endocrine universality: BlackBerry Bold 9790 hands-on (video)

Friday, November 18, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9790 hands-on (video)

Since its launch earlier today, the Bold 9790 has been a device of curious beginnings. For a start, RIM selected Indonesia for the smartphone's launch event and first availability -- it won't be reach stores here until early 2012, which is an interesting move by the manufacturer to reflect its globalized market. Then, of course, there was the strangely familiar nature of the BB OS 7 handset itself. At first glance, it looked like a lower-end Curve 9360 that had been confusingly dressed up to look more like its flagship brother, the Bold 9900/9930. However, now that we've had some hands-on time with it, it's clear that this first impression is unfair. The 9790 is a solid handset in its own right, which takes some of the 9900's best attributes, like the touchscreen and 'fret style' angled keys, and whittles them down into a more pocket-friendly 2.44-inch form factor, which -- RIM hints -- "may be slightly cheaper" to the end user. It's also true that this shrinkage comes with some sacrifices, such as a slightly slower 1GHz processor, a lower 360 x 480 resolution and a plastic construction. You'll find a hands-on video and more initial impressions right after the break.

Gallery: BlackBerry Bold 9790 hands-on