to 307 hours of stand-by time on both 2G and 3G networks. For talk time, users can expect up to 6 hours and 30 minutes on 2G, and around 5 hours and 50 minutes on 3G. The device also allows for music playback of up to 50 hours, which is quite impressive for a phone from its time.

Audio and Sound Quality

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 is equipped with a loudspeaker and a 3.5mm jack, allowing users to enjoy audio through built-in speakers or headphones. The audio quality testing reveals a voice noise level at 71dB, noise level at 72dB, and ringing level at 76dB, indicative of its suitable sound performance. In terms of audio quality, the device offers noise level at -86.3dB and crosstalk at -81.2dB, which is commendable.

Additional Features

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 includes various sensors like proximity and compass. It supports HTML browsing, providing a satisfactory web surfing experience. The device also supports BlackBerry Maps, helping users with navigation and location-based services. Despite the absence of a radio feature, users found its overall functionality satisfactory for standard smartphone uses.

Market and Pricing

Upon release, the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 was priced around 140 EUR, positioning it as a premium device in the league of business smartphones. The device was particularly appealing to business professionals and BlackBerry enthusiasts who valued the physical keyboard and reliable performance tied to the BlackBerry brand.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 remains an iconic representation of BlackBerry’s commitment to business-centric smartphones, characterized by its solid build, tactile keyboard, and efficient performance. Despite being discontinued, it holds a place in smartphone history as a reliable and functional device that met the needs of many professional users during its time in the market.