High-speed data connectivity via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband data network: The dual-band 850/1900 MHz 3G network provides up to 3.6/7.2 Mbps of download speed, making it possible to enjoy a variety of feature-rich wireless multimedia services, and it gives you the advantage of offering simultaneous voice and data services. Additionally, this phone is also compatible with 2100 MHz 3G networks found in international territories. (For use outside the United States, an AT&T international data plan is recommended.) When traveling outside the U.S., you can enjoy wireless voice coverage in more than 215 countries, wireless data coverage in more than 185 countries, and gain access to ultra-fast 3G mobile broadband services in more than 100 countries. In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Providing average data speeds between 75-135Kbps, it's fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services, including full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

The full-featured, premium AT&T Navigator GPS application includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates and re-routing options, and 3D moving maps (additional charges applicable). AT&T Navigator offers several other features to make your commute more enjoyable and reliable, including mobile access to Yellowpages.com. Additionally, AT&T Navigator is the only mobile phone-based GPS service that provides integrated speech recognition for address entry and points of interest search.

AT&T Visual Voicemail provides an easier way to check voicemail. No more dialing into complicated voicemail menus. Visual Voicemail delivers messages directly to your handset, so you can review your voicemail messages anytime, anywhere, and in any order you choose. Getting to important messages is simpler than ever: Listen to important messages, in any order you choose View name or number of caller who left message Add contacts to your address book Delete messages Call back Reply via text message, email Forward voicemail audio via email or MMS Save voicemail audio to device memory or memory card (store up to 40 messages in the inbox)

AT&T Mobile Music enables you to buy tracks while on the go, access the Napster and eMusic subscription music services, stream music video, discover what's playing with Music ID song-recognition software, and find out what's hot with The Buzz music news portal.

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• Video format support: DivX 4, DivX 5/6 partially supported, XviD partially supported, H.263, H.264, WMV3, MPEG4, Sorenson Spark & On2 VP6(Flash support)
• Audio format support: .3gp, MP3, WMA9 (.wma/.asf), WMA9 Pro / WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, Professional AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
• Email support: BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service (POP3/IMAP4)
• IM client: Yahoo, MSN Live, AIM,
• USB connectivity: USB port allows charging and data synchronization of the device with a USB "A" to micro-USB "B" cable
• Bluetooth support: Mono/Stereo Headset, Hands-free, Serial Port Profile, Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP), Dial-up Networking (DUN) and Bluetooth SIM Access Profile (version 2.1)

Product Details

Customer Reviews

Review by Steve, 2010-09-07

This is my fourth blackberry. The first two were OK, not the highest quality as a phone, but great with the emails as long as I did not need to open attached files. The trackballs eventually died on the earlier models. Then I got a 9000 from work, which I really liked. Unfortunately before I even had a chance to wear out the trackball, my company decided they wanted it back.

But could I regress to a standard cellphone? NOooooooo. So I got this swell deal to get a BB9700 from ATT's Amazon store for only $0.01 by signing their 2 year contract. I have had it for 13 days now. My experience has been a mixed bag. First, it is clearly better as a telephone than my previous BBs. It is great on my personal emails, but I cannot access my work email account on it without a special concession from my bosses, and I have not had time to kiss their ring(s) yet. I have been told that access to our work email is absolutely not a problem with a iPhone or a Droid, it's related to the BB server.

Now my BB9700 has shut down twice in less than 2 weeks. I was able to reset it by removing and reinserting the battery the first time. This time I'm just taking it back to ATT for an exchange. The phone must be defective, as I have not had this problem with 3 Blackberrys before it.

So, no matter how brilliant the BB9700 design is, it is not perfect. I am happy that they got away from the trackball cursor though.

Review by THATCH, 2010-08-28

I had a Blackberry Torch and returned it for this model. I am 100% happier with this model. I've owned more Blackberries over the years than any other brand, but most recently have been an iPhone and Android user. That being said, I can appreciate the niche that Blackberry fills, and it has a few things that it is very good at -- email being one of them.

Some of the reasons I like this phone are reason that it is NOT like the Torch. The torch isn't great at anything-- with a touch screen, navigation button and a keyboard, it tries to be the everything phone to everyone, and I don't feel like any of it was great. This phone has a very usable keyboard, a very good screen, great battery life and super build quality.

For someone who has never had a smart phone, I would never steer them to a blackberry first. But for someone who has to be on a blackberry, or doesn't want to change, this is my choice for a blackberry. There aren't nearly as many apps available for blackberry as there are for android or iPhone, but that being said, a lot of the big names are available.

After using phones with larger screens lately, this screen feels a little small. But it is what it is-- a blackberry, and it does what it is meant to do very well.

And to close: If Blackberry wants a touch screen phone to fly and do well, they need to start fresh with a new OS. The OS we have on this phone is optimized for a keyboard and a navigator key. Putting that on a touch phone screen just doesn't work for me. Keep this OS around as Blackberry Classic and start fresh.

Anyway, enjoy this phone, I think it is the best "real" blackberry.

Review by Priscilla Grant, 2010-07-15

I have had this phone for a couple of months now and I have to say it's very impressive. I've always been a simple kind of person and I thought these high tech phones would be too difficult to handle but that wasn't at all the case. The camera was amazing and took great pictures for being just a phone, also the keyboard and browser are really cool. Everything about this phone is beautiful. It's screen, speaker, apps, and themes. It all works really well for me and I can definitely recommend this phone for others looking to buy a cell phone.

Review by A. Dent, 2010-07-13

Any current Blackberry user should be happy and possibly happier with the 9700 if upgrading from a previous model. When it comes to new users, it's a crowded marketplace out there. Those who prefer great physical keyboards may want to look into the current Blackberries. I got this company-issued Bold a couple of months ago through my employer to replace my old 8830. As a Blackberry user for more than 10 years now, I am quite happy with what I got and I see many improvements over what used to be a standard-issue Blackberry some 2-3 years ago.

First, the good things about the 9700 Bold:

- IT'S STILL A BLACKBERRY - This is important to the many BB users who want their Blackberry to change only slightly from one generation to another, at least as far as the physical form and the user interface is concerned. While Blackberries evolved from the little 'wheel' to the track ball to the current touch-sensitive square that's replacing it, they are still recognizable and I bet that if a time traveler from, let's say, 2002, popped up in 2010, he/she should be able to use the 9700 in no time. All buttons are at the familiar locations and, at least when comparing it with the previous generation, the 9700 responds very much in the same way.

- IT'S SMALLER, LIGHTER - While the screen appears to be (very slightly) larger on the 9700, it's bulk is significantly reduced. The 9700 is thinner and it weighs a lot less than its predecessor. Not everyone may appreciate this in the beginning and I was one of those but I got used with the lighter device quickly and I would consider it an improvement now.

- IMPROVED PICTURE QUALITY - While not the best screen in business, the picture on the 9700 is significantly better as far as resolution when compared to previous models. I would not use the Bold to watch movies or read books with the Kindle application but... this is a Blackberry and it's good at doing what Blackberries are expected to do: email, voice, enterprise integration. Everything else I see as 'extras'.

- EXTRAS - Of course, you get a camera which I'm not likely to use but it's good to know it's there, you can get video for free or subscribe to some pay service, have the ability to store various media and so on. It's good to have them but I'm not likely to spend much time with the 'extras' except maybe for the Web browser.

- IMPROVED WEB BROWSER - This is good news. The built-in browser is not quite as good as, let's say, Opera but it's coming pretty close and it's a major improvement over what Blackberry used to offer. And you can always install Opera or some other browser.

- 3G - Of course. EDGE is still available as the fall back service but, whenever 3G is detected, the 9700 will take advantage of it.

- BLUETOOTH, WI-FI - they work great and pairing with a Bluetooth device can be done literally in seconds.


In addition to the above, on the 'the same' or not necessarily 'improvements' category, I noticed no significant change as far as battery life is concerned. The 9700 needs (and comes with a) MICRO USB power adapter so the old MINI USBs won't work on this model. You also get the official Blackberry black leather case with a belt clip.

On the not-so-good or 'really annoying' side, I really hated the abundance of bloatware - I call it 'crapware' - that seems to have invaded the Blackberry world. There is an abundance of little pre-installed apps and services that, shortly after you click on and go to the trouble of activating them, it turns out that they are 'pay' things, ranging from Pac-Man to TV services, and it's either impossible or very difficult to remove - I didn't have the time to waste so I was able to quickly hide them but... there SO MANY of them. If Research in Motion is listening, they should know that I do NOT love Blackberry more for turning the BB desktop into some apps and services peddling space.

Still on the 'not-so-good' but this could be only an isolated instance, my first 9700 was dead on arrival but I was able to get a replacement quickly from AT&T and this one works well.

When it comes to rating the Bold 9700, within the context of Blackberries, it's probably one of the best. It's lighter, brighter, sharper, faster and provides more functionality than previous models so it's a five-star.

Review by Sree, 2010-07-12

a great non touchscreen Phone from the RIM stable....fast,reliable and great at multi tasking
The only improvement can be in the Browser department and by ATT not compelling you to use 3G network for youtube and other video streaming...Great Call quality and a very accurate GPS service .... 3G service decent limited by ATT 3G network performance. apps run great on local wifi networks.

p.s : had a problem with ATT though. They charged me the activation fee despite the contract saying no activation fee on purchase. ATT needs to stop doing this if they intend to retain customers (especially for returning loyal customers like me). Had to argue with the customer service rep many times (with atleast 0.5 hr call hold each time) to finally get them to remove the charge