Review Blackberry 7100v handheld device

Written by Aidan O'Rourke
2004-10-25

The Blackberry 7100v is a handheld device - part PDA and part mobile phone - which enables you to check your email and surf the internet as well as make mobile phone calls. It's the latest in the series of Blackberry handheld devices, but differs from earlier models in its slimmer and more compact design. It looks like a mobile phone but with a large screen.

The most striking feature of the device is its extended keyboard. Designers Research In Motion have added an extra set of keys to the conventional phone keypad to make something that resembles a computer keyboard, but with two letters on each key. To input text, you simply hit the keys once. Using a 9000 word dictionary the device works out which word you are typing. Where there are multiple options, you use the scroll wheel to select the correct word or part of a word, and continue typing. As well as the scroll wheel there's an Escape button which takes you back to the main menu.

Email is sent to your phone from a Vodafone mobile e-mail account which you set up and configure via your PC and web browser. After entering the PIN and IMEI number of your handheld, you can specify up to ten e-mail accounts. Every 15 minutes or so, the specified email accounts are polled, and any messages are sent to the handheld. By default, messsages are left on the mailserver. You can reply to them from the handheld, or wait till you get back to your main computer. An Enterprise solution is also available, aimed at multiple business users..

Applications appear as icons on the screen, including a memo pad, contacts database, alarm, phone settings and more. There's one game, Brickbat, and no camera. It accesses the GPRS network which covers major cities and regions across the world. The device is designed also to provide high speed access to the internet, but see note below!

It also functions as a conventional mobile phone and can send SMS messages as well as email. It's a tri-band phone and can be used on all continents.

In the UK / Europe it's only available on the Vodafone network. It runs on the existing Blackberry call plan, details available from the Vodafone website. I chose the Anytime 200 plan costing �45 a month. On this plan the phone costs �50, and more text messages can be added for �3 or more. I opted for the insurance policy, costing an extra �5.25 a month.

My verdict

The Blackberry 7100v is a neat and well designed device. With its matt metallic exterior, large size screen and backlit keypad, it looks great, especially in the red and white Vodafone colour scheme.

Considering it's the first if its kind, the extended keypad is straightforward enough to use, though you'll have to re-learn your typing skills, training your thumb to do what your fingers do on a conventional keyboard. It's tricky at first but after a while it gets easier. The screen is bright and generously proportioned for a mobile device at 240x260 pixels. Font styles and sizes can be changed to suit taste and eyesight.

The essential feature of all Blackberry devices is the ability to check your email whilst on the move, and when you first do this, it's very exciting. A low pinging noise alerts you to the arrival of your email, which is listed in the main window along with text messages.

This is a business-oriented product and the monthly plan reflects this. Not everyone will wish to pay over �50 a month (including extra for text and insurance) for their mobile. But if like me you use email a lot, it's a great feeling to know you are in contact all the time wherever you are, at least, wherever there's a GPRS network.

However there was a major problem with the handheld I purchased, and apparently with every other handheld on sale at the moment (late 2004): There is no internet browser.

Only after calling Vodafone customer services was I told that due to unforeseen problems, the browser is unavailable for the time being, and so my Blackberry 7100v can't be used to access the internet.

A high profile ad campaign stresses its email and internet browsing capabilities. I was so disappointed to find that it couldn't do one of the things I had bought it for, that I decided to return it and get a refund.

Customer services were very helpful, as were the staff at the Vodafone store in Manchester, where I bought and returned the device, but I really should have been forewarned about the problem.

If you're thinking of buying the Vodafone 7100v, it is essential to check with Vodafone beforehand whether the internet browser facility, and all its other features, are fully operational or not.

It's a disappointing omission from an otherwise excellent product, which I expect to come back to whenever this problem has been sorted out.

For up to date information on the Blackberry 7100v, go to Blackberry or Vodafone.

This review is provided as a source of information for the internet community. I am not affiliated with Blackberry or Vodafone. This review is available exclusively on the Aidan O'Rourke Portfolio Site aidan.co.uk / imagesofcities.com and is offered 'as is'. I can take no responsibility for any errors or omissions or for information which subsequently goes out of date. Words and photos copyright Aidan O'Rourke 2004.

(950 words - writing time 1 hr)