Just a Peek - Blackberry 7100g: The Adult Cell Phone

by

- December 2nd, 2005

A while back I wrote a piece about a device a friend of mine had; the BlackBerry 7100t.

I was so intrigued by the device that I contacted the nice folks at Research In Motion (RIM) about reviewing a BlackBerry model. They agreed, and for the last month I've been playing with a BlackBerry 7100g.

I'm not going to dance around this, folks, I'm cutting right to the heart of the matter: The BlackBerry 7100g is a cellphone for adults. It is not a toy with dancing kitties on the screen and far-too-cute ring tones built in. And it does not have a camera.

The BlackBerry 7100g -- and, from what I can gather online, all the phones in the 7100 series from RIM -- are serious pieces of equipment built with the working adult in mind; these devices provide nearly all the features a working adult needs, and none of the fluff, blinking lights, and other eye-catching crud a working adult has no use for.

Does that mean you have to be dressed in a buttoned down three-piece and sport deep furrows between your eyebrows just to use a Blackberry? Hardly.  The Blackberry is just at home with the blue-jean set as with those who sport power ties, as you'll see in a moment.

BlackBerry 7100g

What's Outside

The BlackBerry 7100 series is noticeably different from BlackBerry devices you may have seen or used in the past: All models in the 7100 series are about two thirds the size of the larger and more familiar BlackBerry devices, like the 7200 Series.

The second most noticeable difference between the 7100 Series and it larger siblings is its apparent lack of a built-in QWERTY keyboard. There is a keyboard on the 7100 series, and it is laid out in a QWERTY fashion, but it is designed for the smaller real estate of the 7100, making several sacrifices to save space. To type in text, you use an ingenious system called SureType™, where the device attempts to anticipate the word you are entering. It took a bit of getting use to, but once I got the hang of it, I was entering text at a surprising rate. More on that in a bit.

The 7100 Series phones are smaller devices than other BlackBerry models, so it only follows the screen on the 7100 is smaller, yet, for its size, you'll appreciate how relatively big and bright  screen is, and how easy it is to read text. Even the most presbyopic will enjoy the big, dark letters against the paper-white background, and I got a kick out of being able to display photos on the bright, colorful screen.

My review unit, a 7100g, is sleek and sexy looking. Like iPods, BlackBerries are becoming icons of status; pull one of these bad boys out in a social gathering and you may be asked to pick up the tab.

My 7100g came with a USB cable charger, and a carrying holster. The cable charger is adequate, but, like a dollop of mustard on a tuxedo lapel, it diminishes the overall sophisticated demeanor the device otherwise invokes.

The holster, on the other hand, is extremely cool; when I put the 7100g into the holster, the screen goes dark and any connection you had made while using the device  (calls, Internet connections, etc.) is disconnected (unless you are using a headset, of course, then calls are not disconnected). Pull the 7100 out of the holster and the screen lights up automatically, allowing you to get right to work. It's pretty cool.

There's something buried in the fabric of the holster that allows the phone to sense that it is holstered and act accordingly. You can even adjust how the phone rings when it's in the holster versus out. Very slick.

The 7100 devices also sport a usable speaker phone, and an earphone jack, but you'll likely not want to use either once you spend fifty bucks or so for a Bluetooth headset. Believe me, even with its limitations, you'll want one. More on that later.

What's Inside

Many cellphone companies now offer one of the BlackBerry 7100 series; which phone you get will depend on the service provider and the features your cellphone service supports. Luckily, many of the core services are available on nearly all of the 7100 devices.

What sort of services? How about e-mail from your . Mac account delivered to you anywhere your cellphone service has coverage? How about fast Internet connectivity that allows you to access many of the sites you can get to on a desktop computer. Instant messaging is also available, but remember that these features are something that you'll pay for above and beyond your regular cellphone service, which can be pricey. Even so, if you need constant access to e-mail, or live for instant messaging, there are few devices better suited for the job.

There are a host of other features in the 7100g as well, and you access them using the thumb wheel located on the right side of the device. The thumb wheel was strange to use at first, but I quickly became accustomed to rolling and clicking my way through the menu options, and soon I was glad to have opposable thumbs.

As for the applications; the 7100g sports a calendar, to do list, address book, memo pad, calculator, and a game called BrickBreaker; but, you don't have to settle for just those applications, there are literally hundreds of other apps available that will let you view and edit documents, surf the Web, get RSS news feeds, and much more.

Yes, there are games available, too. More than your standard solitaire or Pac-Man clones; you can find pretty much anything that suits your particular fancy, so that you can wile away those minutes while waiting from a train in digital gaming bliss. Note that many of these applications will require that your 7100 has Internet connectivity, which, as I said before, is an extra charge from your service provider. You can find many apps for the BlackBerry at Handango.

Bluetooth

One of the nicest features of the 7100g is its Bluetooth capability; with it, you can use a Bluetooth headset or connect wirelessly to your Bluetooth enabled car, which is more than a convenience, it's a safety feature that I firmly believe more people should have and use.

In fact, one of the reasons why I wanted a full featured phone, and not one of the low-end units that cell phone companies gives you just for signing up, is because I wanted to use a Bluetooth headset. Not long after I got the BlackBerry, I bought a Motorola H820.

It's not a great headset, especially if you have some mild hearing loss, use your phone in a car with the window down, or frequent places where there's a lot of background noise. The headset linked with the BlackBerry just fine, but the phone does not offer a key feature found on many other phones; voice dialing, where you can press a button on the headset, speak the name of the person you wish to call, and the phone does the rest. The BlackBerry will dial the last number called by clicking the headset button, but that's about as good as it gets.

Despite the poor headset, and the lack of voice calling, I love using the Bluetooth headset. The convenience is worth the extra cash you'll shell out, and having both hands free means you can do real stuff, like driving or working, while having a conversation.

Syncin'

The PDA functions on the 7100g are simple and easy to use; I could schedule appointments, check addresses, and write notes to myself easily.  PC users will find that syncing the BlackBerry to data and e-mail on their PCs is easy once the supplied software is installed.

Mac users, on the other hand, have to rely on third party syncing solutions from PocketMac to keep their BlackBerry and Macs up to date. One issue that may deter some potential Mac buyers is that Mac users cannot sync their e-mail with any BlackBerry device. This is a problem, especially for those who would like to forgo the expense of using RIM's BlackBerry e-mail service (Available through your wireless service provider) and simply sync with the e-mail on their computers for offline work and review. I've spoken with the folks at PocketMac and they tell me that a solution is on the way. Good thing!

Using iSync isn't as simple as it might be: iSync will call up PocketMac to start the BlackBerry syncing, which is fine, but the second and third window might be a little off-putting to some, and it can be especially confusing if you use a password on your BlackBerry (which you should do).

It took me a few minutes to realize that the reason my password wasn't working, was that I was entering my password on my Mac as numbers instead of the associated letter that appeared on my BlackBerry keypad. For a few minutes, I was spitting nails, but all was good once the proper password was entered. Otherwise, syncing works well.

Is it worth it?

OK, so what's the bottom line here? Is the BlackBerry 7100g worth the premium you'll pay for the phone and the extra service cost?

The BlackBerry 7100g is the best phone I have every used. Period. Clear signals, few dropped calls, and a clear speaker and mic make the BlackBerry a far better phone than regular cell phones.

Review Item	BlackBerry 7100g
Manufacturer	Research in Motion
Price Street Price	~US$399 (Dependent of Service Provider and contract.) $149 - Amazon
Minimum Requirements	Windows 2000 or XP or Mac OS 10.2.6 or 10.3 (Windows systems sync with MS Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003)

As for the other features, your mileage may vary, but taken as a whole, the RIM devices, in combination with RIM's exclusive services, offer the mobile user a set of features that are hard to beat.

While Mac users can't benefit fully from all the features of the BlackBerry, PocketMac has made it so that many BlackBerry features can be used. Windows users will be in mobile heaven as the included desktop software allows the BlackBerry to integrate well with Windows desktops.

If you can pay the price and can use the features, the BlackBerry 7100g is the phone to have. It really is a quality piece of work.

is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He's been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.

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