BlackBerry Bold 9650
Phone Scoop Review
Jun 4, 2010 by Eric M. Zeman
Research In Motion boldy goes nowhere new with its latest BlackBerry, the 9650 Bold. It's solid and capable, but fails to break any new ground. For boring suits, it suits just fine. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
AWESOME!
This phone is GREAT! If you like Blackberry, then you will love this phone... And I will not compare Verizon with T-mobile. Verizon is BY FAR the superior network and phones. I have had T-Mobile and there is nothing I would rather have as Verizon and Blackberry combo.
Great Job BB and VZ
Not as good as the 9700
This is not a great phone. I am going to review this by comparing it to my 9700 on T-Mobile. I have had both phones.
The only things that are Bold about the 9650 is the 512MB memory and the Network(Verizon)although T-Mobile is getting better. Other than that, the 9700 beats it in every respect.
The Back cover is superior. The 9700 has the best back cover on a Blackberry today. The 9650's cover is the same as the horrible Tour battery cover.
The size of the 9700 is better. It is smaller that the 9650 but it feels like it is better built and the size lets you type on it with one hand.
The Battery is better. The 9700 uses the same battery that the original Bold used. The 9650 uses the same battery as the Storm, Tour and storm 2. Enough said
The T-Mobile 9700 uses UMA. This is great for low signal areas. The 9650 will not use that.
The 9700 has the black button accents. This was supposed to be a staple in the BB future. The 9650 doesn't use it.
The 9700 has better placement of the charging port
The 9700 starts up faster than the 9650. seriously the 9650 takes forever to reboot. This is a deal killer for me
If you're on Verizon or Sprint go for the 9650. You'll probably like it but if you're on T-Mobile or ATT stay with the 9700 on that Network. you will not be sorry. Oh and if you're worried about putting OS6 on the 9700 don't. Either ther will be a 9700 made with more memory or RIM will adapt an OS6 system for the current one
Love it!
This my 3rd Blackberry, having previously owned the Curve 8330 and 8530. The latter was nothing but an expensive piece of plastic (and a slow one at that) which dropped calls on me ALOT, and after having it less than 6 months the trackpad started coming out, so I said "enough" and upgraded to the Bold. I'm so glad I did! This phone is very fast, and I love the fact that it's a solid, well-built phone without being clunky. Call quality is excellent, loud enough on only half volume, unlike on the 8530 which had to be turned all the way up. Very easy to use.
The only things I might have a problem with would be the dark blue screen after clicking on the menu button, and the small font/magnifying glass cursor on the browser. You have to zoom in and out, and sometimes you zoom in and out unintentionally. It's also a little tricky to copy and paste.
Other than that, this is a great phone!
Blackberry 9650. Great upgrade but...
Coming from a 9700 on T-Mobile to get to a better network was important to me. I had the Tour before on Verizon and while the Bold 9650 is a definite upgrade from it, it kept a few of the things that I hated on the Tour. For instance the back door. It is tighter than on the Tour but it relies on the same lock. I can see this becoming a problem later. It still has the chrome accents that I hated on the Tour and the Tour had the worst placement of a Micro USB port and this is just as bad. The battery is very underpowered.Every one of these negatives pales in comparison to the 9700. The one thing that it has that the 9700 doesn't is memory but that will be addressed with the 9700a. the real deal killer is the boot up time. While Blackberries are notoriously slow this one is the slowest I have ever encountered. this is a deal breaker for me. I love the fact that the upgrades (WI-FI, Trackpad and memory) are there but I'll be trading this in for a Droid
What happened to the volume?
Having used the BB Tour and coming from the BB 9700, whatever RIM has done to these new BB's (9700 & 9650) the ringer & notification volume is too low.
Strange the BB Tour is almost identical to the BB Bold 9650 yet the 9650 isn't as loud.
And just coming from the 9700 the 9650 seems slower, even though it has more memory. Defiantly slower boot up time.
PROS:
VZW 3G coverage
Track-pad
More memory
2GB SD included
Red number pad
Ear piece is nice and loud for phone calls
CONS:
Your going to miss calls, etc in noisy environments
I upgraded from a Blackberry Tour 9630 to the Blackberry Bold 9650
*-This phone is CDMA and also GSM, it could be activated for example with Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T etc.
*-Some people get confused with the change of name on the 9650 with âBOLDâ instead of putting âTour 2âÂ, what I think is that blackberry wants to assign name models to specific types of their phones, for example the â8xxx series with CurveâÂ, â9xxx series with Boldâ âCandy Bar type series with PearlâÂ, âTouch screen series with Stormâ âFlip series with Pearl FlipâÂ
Differences
*-WI-FI added.
*-Track-Ball upgrades to Track-Pad
*-The Blackberry Bold 9650 keyboard is more compact, buttons are more together and
softer to type in.
*-Internal memory upgraded on the Blackberry Bold 9650, moves much faster even if you have a lot of information in the phone, the Blackberry Tour 9630 used to freeze numerous times.
*-The convenience key on the LEFT or RIGHT side on other BlackBerries Iâve had, I used to assign it to execute the KEYBOARD LOCK, now on the Blackberry Bold 9650 you cannot do this, I guess the company wants us to use the original KEYBOARD LOCK button located on the upper left side of the phone.
*-On The Blackberry Bold 9650 when receiving calls, sms, or emails etc, you can put it to vibrate AND ring at the same time, on the Blackberry Tour 9630 and other blackberry models Iâve had you can only set it to vibrate THEN ring.
*-The Blackberry Bold 9650 when you charge the phone with the keyboard locked the phone does not display the big numbered clock, if you would like to view the big numbered clock while charging it has to be keyboard unlocked, with the Blackberry Tour 9630 itâll display the big numbered clock with keyboard locked or unlocked, I like the Tour 9630 in this option, wish I can modify that part.
*- The Blackberry Bold 9650 displays the contact name and number if stored in the phonebook, on the Blackberry Tour 9630 if contact is stored in the phone book it will only display the name without the number.
Thatâs all I noticed
Nice upgrade!
I am coming off a 2 yr old Curve on Verizon to a Bold on Sprint.
I find the build quality on this to be great so far. I have no battery door issues that I've read about. The browser has better imaging and faster than my curve. The trackpad after getting used to is a nice change from the trackball. I really like the keyboard. This is weightier than the Curve. Pro for me, maybe con for others.
Call quality so far is excellent - It may even be batter than my Curve was - clearer calls it seems.
Battery life is OK so far. Memory - well let's just say I need more after syncing my BB with itunes but that's to be expected.
Signal - I am unsure whether there is actually any difference yet and if there is I am sure it will be due to carrier change and not device. I did take this new Bold all over new england this weekend and pretty much had a signal everywhere - didn't miss calls, didnt drop calls.
Vibrate - I really do think this was stronger on my Curve, not enough to nick a star on rating but I use vibrate a lot and wish it were more "forceful".
This is a solid phone. As an FYI - My primary uses of the Bold are: Phone calls, music player, texting, black berry msging, and email.
BlackBerry Bold ---Not at All
I am soo disappointed in this phone. I expected excellent call quality and a very fast business device. I did not get either.
Pros
Nice looking device
Good Key Board
More Memory
Cons
The call quality is TERRIBLE. I sound muffled to the people I call, like I have my hand over the mic. RIDICULOUS
the LED light goes off for no reason...no other indicator. So I get blinking red LEDs with no calls, no email, no SMS, no tasks due...help me here.
This device has frozen a number of times and needed to be rebooted.
The Browser is slow and so far behind every other phone.
Is this phone defective? I suppose I will try to get a new one and see if this one is just a lemon. The other reviews seem so positive...and I cannot see how they possibly could be satisfied.
Blackberry..what is up with you!
