I’ve therefore managed to avoid using the Bold for a few days whilst I’ve actually been using my laptop more. You know how it is at conferences.

Back on the Bold this evening I had to breathe a mental sigh of relief. Welcome back! Oh how I missed the super-fast messaging capabilities of the Bold (and the BlackBerry platform).

I grabbed the Bold just now and rattled through about five Direct Messages in about 10 seconds. I can type *fast* on a Bold.

The device is connected through WiFi via the MacBook Air. My Air is running on the hotel connection, sharing it’s data connection wirelessly. So I don’t need to use AT&T or T-Mobile here at excruciating roaming rates.

The other super thing? Well, the moment you pick up WiFi the BlackBerry Services route everything intelligently through that. So my email is right there too. I’ve just been flying through that too.

The Google Talk integration, Twitter, Facebook plus email… Yup I still do like the BlackBerry experience!

[Authored on the Bold using the native WordPress app]

Here is the video:

Months ago when I first got hands-on with the BlackBerry Bold at BlackBerry World, I thought it was gorgeous.

But, it was pre-release.

And I try not to think too much about devices that are specifically marked as pre-release. There are often substantial changes before the device hits the shelves.

Now I stopped doing actual handset reviews years ago. I tired quickly of having to look objectively at a phone. Well, not even objectively. Laboriously listing out megapixel specs was, I recognised, virtually irrelevant to the Mobile Industry Review reader.

Instead, here is a set of viewpoints relating to the device.

I’ve had hands-on for two weeks. It’s been my primary device for this period. I swapped my BES service to this one from my old Bold 9780. I installed all my standard apps. It’s been used in anger.

It’s fast
I don’t give a toss about RAM or CPUs. They mean nothing unless the phone ‘works fast’. This is my viewpoint. I’ve used plenty of phones with brilliant specs only to find the actual usage rubbish. So I am happy to pronounce this Bold fast. Make sure you’re in a good signal area and try installing an app. It’s a dream — the download and installation is much improved.

Virtually no waiting
Related to the point above, I hardly ever see the hour glass now. This is important — whatever RIM did, it’s made it a lot nicer to use as a result.

The Web Browser
Finally you can load proper full-size websites with your Bold. That’s about it. It works nicely. It’s not a second-class experience any more.

Touch works
The whole touch thing works. I really like it. Now and again I want to touch the screen, whether it’s tapping a link on a webpage or hitting the send button on an email, it’s really nice to be able to use the screen in this way. Everything works as you expect. I haven’t encountered any exceptions. Previous RIM touch screen experiences required a little bit of patience and, sometimes, a few taps, before things worked as expected. Not any more. By the way, when you’re on a call and put the phone to your head, the screen switches off — just as the iPhone does. (And then it comes on again when you take it away). An important requirement. I’m pleased to see this one was added.

The keyboard
Without a doubt the keyboard is the best thing about the BlackBerry. This is not to minimise the device’s other achievements and capabilities. I want a BlackBerry primarily for the QWERTY keyboard. So do you, right? Precious few of us are actually good at typing on an iPhone for any length of time. If you need to message-in-anger, you need a physical keyboard and you need a BlackBerry. There’s almost an extra key’s worth of width added to this new Bold (compared to the old). It took me a day or so to adjust to having more space (it looks to be the same form factor as the original Bold 9000) but once I did, ahhh. Bisto. Genius. Love it. The clicks, the angle of the keys, the spacing, the forming of the whole experience: They really do know what they’re doing. RIM’s keyboards, particularly this one, make everything else look like a Fisher Price toy in comparison.

The width
It’s really slim. It feels slim. And when you’re typing on the keyboard, it feels really nice. I feel modern using it. Typing away on the slim keyboard feels very good.

Handsome
It is handsome. The metal edge — similar to the iPhone 4 — looks impressive. The device looks futuristic. It looks good on the table, on the desk, in the hand. It’s been drawing admiring glances from lots of people as I’ve been using it. This is good. It’s not a critical feature but it’s nice to have.

Materials
The 9900 is slim but chunky. It feels sturdy. Throw it gently on to the desk or restaurant table and it’ll make a pleasing sound. The back casing is really nice to touch. The metals, the screen, the whole package feels ‘worth’ it.

Main Buttons
The main buttons — call, blackberry menu, back, end — they have a lovely feel. They indent really nicely. I like pressing call/hanging up. It just feels good.

Speakerphone
Press ‘s’ during a call and the speaker phone switches on and just works. This is something I’ve been using a lot with the Bold and I’m delighted to say performance is maintained in this version of the device.

BlackBerry OS 7
I’m liking what RIM has done with OS version 7. They’ve retained the familiar RIM look and feel but brought a wealth of mini innovations that really improve the overall experience. For example, everything is nicely connected. Twitter integration is second-to-none. If you’re into Facebook, you’ll seriously enjoy what they’ve done with integration there too. Everything is accessible, connected and integrated into the device. For example, you can send stuff easily to Twitter/Facebook/Text/MMS/Email. They’ve really thought about the whole connected messaging experience.

Twitter integration
A supplemental on this. I am seriously impressed at the revisions the team has been doing with the Twitter client. Direct messages appear in the inbox. Hit ‘r’ and reply (with convenient character count). There’s no swapping into different clients or having to wait whilst an app opens. You can compose a Twitter message directly from the inbox. You’re also notified about replies — for example, “You have 4 replies” — within the inbox. Click on that and the Twitter client loads instantly (it’s running in the background, refreshing at the duration you set). I don’t think there’s a better, faster, integrated, more effective Twitter facility on any other mobile platform.

App World is fast
The App World is improving all the time and the current version is really zippy. I’m now enjoying flicking through the carousel of apps.

Calling, texting
Calling is perfectly fine. I’ve nothing particular to report. I just wanted to point this out. Texting, by the way, is a joy. I’m just incredibly fast on the Bold keyboard!

Niggles?
There are some niggles.

I absolutely LOVE the Bold 9780′s top-left screen-lock button. I use that more than everything. I really like the functionality. I like how it’s positioned. On the 9900, they’ve done away with this. There’s still a button — it’s on the top in the centre now. On pressing it, I sometimes involuntarily press the other side buttons, especially the camera button. Annoying. Over the past week or so it’s become less of a problem as I’ve adjusted.

The battery… It feels slightly less powerful than the last version of the Bold. I’m frequently hitting the amber empty sign by 9pm and 10pm — from a full charge that morning. So I am charging it a little more often. However I am pleased to say that I’ve not had it completely switch off. I’m just bothered by the sight of the amber/red battery warning. I have an aversion to it. Now I should point out that I’ve a few third party apps running including SmrtGuard, Google Mail and Google Sync – they will be having an affect. I think it’s fair to point out that battery is becoming an irrelevance nowadays, much to my annoyance. Any smartphone you’d care to mention is lucky if it gets through a full business day of usage. It’s not a RIM thing. It’s an industry thing.

I’m not particularly impressed with the camera. Like almost any smartphone out there, it’s nothing to write home about. I won’t bore you with the megapixels. It’s irrelevant. The pictures are ‘ok’. They’re par for the course. Expect decent photos but no more. The close-up option, for example, was laughably rubbish. It’s like the RIM engineers got to this point and didn’t go any further. I was trying to take a picture of a receipt and the camera simply wasn’t having it. I eventually had to use the touch-to-focus option on my iPhone 4 instead. So — don’t expect miracles.

There’s also an argument to say that the lack of ‘apps’ is a bit of a shortcoming. I’m half sold on this. Half. I do carry around an iPhone 4 precisely because of the app and media experience. However there’s a reason my Bold is my primary phone — messaging. Fundamentally, the number one app for me is messaging (email/Twitter/IM). Everything else is there — I use Google Maps a lot. Google Sync for my address book. BeReader to keep up with Google Reader. The Gmail app to access my back archive of mail across multiple accounts. Oh, and Evernote. I don’t miss the 400,000 other apps on the Bold because I use the primary function — messaging — so much.

The Package
As a package though, the Bold 9900 is simply magnificent.

If you’re a serious user of messaging functionality, definitely consider this device. I haven’t written about the email experience on the Bold because it’s not relevant — we all know RIM has this stuff down pat, nothing else comes close.

This is the smart workhorse. This is the machine you need to get shit done. If your primary need is to piss about with Angry Birds on the train home, then yeah, maybe you should be buying a £99 Android or a free iPhone 4. But if you’re like me — coming out of the office and wanting to race through your personal and work mail fast and get stuff sorted, seriously think about the new Bold.

If you’re a business person of some stature (and perhaps forced to carry a BlackBerry) make sure it’s the Bold. Do not accept anything else. Well, maybe the Torch if you like the slidey-keyboard. (I’ll be having a look at the new Torch shortly).

The recently launched Curves are nice, but if you’re a reader of Mobile Industry Review, yours should be the Bold 9900.

Accept nothing less!

Right then: What do you think? Are you with me?

Here is the video:

Here are the vids courtesy of SocialCam v2:

I managed to film a quick video walk-through of the all new BlackBerry Bold 9900 given by Jason Jacob, one of the product managers.

Here we go:

What do you think? I’m really pleased to see the 9000 wider size back!

I usually carry a minimum of two handsets: A BlackBerry Bold and an iPhone 4. Between them, I have everything I generally need to run my businesses wherever I am.

When I’m on the train, I’ll often sit and use the iPhone and have the Bold in reserve — often sitting on my leg, or sometimes sitting on the empty seat next to me. Just for easy access. I know this is silly. I still do it.

“One of these days,” I tell myself, “I’m going to get up and walk out of the train carriage forgetting my BlackBerry.” Yeah.

The Here and Now

Let’s fast forward to this morning. I got on the train. I did some work on both phones. I got off the train at Waterloo Station, hopped on to the Waterloo & City Line and I was walking along the side of the Bank of England about 10 minutes later.

All was good. Until, that is, I thought, “Where is my BlackBerry?”

I bet you do this to, right? Now and again, you have to just check. Just in case. I patted my suit pocket. And then I broke out into the full where-is-my-phone pocket patting dance.

I *had* my iPhone. I couldn’t find my BlackBerry.

Arse.

“I’ve been pickpocketed,” I thought, “The arses!” I exclaimed to myself.

And then I remembered that the BlackBerry I’m using right now is the 9780 — the all new (and still reasonably exclusive) BlackBerry Bold running OS 6.0 (it is brilliant, by the way). I’m testing the phone. It’s a tester unit from RIM.

Double arse.

That’s going to be at least £400 to replace. Add into the embarrassment of having to phone RIM and explain. Oh dear.

The Realisation

That’s when I realised: I must have left the phone on the train. I broke out into a sweat. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so stupid.

The adrenalin began to surge. I kid ye not. I began to develop a mild panic.

And then I remembered Smrtguard.

That’s not a typo.

Last night at about 1am in the morning, I was installing applications on the new Bold and thought I should see if BlackBerry Protect was available yet. Just in case I lost the phone. It’s not available yet. So I remembered Smrtguard from a RIM briefing a while ago – looked it up, installed it, activated and went to bed.

The Solution

Smrtguard — as the name suggests — is a ‘smart’ guard for your BlackBerry or Android device offering data backup and device recovery facilities. Standing next to the Bank of England, I whipped out the iPhone and typed in Smrtguard.com. This took a few attempts because the phone’s auto-correct function really, really doesn’t like ‘Smrtguard’. And I had to manually disable the piece-of-rubbish ‘The Cloud’ WiFi service which kept on popping up and interrupting me. I’ve no trouble with The Cloud, but I want the whole thing to be seamless. Having to login every time I walk 100 paces is an area supposed to have ‘blanket WiFi coverage’ is highly frustrating.

I logged into Smrtguard wondering just how reliable the service would be.

I immediately clicked on the ‘Locate my phone’ option. A message appeared saying this instruction had been sent to my handset.

I began to calm a little.

Then I clicked on ‘Location’ to see where my phone was.

I got some GPS coordinates and a street name. I began to panic — had some arse picked up the phone and legged it? Assuming I’d left it on the train? If so, do I locate him? Do I go to where he is? Is he, right now trying to flog the 9780 in a pub somewhere near Waterloo?

I clicked into the location detail and browsed the Google Map.

It explained that my handset’s coverage was low (so it was probably inside or undercover). It also determined my handset was at Waterloo Station.

What A Difference 20 Seconds Makes

Phew! So the phone is *at* Waterloo. I’d determined this much. Excellent.

And then I realised the phone might still be on the train, where I left it. In which case, that train might leave any time.

I hopped into a taxi and raced to Waterloo, glued to my Smrtguard.com homepage watching for any movement. There was none. I also instructed the handset to lock itself via the Smrtguard service. I got email confirmation right-away.

At Waterloo Station, I ran to the group of platforms where I’d arrived just a few minutes ago, worrying that the train was moments away from leaving. In fact, I didn’t know if the train on Platform 16 was the same one. I didn’t know what carriage I’d been sitting in.

I spoke to the attendant by the security gates and he pointed me toward the red cleaning hut, half-way up Platform 16, “Check with them Sir!”

As I walked along the platform, I brought up Smrtguard.com again and tapped on the ‘audio ping’ button. This makes your phone start making a rather annoying alarm sound continuously to help find it. (I could also have instructed the phone to do a remote backup too.)

I arrived at the cleaning hut and knocked on the door.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Yes?” said a chap, popping his head out.

“Er, I left my phone on that train about 20 minutes ago,” I said, pointing to the train. I could hear a somewhat annoying ‘errrrp, errrp, errrp’ sound coming from within the hut. The chap glanced to his right involuntarily. I experienced a momentary blip of hope. The phone could very well still be on the train — which was due to leave in under 4 minutes. On the other hand, that COULD be my phone beeping away.

“What kind of phone?” the chap asked.

“BlackBerry Bold — black,” I replied, before chancing my arm, “It’s the one that’s beeping rather loudly.”

The chap shut the door for a moment.

“This it?” He said, holding it out.

Phew

I thanked the chap profusely. His colleagues came out to say hello. I thanked them too. I tried to give the cleaner who picked up the phone the £20 I had in my pocket as thanks. He wouldn’t accept it.

“Just doing my job Sir, very kind but no thank you!”

I tried to thrust the cash into this hand. But he was firm.

I thanked him again, the stress I’d been feeling evaporating quickly.

Smrtguard: It Really Works

Well then, I can’t tell you how delighted I am that I installed Smrtguard. I’m a MobileMe subscriber so I’ve got the ‘Find My iPhone’ functionality activated on the iPhone 4 (that’s come in handy a few times too) but I hadn’t bothered putting anything on the BlackBerry until last night. I’m so glad I did.

Now then, if your BlackBerry or Android device doesn’t already have something like this — I strongly recommend you take a bit of time and install Smrtguard or something similar. The basic Smrtguard service is free — you need to subscribe for the antivirus/data backup features.

Thank you Smrtguard!

[Note: To those who experienced this 'real time' with me via Twitter, I wrote this post on Monday 10th -- but only just published today. Just in case you were wondering]

Joy.

It’s rendered the device absolutely useless. I saw it and took out the battery immediately smiling with an embarrassed look in case anyone in Starbucks had noticed. I waited nonchalantly for the reboot to finish. Boom, still the same stupid error.

If you’re going to screw up, at least have the graciousness to display a good looking logo. Or boot into safe mode. Or let me do the uber-basics like text my wife.

All of a sudden I was rendered mute. My business day came to a halt. Hugely hugely annoying.

Luckily I had no less than 2 iPhones with me. The Orange one and the o2 one. Both of which managed to step into the hole left by my BlackBerry.

What are RIM doing shipping a device that will just screw up – totally – without warning? The device is only two months old! I can’t even switch it off!

Helpful chaps on Twitter tell me I need to flash the device to reinstall the OS.

So that’s a fun evening ahead.

Has anyone else experienced similar?

I tell you this really does underline why I, as a mobile geek who relies on mobile technology for business and personal life, need to carry a minimum of two phones when I’m out and about.

Assuming I can get this fixed with a reinstall, what confidence do I have that the device won’t just screw itself up at a random time tomorrow?

Update: I’ve now found the error page on BlackBerry’s site. Kudos to BlackBerry for actually having the errors listed so that when I used the ‘Ask BlackBerry for Help’ form on their support site, results actually appeared. I’m now following some instructions to reinstall the device’s operating system. Gaaah.

Unfortunately those instructions linked in the error page aren’t available.

Ok. The supplied link on the error page was wrong. I recognised if you added a ’1′ to the URL, then it worked. This is where I got to.

First though, I need to do a backup of my device so I don’t have to configure it all again. Thankfully this all looks reasonably straight forward, if not frustrating. This, by the way, is the first time I’ve put in a CD ROM into my computer for a mobile phone for years.

I am reasonably impressed there’s Mac support for the desktop. I was expecting to have to arse around with VMWare Fusion and Windows.

Annoyingly, the CD points me to blackberry.com/mac to download the software! What’s the point of the CD? At least I will be using the latest version of the software.

Now the software has downloaded and is installing. Alas it wants me to reboot my computer at the end of installation. Take note software engineers, we are not in the Dark Ages anymore. Asking me to reboot my Mac is like asking me to buy a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone. It ain’t gonna happen:

Bollocks to that.

I’ll try running it anyway. As if I’ve got the time to arse about shutting everything down? No.

I found the app in the Applications folder and ran it. Seems to be working fine.

“Please connect your device”…

I’ve connected it.

Of course, my device is still in Class-F (“FCKED”) mode.

So it doesn’t appear to be detecting it. The device is still showing the rubbish error. I have now clicked ‘enter’ on the keyboard — that’s the only option — to restart it. Hopefully it’ll be detected by my Mac during the restart…

What a fcking surprise.

It wasn’t detected.

Right then.

Back to the sodding original knowledge base page.

I decided to try downloading the PC version using my Windows system on VMWare Fusion. That wants to download almost 300mb of data. The BlackBerry Desktop for Mac software is only 30mb.

Should I just restart my Mac? Perhaps that’s why the phone isn’t being detected?

I don’t know if I should restart, because if I do… and it DOESN’T work, I will develop a serious problem for the arse who programmed the ‘please restart your computer’ message.

Sod it. I’ll do a Mac restart instead of waiting 20 minutes for the PC version to download…..

I decided to wait, as I had other things to do.

The PC version of BlackBerry Desktop installed itself and couldn’t connect to the device. I restarted it a few times before I read the prompt message properly and hit the ‘update’ button, which — I think — is updating the software on the device to enable it to actually boot.

Spoke too soon:

Alas the BlackBerry’s screen is now completely black. I think it’s switched off.

Time to take off the battery… and restart.

Nothing.

The phone is entirely dead.

Joy.

Ok, don’t panic, don’t manic…

I took out the battery for 5 seconds this time. Put it back in… Ah hah! The red light is showing….

Oooh and we’re getting a start-up bar showing…

And it’s booted straight into the old JVM Error 545 message. At least it’s ‘working’.

I sought help from a higher power in the form of Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry.com. He’s written the definitive guide to rescuing your nuked BlackBerry. Kevin’s instructions worked perfectly up until this point:

Ooookay.

Did a Google for the page to download Vodafone UK BlackBerry software from the BlackBerry.com site.

Then got the stupid, STUPID RIM legalese. I thought they’d killed this:

Alas we’re still in the Cold War.

The next page asks me to confirm that I am eligible for RIM to export the software to me.

Come on.

Another 117mb download now for the software. Hopefully I can install this on the BlackBerry. At least I’ll be up to date, eh?

Hours later and…

Yes, I think we’re getting somewhere…

Unfortunately I’ve lost all my on-device data. That is an arse.

Of course I didn’t bother ever backing up my device because a) most of my data is cloud-based (on Google, so losing the phone isn’t much of a problem) and b) BlackBerries are very reliable….

Anyway at least my new device will be fresh..

OK…

Done. My completely fresh BlackBerry is now restarting.

PLEASE WORK.

Update 2: Ok, so that did work. It’s completely fixed. Time to reinstall everything…

The BlackBerry Bold 9650:

The Pearl 9100 3G:

Now here is the Pearl 9100 with the 14-key keyboard:

And then here are the IntoMobile and Crackberry chaps checking out the devices:

The delicious Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry has posted some nicer photos and more details about the all new BlackBerry Bold Slider handset. All the smart money is — as Kevin points out — on the slider being part of the Bold category of devices.

For those burning to find out more, Kevin has helpfully compiled a ‘slider-rumour’ frequently asked questions post.

I’m content to let nature take it’s course and for the Slider to be launched as and when RIM decide. I could be tempted. I absolutely adore the BlackBerry keyboard (although I was shocked, last night, to find I can type really fast with both thumbs on an iPhone 3GS). The Slider configuration would give a heck of a lot more screen real estate on the BlackBerry — and I’m a fan of that. Although I’ve never taken to the Storm(s), I always loved the amount of data you could pack into their giant screens.

Kevin reckons the Slider might hit in the summer. Bring it on!

A posting over at Gizmodo via the original source of a Tmonews forum item has a leaked image of the RIM roadmap, with a new Bold model on the horizon with a touch screen in a slider casing.

There’s nothing much more to tell other than what the picture above shows, but still it’s an interesting rumour none the less.

In all practicality, we can’t really see the benefit of a touch screen in the Bold’s current housing. Unless RIM are open to crosspollination of their range, which they might very well be if the latest phone is anything to go by.

With the Curve 8900 we’ve seen the old model Curve from last year updated, to house a screen of the current BlackBerry Bolds likening.

Working on that principal and that principal alone, perhaps a screen somewhere in between the Bold and the Storm could be of use in this supposed new handset.

Seeing as it’s also designated to be housed in a slider format this could be much more of a feasible solution.

Of late we’ve seen the BlackBerrys break out of their corporate monstrosity mould, to adopt a much more consumer focussed design.

One model of phone they haven’t actually brought to market yet is a slider, so perhaps the concept isn’t as wild and unbelievable as it first appears to be.

A few years back you wouldn’t have believed RIM would have produced a candybar shaped mobile any more than you would have believed a full touch screen handset, minus a keyboard.

Even the thought of a flip phone wouldn’t have made sense to most, now look at the sales. It’s actually doing rather well.

With a product codename of ‘Pluto’ we’re guessing the rumour this model’s design isn’t so out-of-this-world after all.

It appears the rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Orange has some great great troubles with the Bold, leading to the RIM phone being pulled from its network. This was despite them being the very first UK network to carry the mobile.

After some updates to cure the woes behind the 2G and 3G switching, which it didn’t handel to well, its proudly back on the network. Hurrah!

Posted via email from MIR Live

I am really annoyed that I can’t make phone calls on my Blackberry Bold.

Or my other Blackberry Curve.

Let’s be clear: The handset connects to the internet brilliantly. The handset makes and receives calls.

Just… the person on the other end can hardly ever hear me.

Roughly every second call I make or receive, the person on the other end says ‘oh, er, this… you’re… you’re breaking up.. this is a bad line..’

I’m in different locations routinely.

I’m using Vodafone, traditionally one of the best and highest quality networks.

WORSE: I routinely have 80-100% signal when this is going on.

What the flock am I meant to do?

I simply cannot function correctly when the other person can’t hear me.

What the hell are the merits of a sodding Blackberry when it can’t do the basics correctly?

I’m reasonably confident it’s not the network screwing up. I don’t know.

I *think* it’s the phone. But you know what? I can’t be bothered to figure out the problem.

I can’t be arsed to sit and take sim cards out and screw about with different handsets and call customer services and so on an so on.

I think it’s a good 300 quid a month I blow.

I simply can’t be BOTHERED. I’m paying that much and the thought of having to ‘audit’ my telecommunications SO that I can consistently make reliable mobile voice calls… I can’t handle that. I’m outraged that it’s all this shit.

I’m going to try swapping to a Nokia on my primary handset, I think.

It’s not just me who’s getting a shit service from the mobile industry as a whole though — on the basics.

Consider this comment from one influential industry insider that I got an hour ago:

“I lose Vodafone signal in Victoria Station. To the point that I now know what paths to take when i’m on a call so i don’t get cut off… Pathetic!”

It truly is ridiculous.

MobileTechAddicts got hold of a leaked internal memo and have published the full text on the site. 

Internal Orange Statement on the Bold:”Following reports of software issues with the BlackBerry Bold handset across a variety of mobile operators, Orange has decided to act in the interest of its customers by suspending shipments of the device in the UK. We are currently awaiting feed back from RIM as to when an industry wide fix for these issues will be in place, and expect this suspension to be an interim measure.We apologise for any inconvenience this issue may cause you.”next stepsBlackBerry/RIM are doing everything they can to resolve this issue and will be completing full testing and validation to ensure future handsets do not have any quality issues.  This may take a couple of weeks so it’s up to us to do what’s best for our customers.

Interestingly, the exact cause/nature of the “software issues” is not known.

What about you?

Jim Suva of Citigroup wrote in a research note quoted by Barrons that:

We had a few occasional 3G signal dropping troubles at some locations especially on high-rises building streets & on our 34th floor (EDGE picked up immediately but slower internet speeds)

Suva also reckons that the Bold’s been delayed while RIM fixes the problems. 3G connection issues don’t bode well this late in the game, but top marks to RIM for sorting them out before the device hits the market, not after.

I wanted to rip it out of his grubby hands.

It’s been a while since I had a good case of handset envy.

If T-Mobile’s not your bag, the device will also be sold through Vodafone and 3 too.

If you need reminding why this device is provoking some gadget envy among the BlackBerry carrying classes, here’s a quick rundown of the features: GPS with BlackBerry Maps, wi-fi, HSDPA, half-VGA display, 624 MHz processor, 1 GB memory plus all the usual mobile email goodness you’d expect.

Despite RIM’s plans to pitch the device to “business professionals and power users”, the Bold looks like it’s another play by the folk at RIM to charm the consumer audience. As well as boasting similar whizzbang features to those that made the Nokia N95 a crowd pleaser, it’s also got some good looking styling and iTunes syncing, via BlackBerry Media Sync.

Want to get your hands on one? It’ll be out this summer, according to RIM. No word on who’s the lucky UK operators yet.