BlackBerry Bold 9780: Not So Bold
by Mithun Chandrasekhar on March 25, 2011 2:20 AM EST- Posted in
- IT Computing
- Smartphones
- 9780
- BlackBerry
- Bold
- Mobile
BlackBerry Bold 9780: Minor Updates to the 9700
Honestly, there isn’t much to talk about the Bold 9780 except for the fact that it is the first non-touchscreen BlackBerry device to come with version 6.0 of the BlackBerry OS. With Brian having done in-depth coverage of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and OS 6.0 already, and with very few physical or software changes between the Bold 9780 and the previous Bold 9700 (since the 9700 can in fact be updated to version 6 of the BlackBerry OS), the 9780 is in essence an iterative design with more RAM (512MB) and a better camera (5MP Autofocus) from BlackBerry’s increasingly difficult to distinguish range of devices. However, there are a few interesting updates since our last look at BlackBerry OS in the Torch, so that's where we'll focus our efforts in this article.
As mentioned above, the Bold 9780 is nearly identical to the earlier Bold 9700. Even the most trained eye will find it next to impossible to identify one from the other. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing since the 9780 does look handsome in the typical BlackBerry-esque understated manner, but with there being almost a year’s gap between the release of the two and with Nokia showing that there is potential room for improvement with QWERTY-design templates in its transition from the E6x/E7x to the E5, it doesn’t really look like RIM even bothered trying. That's somewhat sad, as the Torch is a pretty handsome and well put-together device that manages to look different while still retaining the BlackBerry design DNA.
| Physical Comparison | ||||||
| Apple iPhone 4 | BlackBerry Bold 9780 | BlackBerry Torch 9800 | Nokia E5 | |||
| Height | 115.2mm (4.5") | 109mm (4.3”) | 111mm (4.4") closed, 148 (5.8") open | 115mm (4.5”) | ||
| Width | 58.6mm (2.31") | 60mm (2.36”) | 62mm (2.4") | 58.9mm (2.3”) | ||
| Depth | 9.3mm ( 0.37") | 14.2mm (0.56”) | 14.6mm (0.57") | 12.8mm (0.50”) | ||
| Weight | 137g (4.8 oz) | 122g (4.3 oz) | 162g (5.7 oz) | 126g (4.4 oz) | ||
| CPU | Apple A4 @ ~800MHz | Marvell Tavor PXA930 @ 624MHz | Marvell Tavor PXA930 @ 624MHz | ARM 11 based SoC @ 600MHz | ||
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 535 | (?) | (?) | (?) | ||
| RAM | 512MB LPDDR1 (?) | 512MB LPDDR1 | 512MB LPDDR1 | 256MB | ||
| NAND | 16GB or 32GB integrated | 2GB microSD preinstalled | 4GB integrated, 4GB microSD preinstalled | 256MB integrated, 2GB microSD preinstalled | ||
| Camera | 5MP with LED Flash + Front Facing Camera | 5MP with LED Flash and autofocus | 5MP with LED Flash and autofocus | 5MP with LED Flash | ||
| Screen | 3.5" 640x960 LED backlit LCD | 2.4” 480x360 | 3.2" 360x480 | 2.36” 320x240 | ||
| Battery | Integrated 5.254Whr | Removable 5.4Whr | Removable 4.7Whr | Removable 4.4Whr | ||
At a hardware level, the Bold 9780 and Torch 9800 use the same CPU and GPU, with the same 512MB LPDDR1 memory. The Torch also comes with 4GB integrated NAND, a 4GB microSD card, and a larger 3.2" display, giving it a slight edge in a couple areas. The Bold counters with a slightly higher capacity battery and a smaller form factor. With a few updates to OS 6 since our last look, performance differences are largely going to come from the software side rather than the hardware.
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Lord 666 - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
Annoying side scrollingAnnoying that pressing the seven dots button doesn't expand the full screen anymore
Annoying sluggishness
Annoying how SMS sometimes does not allow seeing older messages and just freezes
The only thing going for BB right now is the great GSA pricing on handsets and true centralized management.
Johnmcl7 - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
I don't think it's a bad idea to focus on the enterprise market as it's an area where RIM have less competition. In the company I work for the 9780 is now the only smartphone availble to employees (simpler and cheaper than the Torch) and I'm sure that's not unique to this company either.John
Zink - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
Blackberries are beautiful for phone and email functionality because of the durability and the keyboard but just can't do the entertainment stuff as well. I think a blackberry would make a great companion for a 7" tablet for mobile use if you're carrying some king of bag.Faruk88 - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
Just a comment on signal performance: On Blackberries, you won't get an accurate dBm reading unless you go into the Engineering screen. Otherwise, anything better than -90dBm is reported as -70dBm. In the Engineering screen, the numbers are more accurate and are refreshed more frequently.mythun.chandra - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
Thanks for the heads up Faruk88. I will try and get the numbers updated at the earliest. Appreciate the input! :)Thanks,
Mithun
Brian Klug - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
Or on the home screen, press and hold alt, then type nmll ;)-Brian
Titanius - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - link
The article is good and all that, but it has been 4 months since the Bold 9780 came out on the market...FYI.SonicIce - Friday, March 25, 2011 - link
no one gives a fuck about smartphones what has this site becomestrikeback03 - Friday, March 25, 2011 - link
I'm gonna guess they could pull their page hit numbers and tell you differently. But feel free to go back to waiting for Llano to be released and SNB to be fixed.kmmatney - Friday, March 25, 2011 - link
Time for another $700 video card article...