It was only a year ago that I moved from the Blackjack to the Blackberry Curve and overall I was happy with the Curve. Great battery life, great phone, so-so on tethering so I ended up moving to a USB air card instead. The other feature that wasn't great was the camera; resolution was good enough for my needs, but it was sloooooow saving. I'd still be using it minor faults and all except for the previously posted problem it had with getting dropped in the sink. Phone worked, camera did not, and I actually use it enough that I missed it.

I would have liked the chance to try the Blackberry Storm, but it's Verizon and I use ATT, so it was either the iPhone or the Bold. I gave the iPhone serious consideration, it's shown itself to be better at mobile web browsing than anything else I've seen (I think the size of the display makes the biggest difference) and I find I spend less time replying to email via phone than in years past. Still, old habits die hard, and I was curious to see the new Blackberry in action, so Bold it was. A bold choice?

It's a 3g phone, and works as well as the Curve and other Blackberries have as a phone. Battery life is somewhat reduced, but still good enough to get through a day easily before needing a charge. The web browser is better than before (though not as nice as iPhone), the camera save time is much better, and the display itself is definitely nice. 3G helps on web browsing, is reasonably usable. Worth the $299 I paid for it? I'd say barely, when you can get the Curve for $99 or less and have a phone that works with a nice keyboard too.

It's strange to think that for years many people (consumers mainly, but some IT) wouldn't use a Blackberry because of the form factor, yet the iPhone has a similar clunky size compared to the little phones and yet people instantly take to it. I think that fun outweighs all, and the Blackberry is useful...but not fun!

I'll try not to drop this one in the sink, and try to keep it for 2 years, though I'm often tempted by the latest and greatest.