RIM BlackBerry 7290 (T-Mobile)

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Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 19 reviews Back to product review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

4.0 stars

"For What It Is, It's Very Good!"

by edweissman on September 12, 2005

Pros: Push technology; quad-band; ease of use; solid

Cons: phone function is so-so; display needs upgrading
Summary: Given that the displays on the new Blackberry 7100 series phones is much brighter and clearer, one would think that RIM could come out with a 72XX device with a better display.
Even so, the 7290 (which has been available thru Cingular for more than a year, something the reviewer neglected to mention) is an improvement on an already good device, the 7280.
Improved and additional features:
- Quad band phone (850/900/1800/1900)
as opposed to the 7280's tri-band
- Bluetooth headset
- number keys are better marked

The display is not comparable to a Palm or Windows OS device; people who are looking at the Blackberry as a PDA first will be disappointed in that regard.
What the Blackberry is, first and foremost, is probably the best email device available. It may be large, compared to a pure phone, but it is solid. I have dropped it countless times and it just keeps working, like the legendary Timex watch commercial.
The keyboard is actually usable, as opposed to the Treo series devices, whose keys are miniscule, and as the keyboard is built into the body of the device, you don't have to worry about it being flimsy and breaking off (as opposed to many of the Windows OS PPC devices).
The phone features work easily, though I have noticed that (working on the same network) the Blackberry doesn't handle a phone call as well as some cell phones.
Would I use a Blackberry instead of a cell phone? No. But if I had the opportunity to use a Blackberry instead of a cell phone and an email device, you bet I would. I don't think anything comes close.

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