Flip smartphones are far from a common form factor. But the BlackBerry Style 9670 actually pulls this unusual shape off. We already liked the Sprint version of this cell phone; fortunately, the Boost Mobile version is just about as good. Depending on how you weigh Boost's cheaper plans versus higher up-front phone price, the Boost version can be a better deal as well.?
Design and Call Quality
This phone isn't much different than the Sprint version, so you may want to read that review first. I'll touch on the basics but focus mainly on the differences here. The Style is like most other flip phones, except wider; it measures 3.8 by 2.4 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.6 ounces. It looks and feels great; this is one sharp phone, and the name is apt. The external 240-by-320-pixel screen displays a nice analog clock graphic, but aside from that, some status indicators, and too-short email previews, it?s a wasted opportunity. Inside, there?s a 2.7-inch, 360-by-400-pixel LCD a tenth of an inch shorter than the new Bold 9930?s display (though the Bold 9930 offers higher resolution). The QWERTY keyboard is a little flatter than RIM's other designs, but it works well for reasonably fast typing.?
Hardware, Apps, and Messaging
Running BlackBerry OS 6 rather than the newer version 7, the Style isn?t the most powerful BlackBerry. With its 528MHz CPU, it?s slower than 624MHz and 1.2GHz Bolds and Torches. Most of the time, this isn?t a big deal. Having just reviewed a BlackBerry Bold 9930 and 9900, I may have noticed some sluggishness in the Style 9670, but most users will be fine with its speed.?
Every BlackBerry short of a Bold 9930 or Torch 9810 comes with a terrible browser. Thankfully, Boost thought of this and preloads Bolt, which is much better, along with AP Mobile, Facebook, and Twitter clients. The YouTube icon is just a shortcut to the site?s Web page, though. BlackBerry's universal inbox aggregates everything from email and IM to direct messages from Twitter and Facebook. As long as you?re not expecting smooth Microsoft Exchange sync?for that, you?ll need a BlackBerry server at work?you?ll like the Style?s messaging capabilities.?
The Boost version also lacks Sprint?s various multimedia apps, including Sprint TV and the Sprint Music Store. You still get TeleNav GPS Navigator, which offers voice-enabled, turn-by-turn directions for $9.99 per month. Speaking of pricing, while the Style 9670 costs more up front, you?ll come out ahead over time thanks to Boost?s cheaper unlimited plans, which range from just $50 to $60 per month and become as cheap as $35 after 18 months of on-time payments.
The less said about BlackBerry App World, the better. While there are a few decent apps for BlackBerries, the field is so much thinner than the array of apps for other smartphones that third-party apps should be considered a pleasant surprise, not a core part of the experience here. If you want to play the games your friends are playing on their smartphones, this isn't the phone for you.
Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions
Like all recent BlackBerrys, the Style is a good music player and a so-so video player. The standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack and side-mounted microSD card slots are helpful, but you must pull the battery cover before you can get a fingernail under the memory slot door. RIM throws in an 8GB card, and there?s 215MB of free internal storage. But the free BlackBerry Desktop Software for Windows and Mac computers is the best way to sync your media with the Style 9670. Music tracks sounded clear through Samsung Modus HM6450 Bluetooth headphones?($99, 4 stars).
The 5-megapixel continuous auto-focus camera has no flash. The Style 9670 suffers from the same problem a lot of flip phones do: it?s easy to cover the sensor with your finger by accident. Otherwise, it takes decent photos, with dark shadows and indoor, lower-light noise being the primary issues. Sometimes it waits a second or two before it snaps a photo. Recorded 640-by-480-pixel videos played at a decent, if slightly choppy 20 frames per second. Standalone videos play smoothly but look tiny on the phone?s display.
If you're comfortable with BlackBerrys, the Style won't disappoint. I rather like its flip form factor. But BlackBerry OS is really showing its age, particularly when it comes to apps. That said, Sprint's prepaid Boost division doesn't offer much selection in the way of handsets. Our current favorite is the Samsung Galaxy Prevail ($179.99, 4 stars), which offers a solid, mostly stock Android experience, plus a higher-resolution screen, a much better WebKit browser, and access to over 200,000 third-party apps in the Android Market. It lacks a hardware QWERTY keyboard, though, and it's a regular touch-screen slab instead of a flip phone. If you want more choices, you're best heading over to the Sprint mainland, where you can find brand new, high-end phones like the Motorola Photon 4G ($199.99, 4.5 stars) and the BlackBerry Bold 9930; just be prepared to pay higher monthly fees.?
Benchmarks
Continuous talk time: 4 hours 24 minutes
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