Review: RIM Ups Ante with BlackBerry 7780

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E-mail functions have for some time included the ability to read attachments sent in popular formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, WordPerfect and HTML. This is neither a 7780 nor a BlackBerry exclusive, but for users hooked on the platform it was a very welcome enhancement.

The device also works as a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)-based Web browser - where service is available from carriers. The Rogers service is very slick with a wealth of choices for news, sports, weather and other Web information formatted for small screens.

Besides somewhat improved readability, the larger color screens don't make a huge difference yet to the Web browsing experience - though it seems reasonable to expect WAP page makers will eventually exploit the color and larger text capacity.

As with earlier models, you can use the 7780 as a phone in two ways. It has integrated microphone and speaker so you can hold it to your ear and speak. In our tests with the Rogers network, voices were clear - though I needed to turn the volume up full to get a comfortable level.

The product also comes with a hands-free earbud phone that you plug into the mini-jack on the top edge of the device. The microphone is built into the cord and dangles in the vicinity of your mouth. Voice and connection quality using the earbud phone were also more than acceptable in our tests.

The user interface is for the most part unchanged. The keyboard is slightly bigger so the keys are more spread out. The difference is small and we did not see much advantage, though fat-fingered users may welcome the additional real estate.

The number keys, which piggy-back on letter keys on the left side of the screen, are now two-toned - letters printed black on white at the bottom of the key, numbers light on dark at the top. This makes it quite a bit easier to see them. Finding the number keys was a constant problem, we found, with the 6210.

The thumbwheel, used for scrolling, and the Escape key - which also functions as a back-arrow key - are moved closer to the front edge of the device than they were on the 6210 and some other BlackBerrys. While I can see the ergonomic logic - you're not reaching back with your thumb when the thing is cradled in your palm - I again didn't see a huge advantage.

The thumbwheel also had a slightly different, more positive feel and took a little more pressure to turn - or it may have only seemed so because of the slightly altered position and the fact that the unit was brand new. In any case, it should be easy enough to get used to.

A separate Phone button, absent on the 6210 and other earlier BlackBerry PDA phones, is also on the right-hand edge, just above the thumbwheel. It saves scrolling through the icons on the Home page. Clicking it from the Home screen brings up the Use Once dialog - where you use number keys to input a phone number that is not in your address book or list of recently dialed numbers.

The 7780 is not a breakthrough product, but it is a very good smartphone with some intelligent refinements on past models. If you already have a color screen BlackBerry phone, the 7780 may not offer enough to warrant switching, but if you're thinking of moving up from monochrome to color, or switching from another platform, this or one of the other 77xx models would make an excellent choice.

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7750 Available from Verizon I have one as well. Have had it for several weeks. Not sure why it is not available to you yet. It has also been listed on Verizon's web site for some time....more Submitted by: Jeff Bloom Verizon 7750 "The virtually identical 7750, announced in May, ... RIM initially said that Verizon would sell it, but the wireless carrier doesn't appear to be doing that yet."That is incorrect. Verizon has selling them since the end of April. I've personally b...more Submitted by: Gerald

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