Phonello

Understanding the BlackBerry Ecosystem

The BlackBerry smartphone has its roots in a two-way messaging device called the "Interactive Pager" released in 1995 by Research In Motion, a small hardware designer based in Waterloo, Ontario. Unlike today's BlackBerry devices, the Interactive Pager did not work on normal cellular data networks, instead using a special-purpose wireless data network known as Mobitex. The device even looked like a pager, except that it included a small keyboard for user input. The trademark "BlackBerry" f...

BlackBerry Bold 9700

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is a 3G, Wi-Fi enabled smartphone offered in the U.S. by T-Mobile and soon AT&T. It has a beautiful HVGA screen, track pad, full QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, and expandable microSD memory card slot. The original Bold 9000 set the bar in terms of delivering a reliable, high performing device that sported the best feature set RIM had to offer. Just a year later, the Bold2 offers an enhanced feature set and an improved design that instantly le...

BlackBerry Storm 2

With its large and crisp touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, sleek form factor, and a host of connectivity options, the BlackBerry Storm2 should be great. It packs upgraded performance, a tweaked user interface, enhanced operating system, and overall really works to make up for its previous generation's shortcomings. It even includes Wi-Fi, a first for Verizon-branded Storms. Despite all of this, the end product is somehow lacking. The Storm2 makes up for its predecessor's shortcomings, but gi...

BlackBerry Curve 8520

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 shows that the future of the BlackBerry is here... kind of. By far the stand-out feature of the Curve 8520 is its new optical trackpad, which replaces the trackball for navigation -- and it rocks. In a confusing move though, the 8520 is the third Curve available on T-Mobile, in addition to the original and the 8900, which was released early this year. The 8250 has several elements that depart from traditional BlackBerrys, beyond just the trackpad. Features such as de...

BlackBerry Curve 8900

The revamped BlackBerry Curve 8900 by RIM is the convertible sports-car of BlackBerrys. It is sleek, light, comfortably sized and incredibly powerful. The Curve has been an abiding standby for BlackBerry nation, and the newest model promises to deliver on expectations. Much of the 8900's improvements can be attributed to design considerations and software and usability. There is still room for improvement in some areas, though. Most notably, the Curve 8900 lacks 3G, but T-Mobile's version do...