It is August 2011, and RIM has finally delivered the ‘Ultimate Bold.’ The 9900 (or Bold Touch) is the pinnacle of the classic BlackBerry form factor, a device that feels like a piece of high-end executive stationery. In the UK, it has arrived as the sophisticated answer to the plastic-heavy Android giants. It features a stunning brushed stainless steel frame that wraps around the entire device, giving it a rigidity and ‘heft’ (130g) that screams premium quality. It is the slimmest Bold ever made (10.5mm), yet it manages to pack in a 1.2GHz processor and, for the first time on a flagship Bold, a capacitive touch screen.
Technically, the 9900 is a masterclass in ‘hybrid’ input. The 2.8-inch VGA display (640 x 480) offers a staggering 287 PPI, making text look as sharp as a laser-printed document. Because it’s a touch screen, you can finally pinch-to-zoom in the browser, but the legendary four-row QWERTY keyboard and the optical trackpad remain the primary tools for the power user. It’s powered by a 1.2GHz QC8655 processor with 768MB of RAM, making the new ‘BlackBerry OS 7’ feel blisteringly fast. The ‘Liquid Graphics’ engine ensures that scrolling through your unified inbox is fluid and instantaneous, a technical leap forward that finally brings the BlackBerry into the modern era.
On the imaging front, it features a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording. While it lacks autofocus (a frustrating technical compromise), the EDoF sensor is fast and capable in good light. Under the hood, you get 8GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for up to 32GB more. It’s a 14.4Mbps HSPA device with Wi-Fi, GPS, and, interestingly, NFC support, making it one of the first phones in the UK ready for the ‘tap-to-pay’ future. The battery is a 1230 mAh pack that, unfortunately, struggles to keep up with the high-res screen and fast processor; you’ll be charging this one every night. The Bold 9900 is the definitive professional smartphone, the last great hurrah for the ‘classic’ BlackBerry DNA before the world went all-touch.