Tech Review: Blackberry launches 9720 with BB OS7 in Africa

Blackberry has been in shambles lately so much so that it has put itself for sale. But, that doesn’t stop it from adding new products in its portfolio. Just a few days ago, it had quietly launched 9720 in the mid-range segment and now it’s available for sale. What’s interesting about this device is that it’s running on Blackberry 7 OS, instead of newly launched BB OS 10. With 9720, Blackberry seems to be pleasing its loyal fan base using its Bold or Curve series of smartphones. Let’s check what it offers-

Externals: Design and Display
BlackBerry 9720 features a similar design to BlackBerry’s Curve smartphones with QWERTY keyboard. It also offers touch-screen which means users get the best of both worlds. Unlike newly launched, Q10 and Q10 with touchscreen and physical keyboard, the smartphone also comes with answer/ reject keys and popular optical trackpad. It also has a dedicated key for quick access to BBM (BlackBerry Messanger). To woo the youth, it’s available in wide range of hues- Black, White, Purple, Blue and Pink.

It has a 2.8 inch IPS display with resolution of 480 x 360 pixels, resulting in average pixel density of 214 ppi. The IPS display provides good viewing angles and is viewable even under direct sunlight.

Internals: Hardware and Connectivity
The smartphone is powered by an 806 MHz Tavor processor accompanied by a 512 MB RAM. This would be sufficient for running most of the tasks or games on the device. In terms of memory, it has 512 MB of in-built storage with option of expanding it further via microSD card up to 32 GB. It’s fueled by a Li-ion battery of 1450 mAh which claims to give it talk-time of up to 7 hours.

For connectivity, it offers usual options of 2G/ 3G network support with microSIM, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi b/g, GPS and microUSB. It also provides FM radio functionality which is available in very few models of BlackBerry.

Camera

BlackBerry 9720 comes with 5 MP camera at its back with LED flash and useful features like geotagging and image stabilization. It’s also capable of recording videos.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have secondary camera which means users will not be able to use the device to make video calls.

Software Goodies
As stated earlier, 9720 runs on OS 7.1, but BlackBerry has added several enhancements to it. It has a Multicast feature, which allows user to write a status update once and post it simultaneously to several social networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc. With BBM, users will also be able to make voice calls to other users apart from text chatting. BlackBerry App World allows to download numerous apps and games.

Conclusion
The smartphone will be a good choice for QWERTY aficionados in the mid-level segment as other manufacturers are offering touchscreen devices only. However, apart from physical keyboard, it doesn’t have any other USP against more powerful Android and WP devices.

The article is contributed by Sanjay Kumar Negi, working at 91mobiles.com.