BlackBerry 9700 Review - "It’s the finest BlackBerry ever crafted"

The crew over at BGR got to play around with a BlackBerry 9700 a bit early and their review is positively glowing. Not only do they remark that it's a worthy successor to the BlackBerry Bold in every way, but they even go as far to say "it's the finest BlackBerry every crafted" and they are including the Tour in that assessment.

Picture the beloved, but large BlackBerry Bold. Now picture that but smaller, with a new trackpad, better buttons, free of the cheesy plastic chrome edge, new BlackBerry software and overall improved hardware and you've got the BlackBerry 9700. The faux leather backing is back, which I kind of liked because I thought it gave off a more professional appeal, as is the gorgeous screen, although they put int he black border that we saw on the Tour which some can put up with and some just hate. I personally would have preferred an edge-to-edge screen, but you can't always get what you want.

Overall, the review is absolutely glowing. They continue on to tout the keyboard as the "best BlackBerry keyboard yet" and the call quality and battery life all had amazing remarks as well. The only thing that wasn't discussed was the browser, although it's a BlackBerry so you shouldn't expect it to be great. What most impressed BGR and impresses us is the fact that BlackBerry has managed to not only pack in and improve upon every feature they can (3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, trackpad (rather than ball), amazing QWERTY keyboard and faster CPU) while actually reducing the overall size of the phone!

Make sure to check out the full review of the BlackBerry 9700 through the link below. One thing to keep in mind, that's the unlocked version right now so it doesn't have the AT&T bloatware installed on it yet and no one's still quite certain what OS version AT&T intends to load on the phones before they put them in your happy hands.

Full Review