Blackberry 9780

Precisely one year after the launch of the Bold 9700 comes the Bold 9780. On the face of it, not a lot has changed. The 9780 is exactly the same size and weight as the 9700 and looks almost identical. The features are almost the same, with some very minor hardware updates and the latest BlackBerry 6 operating system. But don't misunderstand us, we like the Bold 9780 very much. If the original is close to perfection, there's no need for revolutionary change: evolution is better.

You can read our review of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 to find out more about what the Bold can do. We're just going to comment here that the 9780 comes with more built-in memory (512 MB compared with 256 MB), has an uprated camera (5 megapixels instead of 3.2) and runs BlackBerry 6. This is a definite improvement, with improved ease-of-use and clearer menus. The email and web systems have been redesigned, with the new web browser offering full tabbed browsing. The BlackBerry email experience remains intact, with full support for corporate email accounts as well as gmail. The home screen is more customisable, and there are plenty of shortcuts and helpful features to enable you to do what you want more quickly. It's a welcome change, but won't cause existing BlackBerry users much trouble in adapting.
In summary, the Bold 9780 is definitely the best of the Bold series so far, but existing Bold users won't see a huge change from the Bold 9700. Still, if it's time to upgrade, then the 9780 is worth having. It's a very solidly built phone with a mature but refreshed operating system. It does the job brilliantly, with a fantastic QWERTY keyboard, outstanding connectivity and a whopping 1500 mAHr battery. You won't find a better business workhorse than the BlackBerry 9780.