Very often, newer phone models are only marginally better than their predecessors and released just to keep brands in the radar of buyers. This isn’t the case for the Blackberry 8800 however, which altogether is an impressive mobile device.

First up, the Blackberry 8800 is the new Blackberry device from Research In Motion, a technological and stylistic update of the previous model, the Blackberry Pearl, and the differences, though not many, certainly do make a difference. It starts off with the size: the 8800 is wider than the Pearl but is thinner. Another difference is the 35-key, full QWERTY keyboard that the Blackberry 8800 sports, compared to the 20-key keypad running on SureType keyboard technology that the Blackberry Pearl has.

Looking at the Blackberry 8800, it is one sleek and sexy device. In hand, it has a very solid feel, and the finish on the plastics look high quality, and feels a lot smoother and more valuable than the typical mobile phone. The sides have a chrome-mirror finish, like the iPod, which makes stylish design. The 8800 comes with a full QWERTY keyboard that makes typing emails and messages smooth and quick (once you get used to it), but the keys are a little too. It also comes with a new navigation roller of a trackball that makes scrolling around the different applications and icons on screen easy and responsive.

By default, the 8800 will adjust the screen brightness on the impressive high-resolution 320×240 landscape TFT colour display (that supports over 65,000 colours) based on the ambient light conditions, but the display is difficult to see in bright direct sunlight.

The new Blackberry 8800 performs snappily without lag, powered by its 312mhz Intel Xscale processor. Web pages load fast, music and video files play well, and opening attachments and applications are a breeze . The 8800 comes with the whole range of standard Blackberry functionality that has made it such a popular device: the powerful, peerless email system, seamless web browsing, third-party application expandability and a host of other functions that makes the device very useful for the typical office worker on the go.

The large 6 cm screen gives more screen real estate that many phones today and users will definitely find that useful, especially with the bundled GPS navigator (works depends on your mobile service provider).

The 8800 also comes with expandable memory on a micro-SD slot, which actually serves the device well as it comes with a built-in media player. This reviewer found that the best way to load music into the Blackberry is by organising your music into appropriate subfolders on the memory card.

The Blackberry 8800 device has an insane battery life. The 1400 mAhr removable / rechargeable lithium battery has been rated at having 5 hours of talk time and up to 22 days of standby time, compared to 3.5 hours of talktime and 15 days of standby that the Blackberry Pearl has.

However, the fact that the Blackberry 8800 is not a 3G device, nor does it have WiFi might be an issue for web surfers. As mentioned earlier, the keyboard also has a cramped layout but the tightly packed keys are compensated with slightly raised grooves that keep your thumbs from slipping when typing. There is also no stereo Bluetooth support, and UrbanWire had problems figuring out how to transfer Bluetooth files between the device and his laptop.

The bottom line is that the Blackberry 8800 is a tremendously effective messaging phone, which is hardly surprising, as messaging has always been the brand’s forte. The Blackberry push-email system is still unmatched in eases of use and flexibility of merging multiple email accounts. The Blackberry 8800 is a truly amazing, stylish, sexy phone that you know you want, if you have the need for a powerful business phone.

Technical Specifications:

Size (LxWxD): Approximately 114mm x 66mm x 14mm
Weight(batt included): Approximately 134g
Memory: 64MB flash memory
Expandable Memory: MicroSD
Display: High-res 320×240 landscape TFT colour display (over 65,000 colours)
Battery Life: Standby: 528 hours (22days), Talk Time: 300 minutes (5 hours)
Keyboard: 35 key, backlit QWERTY keyboard
Convenience Keys: Send key, End key, Power key, Mute key, Volume key and a programmable key
Navigation: Trackball, ESC key, Menu key
Voice Input / Output: Integrated earpiece and microphone, hands-free headset, integrated speakerphone
Ringtones: Polyphonic – MP3, MIDI
GPS: GPS enabled and preloaded with Blackberry Maps application
Media Player: Supported audio formats:

MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA

Supported video formats:

MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.263, WMV

Bluetooth: Bluetooth v2.0; headset, hands-free and serial port profiles supported
Headset: Stereo headset capable
USB Ports: Enables charging and data synchronization via USB to mini-USB
Power Adapter: +5V DC / 500 mA AC power adapter with interchangeable, region-specific plugs
Modem: Embedded wireless modem, plus tethered modem support for EDGE
Network Support: Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks
Desktop Software: Synchronizes calendar, address book, tasks and memos between your smart phone and desktop
Smartphone security: Password protection and keyboard lock.