Brett Gideon: New product launches – BlackBerry

Telecom announced its new WorldMode data roaming service at a launch in Auckland city recently. This service will allow Telecom customers to use their PDA’s and smart phones on GSM and CDMA networks in 75 countries along with the Global Roaming service, which covers 140 countries. That’s cool, good on them. I’m not a Telecom user but if I was, I’d be well pleased with that coverage (except for the cost of mobile data which really displeases me, is it being routed via the moon or something??).

In any event, most of the launch speeches went over my head while I contemplated how to make off with one of the new BlackBerry 8830 World edition smart phones premiered at the same event.

To say I approve of the new phone would be a wee bit of an understatement, like saying Bill Gates is reasonably well off. I’ve had issues with BlackBerry phones before, specifically with being able to type properly on the tiny keys (and no, before you even ask, I don’t have King King sized hands). My emails on previous BlackBerrys read something like “Ho JoHn, I’ll be runing a litylte late for ouer meetin, will cal”.

Even though the new 8830 isn’t much bigger than something like a BlackBerry Curve, there seems to be enough extra keyboard real estate to make it user friendly. Maybe it’s just that the marginally bigger phone fits my hands a little better, allowing for quicker and more accurate typing.

I didn’t get a phone to keep but I’ll endeavor to pinch the TONE review unit for a serious trial run before the Editor assigns a reviewer – possession is nine tenths of the law after all.