BlackBerry 8830

The RIM 8830 is the best BlackBerry I've tested to date. While the stalwart 8700 model offered by all of the major carriers is an outstanding BlackBerry, the 8800 series from RIM is a new line of BlackBerry's touting multi-media viewing (music, pictures and streaming video) and GPS in a thin form factor. Emulating the Moto Q, iPhone, Blackjack and other GSM and CDMA phones, the BlackBerry 8830, running on Sprint's EVDO broadband network, offers lightening fast HTML browsing and the usual calendar, tasks, address book and memopad interface. If you've used BlackBerry's before, you'll have no problem learning how to use the 8830.

The is the first CDMA/GSM quadband phone, meaning it will operate worldwide. Sprint has already inserted a GSM SIM. But there's room for another SIM using a carrier of your choice. So if you plan a trip outside the U.S., you add international coverage through Sprint or a third-party carrier, reducing your per minute charges when roaming off of Sprint. This capability resolves a problem faced by international travelers, who need to purchase a SIM card when switching to a GSM network, the world standard for cellular networks.

BlackBerry Messenger is built-in for instant messaging and I found the Password Keeper very handy. It's password protected so you can store your myriad passwords in one place and never worry about someone accessing them. A search function on the 8830 makes it easy to locate files in messages, calendar, address book, memopad and tasks.

Managing your network and bluetooth connections is easily accomplished in a separate program on the 8830. Speaking of Bluetooth, I experienced excellent call quality and signal strength when I paired the 8830 via Bluetooth in my Prius. In fact, the 8830 delivered the best sound quality I've experienced using handsfree in my car.

During my recent trip to Minnesota, I tested Sprint Navigation with the built-in GPS and was quite amazed at how well it identified and tracked farm country roads. The Sprint signal remained strong from the Twin Cities airport through central Minnesota with a few drop-offs here-and-there.

While the GPS won't replace my Toyota Prius' GPS, it's quite powerful and also offers turn-by-turn voice directions as well. The mapping program is also excellent.

BlackBerry email clients, unlike Palm Treo's and other smartphones, have always been problematic when encountering HTML. Sending and receiving text email is not a problem. However, if you subscribe to the online versions of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or other publications in HTML, you'll see numerous HTML links and, perhaps, some text. Clicking on the correct link opens the browser, but you have to know which link to choose.

Fortunately, a company called Empower offers an HTML Mail viewer for only $10 that turns the BlackBerry HTML links into readable text immediately upon opening an email. It's extremely fast converting HTML links into readable emails. Check it out at Handango: http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&platformId=5&N=5%2096515&R=209518&productId=209518.

Overall, I'd rate the BlackBerry 8830 "good"--only knocking it down a notch from excellent due to the email client. Otherwise, RIM is finally offering BlackBerry's that are useful for more than just email. Great mobile device.