The BlackBerry Bold 9930 is a quality smartphone that should serve most of your business-related needs. The 9930 combines the always user-friendly QWERTY keyboard with the flashy and many times useful touch screen. While the iPhone or Android may be preferred personal smartphones (due to their compatibility with a wide variety of consumer applications and generally more attractive user interface - of course even these is up to personal preference), the BlackBerry Bold 9930 offers great features for working on-the-go and provides the infrastructure security that makes using the 9930 to access sensitive work information a no-brainer.

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 is a relatively slender BlackBerry model measuring in at 4.53" (H) x 2.60" (W) x 0.41" (D) which makes sliding it into a belt carrying case a breeze. If you are moving to a smartphone for the first time, you will likely require time adjusting to the 2.60" width of the 9930, but it really is a pretty easy transition after a few one-handed dials / answers. Texting can be a bit challenging if trying to perform with one hand; however, there really shouldn't be too many circumstances that require a one-handed text anyhow (i.e. while driving - don't do it!), so you will probably find yourself rapid-firing text with both paws and the QWERTY keyboard is very conducive for doing so. For those with big hands / fingers, the keys are quite close together so this too could take some getting used to.

From a functionality perspective, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 really does its job quite well. My primary use of this device has been for work. I receive approximately 75 - 100 Outlook emails daily and initially access approximately half of them on my 9930. Scrolling through emails, whether using the optical track pad (no more rolling ball is a GREAT thing - for those who have used an older BlackBerry model that utilized the rolling ball for scroll know what I am talking about) or finger swipes across the screen, is a smooth and seamless proposition. Furthermore, the 2.8" high-resolution screen makes viewing standard emails, and even most inserted tables / spreadsheets relatively easy even at the default viewing size. If you want to zoom in to more easily view content, it's as easy as a couple quick swipes with your thumb and forefinger across the screen's surface (as though you were gently "flicking" the screen with your thumb and forefinger).

Generally speaking, the 9930 synchronizes wonderfully with MS Outlook. While it would be nice if the device were 4G, the 3G capabilities do a pretty decent job at getting connected. I find that my emails come across nearly simultaneously and meeting invites on my calendar synch in a timely and accurate fashion as well. A couple challenges that I face with the calendar functionality is when accepting / declining meeting invites or trying to change / manipulate existing meetings with the device. I find that doing either of these things will often times lead to synchronization issues where updated meetings do not reflect correctly on my Outlook calendar. In addition, it would be nice if more meeting details (i.e. attendee availability) were available when accessing meeting information from the device.

Viewing MS Excel documents from the BlackBerry Bold 9930 can be challenging. In my experience, it can be tricky trying to view more than just a couple of cells at a given point which can make for missing potentially pertinent information likely. I typically will hold off on trying to even access Excel attachments I receive until I get back to my laptop. I have less issues with PowerPoint and Word, but still often times find myself waiting to view documents in these formats until I get back to a screen that gives me a bit more to look at.

While I feel that this really is made for business purposes, there have been some obvious attempts at making the BlackBerry Bold 9930 more attractive to the consumer market. The 5-megapixel camera provides fair camera shots even if stabilization can be a challenge and the camcorder possesses HD-capable functionality (with standard files recording at 1280x760 pixels). I personally feel the camcorder quality definitely trumps that of the still shots this device captures (I have recorded dozens of short clips of my 10-month old son and the image is very clear and audio capture is quite nice as well). The pictures that my wife takes with her iPhone are far superior and she will usually just send me the good pictures. That being said, pictures downloaded onto the device appear bright and sharp. General web-browsing can be slow, but web pages (especially those created for smartphone access) appear clearly and function quite well.

While I haven't accessed either from this device, the 9930 comes preloaded with Facebook and Twitter which gives a nod to the world's evolution toward social media / collaboration and the couple preloaded games that come on the device work well and fill the small gaps of time in my day where I find a need for this sort of distraction (you need to do something while you are heating up lunch, right!?).

All in all, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 is a great work phone. The user-friendly interface and ability to effectively synchronize with Microsoft products makes this device a great partner-in-crime for the business-person who is often on the go and requires remote accessibility. It would have been nice for RIM to build 4G into this model, but the 3G has sufficed for most of the situations I have found myself in when needing to access information. The BlackBerry OS on this device typically keeps it running smooth and sound and the applications that come preloaded have sufficed for 99% of my needs. While pictures, videos, and apps are probably not where this device shines, I don't think it was necessarily intended to. So if you are looking for a new work device that will keep you connected in most situations, give the BlackBerry Bold 9930 a look - I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Specs (from the BlackBerry site):

-QC 8655 1.2GHz Processor
-768 MB RAM
-Touch screen (VGA 640x480 high resolution)
-QWERTY keyboard
-BlackBerry 7 OS
-8GB Storage capacity (on this device)
-5.0 MP camera
-1230 mAh removable / rechargeable lithium-ion battery
-HD video recording

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 219
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!