BlackBerry 7290
Review posted September 2, 2005 by Michael Thwaite
Add Bluetooth and an extra radio band to an established line up of solid corporate messaging device and you have the Blackberry 7290 from Research in Motion. For those who missed the Blackberry mobile revolution, the Blackberry is the quintessential mobile messenger. Long before Microsoft, Nokia et al dreamt of combining phone and PDA RIM was peddling their own unique blend of PDA coupled to an always on data connection over the air-waves. The early units, in the late 80's, relied on the slower paging networks but still created the same always-on email experience that the newer phone-based units offer.
This Blackberry comes from T-Mobile at a cost of $349 plus $30-80 per month for the plan, the 7290 adds $50 to the previous non-Bluetooth model. The 7290 is also available from Cingular with similar pricing. Is it worth the extra cash? That depends one whether you use the phone features. Read on…
Design and Ergonomics
Today's Blackberry owes its design more to a long and proven linage of screen and keyboard combo than any new-age art inspired design; it's a corporate device and as I'll say a few times in this review is born of that goal; to be a mobile messenger in a corporate world. Its high points are that it's been refined and refined to such a height that it's no surprise that it works so well ergonomically. Every button has its purpose, there are no extra buttons, switches, dials or 'flappy' bits to break off. This year's model features a lighter smarter metallic blue-grey color finish than the Black and Blue models of last year. It retains a smooth curved form that fits the pocket far better than many 'stylish' phones and PDA's that feature sharp squared off edges. It spreads its weight out evenly over its size to ensure that no part presses into you; a neat trick that hides its 139g/4.9oz weight giving the impression of a much lighter unit.
The Blackberry 7290 works well in both the left and right hands; navigation is via a side mounted scroll-wheel and most operations can be completed single-handedly; the optionally backlit screen is just enough at 240x160 (65mm diagonal) resolution but there's no touch screen so many operations require a few intuitive pushes of the wheel to get the desired action. Heavy users may develop a small callous on the wheel finger!
The keyboard is great, it has a responsive enough feel without too much resistance and flat keys that allow the thumbs to slide from key to key; not as fancy as Palm or HP keyboards but more efficient for it.
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