The Blackberry 8830 World Edition look pretty much the same as any other Blackberry; however the metallic silver body does give it a bit of a more upscale look. It includes all of the features that people have come to expect from a Blackberry, the trackball and the QWERTY keyboard. This makes navigating through the menus a breeze. The size is also perfect since it is small enough that you can easily put it into the pocket on your shirt.

Like all Blackberry’s the thing that the 8830 does best is handle email. You can set up an account very easily using the built in wizard. It was easy to type on the 8830 as the keys are nice size and they are well spaced. You can view most file types fairly easily whether they are Word, Excel or PDF. Blackberry Messenger is also included with the phone. The biggest downside is that there is no GPS like there is on other models. One of the best features that we found on the 8830 was that the battery life was outstanding. Far better than any other smart phone that we have tried.

There is a feature for voice dialing on the 8830 which works quite well, better than on most phones. It had little trouble with any of the names that I tried to dial. Using Bluetooth with a wireless headset worked well for hands free calling. However one area that was a little bit disappointing was that you can’t use Bluetooth stereo headsets with the 8830.

The 8830 includes Roxio Media Manager which works quite well. It is very easy to move your media files from your notebook to your handset; all you have to do is drag and drop them using the split screen feature. Pictures look really good as the color of the screen is excellent. The video plays well and the speakers are loud, although the audio quality isn’t as good as it could be. Unfortunately the memory is way too small so you will likely fill it up pretty fast.

All in all the Blackberry 8830 World Edition is a very good phone, there are a couple of areas where it could be improved, but by and large it is quite good. It would be nice if there was GPS or if you could use Bluetooth Stereo headsets. Perhaps the biggest issue though is that there is no camera, a strange oversight in a world where you would normally expect to see one.

Design

BlackBerry gives this smartphone a totally different look from its older sibling. It does not look so masculine and fulfills the company’s goal of attracting male and female consumers. The Bold 9700 is pretty slim at 4.29×2.36×0.56 inches and tips the scale at 4.3 ounces. It is really lighter and can be considered more “pocketable” than the Tour.

The backside of the phone has a leatherette finish to give it a luxurious look in addition to the chrome details and lines. The screen is a bit smaller at 2.44 inches but the 245pixels/inch keeps everything clear without having to squint.

The interface is practically unchanged with only minor changes brought about by the BlackBerry OS 5.0.

One of the big changes on the controls will be the optical trackpad taking the place of the usual trackball. This feature makes scrolling and browsing a lot smoother.

Performance

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 promises to have excellent audio quality without having to worry about background noise. The keypads are a bit hard to press but typing will be a lot easier when you get used to the device. Pairing the device with other gadgets is also hassle free.

We can say that the 624Mhz brain of this smartphone performs well but some delays are encountered when you use the camera. Talk time is expected to hit around 6 hours with standby time stretching to 17 days.

Still, in this case, you have to wonder if the popularity level is not at all influenced by all the hype surrounding the iPhone 3G. I mean, after all, there was a heck of a lot of attention, to both the phone and all the many apps you can get for it.

The BlackBerry comes in at number two — shocker shocker. People love these smart phones, especially the BlackBerry Bold 9700. After all, that model is all business.

Rhythm in Motion, apparently. The company, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, recently revealed the BlackBerry Storm 2, which is a new version of the Storm smartphone with the touch screen. They make no bones about the fact that it is meant as another shot fired in their ongoing battle against the much loved iPhone.

The Storm 2 still has the touch screen and all its interface, but the improvements are many, such as faster typing as well as multi touch capabilities, which are designed to allow the phone’s user to type on many different parts of the screen, all at one time.

This is an iffy move, however; the original Storm didn’t do great when it hit stores during the latter part of last year.

Although I have to say that I am not a huge, huge fan of blackberries – crackberries is more like it, I have to say that they are not only one of the most popular phones in the world but they also have some of the best technology packed inside of them.  Take the WedOS platform that they just released.  This allows your palm to be linked up to your current version of iTunes so you can have access to your photos, music and videos.

The cool thing about this update is that there is also some software to support emoticons in the messaging applications, enhanced EAS (Exchange ActiveSync) support and finally, you can set ‘person reminders’ which allows you to remind yourself about certain people.  Really, this new update is going to be seamless update for any media that you are looking for.

Another thing?  It really will make your phone into something that you can use all over the world – and it will be one of the most important pieces for you in the world.

At any rate, many security vulnerabilities can be fixed with the package. This will work for you if you have both an iPhone or an iPod Touch.

There are lots of new features included in the software update as well. For instance, in addition to push notifications and MMS, users will also be able to copy, paste, and cut text now.

Some believe that the iPhone OS 3.0 software is Apple’s way of retaliating against its rival, popular Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion. Quite recently, Research in Motion released a security patch of its own, to address issues with the Blackberry.

These two phones have a rivalry that equals the competition found between Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan; Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield; Jack in the Box and Burger King; Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone Creamery — well, you get the idea.

The answer, as found in an NPD survey, may very well surprise you. Most folks anticipated that during the first quarter of 2009, the iPhone would sweep across the board as the number one smartphone. That has not proven to be the case, however.

The survey reveals that, in all of the United States, Apple’s iPhone 3G takes second place. It is the runner up to the Research in Motion Blackberry Curve.

Following the first two spots are the Blackberry Storm in third place; the Blackberry Pearl — but not the Pearl Flip — in fourth place, and the T-Mobile G1 in fifth. Clearly, the Blackberries are the ones sweeping the boards.

Blackberries are something that every business person in the world has right now.  However, just like the commercials, there are those butt dialing moments and that is why the flip blackberry was created and to be quite frank, I think that the flip blackberry is a genius idea!  Not only does it look incredible, but take the Verizon’s 3G BlackBerry Pearl Flip that comes out on the 19th of this month – it looks sexy!

Another great thing about this phone in particular is the fact that it is only about $129.00 after a $70.00 mail-in rebate.  That is absolutely nothing for a blackberry phone which are usually upwards of $300.00, so why aren’t you buying one?  They are awesome looking, sexy, packed with technology and all around are the best phones in the world.

Just remember, Verizon’s 3G BlackBerry Pearl Flip!

The HTC Snap – come one, let’s talk about this incredible phone … well, sometimes incredible phone.  Not only is this phone insanely attractive, but this phone is kind of a dud in my book.  There really isn’t a lot to the technology in this phone and while HTC’s are usually the end all and be all of phones, this one just seems to fall flat for me.

The keyboard is not something that I really like and while you can add your email addresses in, the technology itself is not all that great.  The camera is the only thing that I really, really like and I have to say that the overall handset looks awesome but that is about all I really, really like about this phone.

So if you are looking for a phone that you think is going to be good – you might want to do your research before you get yourself the HTC Snap … it could be a disappointment for you too!

So let’s give some props to the Blackberry Storm.  This phone is definitely one for the records.  Not only is it super easy to type out e-mails or text messages with the built in touch screen keyboard, but you can pretty much pick up internet anywhere and everywhere.

Another great thing about this particular phone is the fact that it has a 5MP camera which seriously … is incredible!  Not only will you be able to take awesome pictures but you can post them online right after you take them!

Blackberries are never going to go away, I know that, you know that – they are one of those things that people are going to always own and I love that.  Personally, I do not have a blackberry, but I am thinking about getting one and I definitely will be getting the blackberry storm for it is truly one incredible phone!