BlackBerry 7100g Smartphone Review
Overview of 7100g:
Pros:
A better design than the previous Blackberry models
Manoeuvrability
Good organisational features
Advanced security features
Cons:
Limited memory
No further expansion slots provided
Lacks MP3 player and FM radio
Does not support high speed EDGE
Complete review:
There was a time when the word Blackberry was spelled out, it makes you think of some bulky phone having an appearance that does not near the word “stylish”. This is because, RIM basically concentrates only on packing the phone with features like emails and business productivity tools without caring about its form and having only the corporate sector in its mind.
With the hope of acquiring more casual customers, RIM launched the Blackberry 7100t which has something for the 21st century. Now it has released a more improved version called the Blackberry 7100g. Well, Blackberry 7100g is loaded with features with a chic and sleek design.
It is similar to the 7100t in a lot of ways. But this time with a high-resolution colour display, 32MB of internal memory, Bluetooth and with a lot of other functionalities, it seems to be appealing to both the sectors of the community.
A better design:
The RIM Blackberry 7100g fits easily in your hand being more comfortable to use with its dimensions being 117 x 59 x 21mm (H x W x D) and weighing just 120 grams. It says good bye to the awful boxy shaped Blackberry Phones, now having a more authentic and clean design. Owning a high end look, it features a display of resolution 240×260pixels which in turn can display 65K colours.
The buttons and ports:
Manoeuvrability is very mandatory when it comes to mobile phones. Users of the commercial sector need to have a system that keeps information at their fingertips. The trackwheel provided for navigation provides convenient usage of the menu structure and the emails. The BlackBerry 7100g Smartphone delivers this with a dedicated send key and end keys for fast connections and immediate cut offs respectively. The convenience button gives swift access to the commonly used applications like contacts and entertainment.
The power on/off switch is present at the top of the 7100g along with a LED indicator. The LED indicator notifies the user when any new data is received. Towards the left is the 2.5mm standard headset jack. This side also sports an USB port used for synchronization of data and for charging the battery. The rear side of the mobile sports a speaker and battery door.
Well designed keyboard:
The keypad is well designed with the QWERTY keyboard . The reduced size of the keyboard is one of the major reasons why 7100g from Blackberry is having a condensed size. The keys are generously spaced and since it also features the SureType technology, typing is not going to be an issue at all. Having just 20 keys, it requires up to two presses for entering a letter as most of the keys contain up to two letters and one number. Difference between the inputs depend on the sequence of keys pressed that matches the 35,000 word dictionary. Being well designed, it renders a lot of space for text editing which compliments a lot of other applications in the phone.
Limited memory:
BlackBerry 7100g from RIM contains 32 MB of flash memory and 4 MB of SRAM. The users will have to manage their memory usage efficiently as the 7100g does not contain any extra slot for memory expansion.
Perfect for Organisations:
Blackberry phones as we all know are basically used by the people of the corporate sector who require a lot of organising to be done. The job of organisation can be done in an easy and quick manner with Blackberry 7100g.
Miscellaneous features:
The calendar is ideal for creating visible schedules that can be accessed in a glance. The calendar allows you to view your meeting schedules in four ways. The day week and month view allows you to view the meetings that are scheduled in the selected time frame and the agenda view lists your complete schedule. The memo pad helps to keep important details readily available and the task pad provides a handy to-do list. Each contact can hold up to 8 phone numbers, one email ID and 2 postal addresses, all limited only to the memory that is available in the phone.
The Personal Information Management programs:
The 7100g wireless handheld device is compatible with many of the more popular Personal Information Management (PIM) programs which includes calls, email, SMS, schedules etc. This helps to maximize organization and to keep busy professionals on task and connected. This smartphone supports formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, Corel WordPerfect, ASCII documents , Zip Archives, and HTML.
Some additional features:
The phone is supported with additional convenience features that make connections quick and reliable. Users can enjoy hands-free correspondences using the integrated speakerphone or Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth provides the service using a headset of convenient car kit.
Lack of any audio features:
The Blackberry lacks any audio features that are interesting. It does not have any MP3 player of FM radio as any other latest mobiles that are currently available in the market though it supports up to 32 simultaneous chords. Polyphonic ring tones are ideal for creating a personal touch to the unit. The BlackBerry 7100g is a practical mobile phone that adds a little fun into the mix.
The hands-free technology can be enjoyed either by using the provided headphone or by using a Bluetooth wireless headset or by keeping the phone in speaker mode.
Connectivity:
Coming to the part of connectivity, it is a quad-band GSM device (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz) which makes possible compatibility and international roaming between Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. The 7100g incorporates the GPRS Class 8 with transfer speed of up to 40 kbps. But, it is not capable of utilizing high-speed (EDGE) Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution network, so expected broadband burst rates of up to two hundred kbps are not being supported.
The browser:
Viewing the internet depends wholly on the configuration of the browser being used. The WAP browser users WAP2.0 which renders WML over the internet. The users can access the corporate intranet using BES that supports IPPP protocols and HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) with the help of the Blackberry browser.
A question might have raised in your mind that “ what if I do not work in a place with the BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) installed? “ yes, there is an alternative solution which is using the BlackBerry Web Client. This Web client forwards the email messages in a wireless way to the 7100g from up to 10 POP3 or IMAP4 accounts in 3 to 15 min duration.
Secure:
Being a device that is largely used by the business consumers, Blackberry is expected to have advanced security features in order to safeguard sensitive corporate data which the 7100g does achieve. In addition to password protection and keyboard lock, information such as address book entries, messages, memos and tasks, calendar entries, can be encrypted locally.
With the help of Enterprise, an extra layer of security can be added to emails through Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) technology which satisfies the IT requirements that are mandatory through the use of public-key cryptography, digital signatures and writer-to-reader authentication. The AES encryption and End-to-End Triple DES makes sure that all the private information remains secure at all the junctions between the device and the server.
The Blackberry Enterprise Server Software:
But perhaps the 7100g’s real eye candy to corporate users is what they can not see on screen which is the features that are available when BlackBerry’s Enterprise Server software is installed on existing corporate servers. Unlike traditional phones, BlackBerry devices can be centrally managed and supported by IT departments through the Enterprise. When the software is installed behind firewalls, BlackBerry users can have secure access to programs like IBM Lotus Domino ISP and Microsoft Exchange email accounts, remote address book look-up, single mailbox integration, attachment viewing and lots to come.
Fun with Java games and applications:
Since Blackberry 7100g also supports the Java 2 platform micro edition(J2ME), downloading and installing of third party Java games and applications is possible. This technology being increasingly popular, applications and games are available in abundant on the net.
Battery:
BlackBerry 7100g smartphone from RIM uses a standard 960 mAh Li-Ion battery. It has a decent four hours of talktime and eight days of standby.
Box contents:
The box contents of the device includes a standard 960 mAh Li-Ion battery, handsfree headset, international travel charger, USB data cable, BlackBerry Desktop software, and user manual.
Verdict:
Balakberry is a real leader when it comes to securing corporate data from rivals. The limited Bluetooth connectivity and absence of EDGE are drawbacks. The lack of an expansion slot is one of the major cons. The lack of camera in such an advanced mobile is even more disgusting. The absence of MP3 player will be felt by everyone using the phone.
For users whose work place uses the BES and needs to use the intranet with high level secureness, the BlackBerry 7100g is a good and wise choice. While the consumers who want more rich multimedia features and do not require any advanced and secure e-mail functionalities, BlackBerry 7100g might not be the one they are looking for.
RIM BlackBerry 7100g - Technical Specifications, Features
| Manufacturer | RIM |
| Model Name | BlackBerry 7100g |
| Model Series | 7100 |
| Form factor | PDA |
| Dimensions (L x W x D) | 116 x 59 x 20 mm |
| Weight | 120 g |
| Navigation | Trackwheel / QWERTY Keypad |
| Display resolution | 240 x 260 pixel |
| Camera | No |
| Memory | 32MB Expandable Memory: No |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth: Yes Infrared Port: No High-Speed Data: GPRS (Class 8 ) Wi-Fi: No GPS: No PC Sync: Yes |
| Messaging | SMS EMS MMS |
| Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| Antenna | Internal |
| Microsoft Exchange Lotus Domino |
|
| Predictive Text | SureType |
| WAP | BlackBerry Browser |
| MP3 Player | No |
| FM Radio | No |
| Speakerphone | Yes |
| Push-To-Talk | No |
| Voice Commands | Yes |
| Wallpapers | 240 x 260 px |
| Screen Savers | 240 x 260 px |
| Ring Tones | 32 chord |
| Battery Type | 960 mAh Li-Ion |
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