BlackBerry Bold 9650:Conclusion

CONCLUSION

It's true that RIM hit the mark with the BlackBerry Bold 9650. Unfortunately, that mark wasn't very high. As a messaging-centric device, the Bold is great. However, being a great messaging device isn't enough anymore to capture the consumer end of the market. As competition from Android and other platforms becomes stronger, RIM needs to innovate and add something truly unique to the experience in order to stay relevant.

The 9650 is an improvement over previous generations, but it's only a marginal improvement over the Tour and no improvement over the Bold 9700.

It's hard to look at the Bold 9650 and the competition and make an unreserved recommendation for the Bold. If you're a business user it's a different story, but for consumers, I'd say check out the competition before jumping aboard the BlackBerry bandwagon.

Pros:

• Feature-laden CDMA equivalent to Bold 9700
• Strong Gmail integration
• Can roam outside of the U.S.

Cons:

• Tired styling
• Jumpy trackpad
• Awkward charging port placement

Individual Ratings: *

Service, Warranty & Support  
Ease of Use 
Design 
Performance 
Value 
* Ratings averaged to produce final score