nüvifone™. The navigation phone.
CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 10/26/2005
The RIM BlackBerry 7100g's 2.1-inch, 65,000-color-plus screen is easy on the eyes with plenty of detail, thanks to its 240x260-pixel resolution. You can change the font size and style, as well as switch on antialiasing to smooth the rough edges of characters on the screen, but we disliked the fact that the 7100g's display goes completely dark when the backlighting turns off. In standby mode, the main screen shows signal strength, battery life, the time, the date, caller ID info, and a mail icon that notifies you of unread messages. Unlike the nice-looking, icon-driven menu of the 7100t, the 7100g's main menu appears only in list mode, which is unfortunate but not a deal breaker.
Like the 7100t, the RIM BlackBerry 7100g manages to fit a QWERTY-style arrangement on a phone-size keypad by squeezing two letters on to each key, but it takes some getting used to, as with SureType's word-recognition technology. At first, our fingers had a hard time accepting the modified keypad as a true QWERTY keyboard, but with some time and patience, we eventually stopped hunting and pecking and began typing away normally. True to its word, SureType did an impressive job of guessing the words we were attempting to type; when it was confused, a contextual menu appeared, allowing us to pick a word. And while on the whole we were pleased with the results, the setup still got annoying when we wanted to type in a proper name or a number, as we had to stop and change modes midstroke. Those used to painstakingly tapping out words in a standard phone keypad might love the 7100g's modified keyboard, but speed typists addicted to their full BlackBerry QWERTY setups may regret making the switch.
The rest of the RIM BlackBerry 7100g's controls are pretty standard. On the right edge of the handset, you'll find the typical BlackBerry jog dial--just scroll up or down with your thumb to move the cursor and press to select a function. Just beneath the dial, there's also an Escape button that brings you back to the previous menu. A headphone jack and a USB port sit on the left side of the phone, while an inset power button is perched along the top. Turn the 7100g around, and you'll find the speakerphone grille just above the broad plastic battery door.
The RIM BlackBerry 7100g comes with a well-balanced meal of phone basics. The phone book handles as many entries as will fit in its 32MB of onboard RAM (the SIM card can hold an additional 250 contacts), and there's room in each entry for eight numbers, home and work addresses, Web pages, and more. You also get a speakerphone, which you can engage only once you're on a call; a calendar; task and to-do lists; a memo pad; a WAP wireless Web browser; an alarm; and a calculator. Some unexpected extras include the ability to search the 7100g's messages, calendar, address book, memo pad, and tasks, either individually or all at once; there's also a detailed help section. Unfortunately, the Bluetooth-enabled phone only supports wireless headsets, so if you're looking for Bluetooth file transfers or syncing, you're out of luck. Continue readingMost helpful user reviews
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