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The new Blackberry 7100 series of smartphones from Research In Motion ( RIM), with their more phone-like form factor and innovative new 20-key QWERTY keypads, are Blackberries for the Blackberry resister. They should satisfy those cell phone users who didn't want to switch to a Blackberry because they didn't like holding a boxy cellular-wireless handheld to their face when making calls.

Research In Motion has so far introduced five 7100 models: the 7100t (see top image) for T-Mobile in the U.S.; the almost identical 7100r for Rogers Wireless network in Canada; the 7100v, with slightly different externals, for Vodafone networks in Europe and the Asia-Pacific; the particulary sleek black 7100x for U.K. carrier O2; and the 7100g in Hong Kong, which will purportedly be the edition offered by Cingular Wireless in the U.S.

V

R

Typical BlackBerry

X

G

All 7100s are quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS phones that work virtually anywhere in the world where your service provider has inked a roaming agreement. With them, you can send and receive e-mails, SMS messages, and Web-based instant messages, as well as surf the Web and Web-like operator portals such as T-Mobile's T-zones. The handsets include the usual suite of Blackberry applets—calendar, phone book, to-dos, notebook.

We reviewed a T-Mobile unit. It costs $200 with rebate, plus $70 a month for unlimited mail and Web browsing and 1,000 voice minutes a month.

Form
Anyone who tried the pre-7100 series Blackberry smartphones soon learned that their un-phone-like form factor really wasn't a serious drawback. You got used to it. And while these devices are heavier and bulkier than the smallest cell phones, evern earlier generation Blackberry smartphones could still fit in a shirt pocket—and they did a lot more than your average mobile handset.

But RIM, one of the cagiest marketing organizations on the planet, understood it was missing a segment of the market by sticking with its square PDA/e-mail device form factor. Hence, the company invented the 7100.

The 7100s, while still not as small as the very smallest cell phones, are long and narrow (4.6 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches) and 'candy bar' shaped. They're as light as most cell phones at 4.3 ounces, but don't feel quite as solidly constructed as past Blackberries, however.

The color LCD screen is also not as big as on some earlier models. That said, at 1 5/8 x 1 3/4 inches, it is larger than many other smartphone displays. Bright and clear, the screen supports a good resolution of 240 x 260 pixel.

Keypad/Keyboard & Interface
The innovation that really makes the new form factor possible is the keypad and its SureType software. The keypad is laid out in the familiar QWERTY pattern, but includes only 20 keys, each with two letters plus a punctuation mark, symbol, or number.

The key at the top left is Q/W, to the right of it is the E/R key, to the right of that the T/Y key, and so on. Keys with numbers on them are arrayed in the middle of the pad in four rows of three keys each—the E/R key is 1, the T/Y key is 2, and so on.

Consequently, it looks just like a conventional cell phone number pad.


                               Keyboard/Keypad

The number keys show up easily when you glance at the keypad because the numbers are dark on white, while the letters and symbols are light on dark with smaller characters. And the keys are big enough to poke with a fat index finger when dialing.

Doubling up the letters on the keys means fewer but larger keys. Multiple letters per key, however, pose a familiar problem. With conventional phone number pads that have keys with three or more letters assigned to them, entering a letter means hitting the key multiple times, which is very unwieldy.

This is one of the huge problems with data entry on many handsets. Not so with RIM's new SureType technology.