When the Bold 9700 was launched in October 2009, little did RIM (Research In Motion), or anyone else for that matter, know, how much the smartphone market would change in the space of a year. Change it did, and RIM faced a lot of competition from the likes of Apple iPhones and Android-based smartphones. There was an urgent need change the operating system and the interface in particular. The OS5 looked dated and dull in comparison to the highly customisable Android OS and even the good looking Apple iOS4. Those who wanted a hardcore business phone still went for a Blackberry, but the rest of the consumers found the Blackberry phones dull and boring - not because of the any hardware deficiencies, but because the OS and the interface was boring.

RIM went to work, and emerged from the building with something we now know as the OS6. This is the new smartphone OS on which future Blackberry devices will be based. Not only does it look and feel much more intuitive and fun, but also has a lot of new features. The Webkit web browser is possibly the most important upgrade. Not only is this browser interface snappier than the predecessor, but the page rendering speeds have also improved. Since the Bold 9780 is not a touchscreen phone, we were a little apprehensive about how the browser would respond to traditional mouse based navigation. It did well. Navigation was smooth and zoom-by-clicking on a certain area of the webpage made browsing easy. This browser may not be the fastest one around, but is certainly a huge improvement over what Blackberry users got earlier. Apart from the upgraded browser, the OS6 also gets universal search from the home screen, an app called Social Feeds, an updated music player and multiple ‘screens’ for customising with app links. Apart from this, the navigation and options menus are a lot more streamlined. The settings menu is a lot easier to navigate than earlier, thanks to the clubbing together of similar type options.

The OS6, does not feel heavier or slower than the OS5, despite the changes. Good thing, because RIM plans to send out operating system upgrades to the Bold 9700 as well as the Curve 3G, in due course of time. The OS6 may not have too much problems, despite the lower hardware specs, particularly on the Curve 3G.

First Impression

We are quite impressed with RIM’s strategy with regards to new handsets with the new operating system. They launched the Torch with the radical (at least in Blackberry terms!) form factor, with the hope that it would catch on. However, they smartly took their most consistent phone, modified it a bit, updated it with the new OS and assured themselves of steady sales, even if the Torch didn’t catch on for some reason. And this ‘tried and tested’ strategy has paid off, with the Bold 9780.

The form factor of the 9780 is exactly similar to the Bold 9700. Same dimensions, look and feel on the outside. The Full QWERTY keypad is as comfortable to use as before, and is assisted by the optical trackpad. The 2.4-inch screen with a 480x360-pixel resolution, is the same as the Bold 9700. The left panel has the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB port. The right panel has the volume control buttons. There is a customisable button on each side of the phone. You can set these buttons to open certain apps, and this is fully customisable from the menu. The top panel has the phone lock button. The battery cover has the rubbery feel to it, while the 5 megapixel camera and flash are placed just above it. The memory card slot is also placed right next to the battery cover. The 9780 has a solid build and feels expensive to hold and use as well. Hold a Curve 3G and the Bold 9780 in either hand simultaneously and you’ll know what I am talking about!

Performance

The focus of this phone is understandably on the new operating system. The Bold 9780 has the same 624MHz processor as the Bold 9700, but the bump up of RAM from 256MB to 512MB does make a difference. The apps respond quickly, and, even if quite a few apps are open in the background, the phone doesn’t slow down.

There will be no skins wrapped around the OS6, unlike Android. However, with the new OS, RIM has tried to bring in the multiple ‘screen’ feature albeit in a more restricted way. Even though the wallpaper remains constant, the bottom portion of the display has a scrolling strip that is superimposed on the wallpaper. Application shortcuts can be added to it. Users can even change the number of apps shown on the home screen - one or two rows. The interface is a lot more colourful than the OS5, which also helps in a huge way. The menus are clubbed together making navigation simpler and less painful than the previous OS. To get an idea of the difference, just click in the “settings” option from the home screen in OS5.

The 2.4 inch screen isn’t one of the fancy AMOLED or S-LCD ones. The humble TFT has been carried forward from the 9700, and does a consistently good job. Even in bright sunlight, the display works pretty well, which is quite rare. The lack of the touchscreen option makes it essential that the physical keyboard be good. And it is. The full QWERTY keypad is supremely good to use. Even though there is literally no spacing between the keys, the key size itself is big enough to allow comfortable typing. Though someone with not very thin fingers may take some time getting used to the key placement, the usability experience is undoubtedly top class.

Read on to know more about the performance and the verdict...