We take a look at AT&T's update to the BlackBerry 8800, now with Wi-Fi. Was this the improvement we were looking for?
Review summary of the RIM BlackBerry 8820 (AT&T):
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_it00.jpg) The BlackBerry 8820 is certainly a welcome update, but we'd be hesitant about paying more for the Wi-Fi privilege. For messaging, the BlackBerry does a nice job using the slower EDGE network. If you're really interested in faster Web browsing, the RIM's browser on the BlackBerry is not the best choice. Perhaps if the phone had enhanced calling options, like UMA, we could see the purpose of Wi-Fi, but there were other improvements to the BlackBerry interface, scheduling and productivity tools that we would have liked to see first. Release: September 2007. Price: $350.
Pros: Classy look of the BlackBerry 8800, now with Wi-Fi. Great call quality, excellent battery life.
Cons: Wi-Fi doesn't help much. Aging interface. Faster cellular networking would have been nicer.
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Full RIM BlackBerry 8820 (AT&T) Review:
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Design - Good
The BlackBerry 8820 looks like a larger version of the BlackBerry Pearl, which is not a bad thing. Besides the obvious trackball, it also comes with chrome bumbers and the same general shape as the Pearl, only wider, as opposed to the more stout-looking BlackBerry Curve series. We like the trackball, but not as much as we once did. It's a an improvement over the old clickwheel, but it should feel precise, when instead it's tracking felt very loose. Also, we would like to see it accelerate during scrolling. The letters are oddly shaped, contiguous rather than discretely placed. Each key has its own slope, which made typing a little nerve-wracking at first, but after a few long e-mails, we found our fingers had little trouble finding the keys. Still, we never felt as comfortable with the 8820's keyboard as we have with other BlackBerry devices.
The phone doesn't feel solid. Units we've tested tended to creak a bit, feeling like the plastic and metal had tiny gaps. Unlike, say, an iPod nano, whose gaps are so tight that you can't feel them, the BlackBerry device feels more loosely put together. Also, the user interface, while slightly improved since the Pearl thanks to its larger screen and, hence, larger icons, is mostly unchanged. It is an all-business affair, with long, textual menus, and little color or graphical flourish. Though the screen is nice and clear, a 2.5-inch, 65,000-color QVGA display, it seems almost wasted on this phone's barren interface.
Calling - Excellent
You couldn't ask for a better phone than the BlackBerry when it comes to calling options. The phone sounds crisp and clean. We're not sure to what extent the "noise cancellation" is affecting the quality, but the phone sounds as good as any smartphone we've used. The phone features all the calling capabilities we like, including Bluetooth, a good speakerphone, speaker-independent voice dialing and three-way calling. Setting up customized ring tones was easy, and the phone allows you to use MP3 files as rings. The contact list may be a bit bare to look at, but it's all business, and it features more fields than we could possibly ask for. What's more, you can dial a number or name directly into the dialing interface, and the phone searches for your contacts while you type. Setting up backups locally with BlackBerry Desktop was easy, and we had no problem accessing our Exchange server for our address book. We don't have any friends with AT&T's push to talk feature, but it's available on the BlackBerry 8820 if you need it (for a subscription fee).
Messaging - Very good
Push e-mail fanatics will be completely satisfied with the BlackBerry 8820's messaging capabilities, since it does well what BlackBerrys do best. Here, the lack of 3G isn't bothersome, as even attachments seem to load quickly. The BlackBerry can handle a wide variety of e-mail options as well, including support for up to 10 e-mail addresses. Unfortunately, many of these options rely on redirection software, which we find a bit obtrusive on our PCs. We prefer a more direct connection, but the redirector and Internet e-mail setup can synchronize with Exchange, Lotus Notes and IBM domino servers, which should make business users, the 8820's primary audience, happy. With no camera, MMS messages are pretty much out. The keyboard was not as easy to use from the get-go as the BlackBerry Curve, which has discrete keys. Still, the keyboard felt solid, though we never gave up staring at our fingers. The default font is a bit skinny for our taste, reinforcing the all-business attitude of the 8820, and even with font smoothing turned on, it isn't exactly a pleasing look. Still, you can cram literally hundreds of characters on screen at once.
We did a bit more digging and found some nice instant messaging options available for download. Though the device comes with only the BlackBerry IM client installed, we had no trouble finding clients for every major IM service, including our new office favorite, Google Talk. Even over the EDGE network, IM messages seemed responsive, and the client, though simple and bare, was effective.
Scheduling - Good
Nowhere does the RIM BlackBerry interface need a makeover more than the calendar and scheduling app. Though business users may be satisfied with the bare, heavily textual scheduling fields and the wiry calendar, RIM certainly won't be winning any beauty contests with the UI which is now, by our calculation, two or maybe three generations old. Sure, the BlackBerry offers more flexibility and options than Windows Mobile phones, but when the options come in a long, insipid list, it is much harder to sort through them. With this new generation of BlackBerry, so much of the exterior has changed that the interface seems even more dated. Of course, it works well, undoubtedly. Contacts synchronized easily between Outlook and the 8820, and the phone makes up for a lack of touch screen with good navigation using the trackball, and easy cut/copy/paste options. Still, the poor interface makes the whole experience less than pleasant.
Laptop sidekick - Mediocre
To it's credit, the BlackBerry device is more about leaving your laptop behind than adding to its functionality. With Wi-Fi for faster browsing, and good e-mail and scheduling options, the 8820 isn't meant to supplement a desktop nearly as much as Windows Mobile is. Still, we like tethered modem support on our smartphones, and EDGE networking is simply too slow to be useful to us for the uploading and serious browsing we do. We like that the BlackBerry 8820 uses simple mini-USB and can charge plugged into our computer, but this is a convenience, when we wanted some real power.
Multimedia and GPS - Good
The BlackBerry 8220 on AT&T uses TeleNav for GPS navigation, which is a nice choice. It won't supplant a true portable navigation device, but it is a much better option than the BlackBerry Maps navigator or Google Maps, which don't follow your route through turns. TeleNav found us quickly and navigated smoothly. We lost the signal a few times in the canyons of New York City, but driving around in suburban New Jersey, we had no serious issues.
The Web browser on the BlackBerry 8820 is definitely behind the times. More of a one-column affair (though there are a few layout options), the browser did a poor job of interpreting pages and rendering legible fonts. Our own site, especially, suffered. Wi-Fi certainly offers a speed boost over the EDGE connection, but we're getting more and more used to "desktop grade" browser, like the Opera Mini browser, that render a more faithful Web experience.
The BlackBerry 8820 comes with stereo Bluetooth and a microSD card slot, unfortunately located beneath the battery cover. We've seen both the Pearl and the Curve with 3.5mm headphone jacks, but the 8820 sticks to the stodgy, though standardized, 2.5mm jack. Adapters are available, but also inconvenient and easy to lose. In all, the mobile media experience is there, but seems more like an afterthought. The lack of a camera should be a good hint, this is a phone that is more serious about business.
Battery life - Excellent
The BlackBerry 8820 has extraordinary power management. For our tests, we turned off the Wi-Fi radio and just relied on cellular for calling. We managed a phone call that was just shy of nine hours, which is much more than the already-impressive five hours that RIM claims. We've never seen such performance from a smartphone battery. Here, the lack of HSDPA support probably helps greatly, as 3G capabilities do drain batteries quicker.
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