BlackBerry 8830 Smartphone (Sprint)

The venerable BlackBerry trackwheel, meanwhile, has been replaced on this model with an innovative four-way trackball placed below the screen. Add in a built-in media player--which handles both real-time streaming video and audio at broadband-like speeds--and you have a terrific phone for multimedia fans. The media player supports MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, and WMA audio formats and MPEG-4 and WMV video formats.

Enterprise Server For larger corporate and government organizations, the BlackBerry 8830 works with BlackBerry Enterprise Servers to provide users and IT managers with a host of additional features. The unit also offers built-in support for viewing e-mail attachments in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, and PDF formats. You can select from pop, rock, hip-hop, and R&B, plus enjoy access to exclusive video clips, performances, and artist interviews. The full QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to type e-mails and text messages. Calling Features All the calling capabilities folks have come to expect in a wireless phone are present in the BlackBerry 8830. As a result, you don't have to retrieve your e-mails manually, but instead are discreetly notified by the 8830 each time a new e-mail arrives. With BlackBerry service plans from Sprint, you can receive e-mails instantaneously from up to 10 e-mail accounts (personal and enterprise). You can also use the 8830 as a wireless modem for your laptop or PC, letting you enjoy Internet access anywhere within the network's range.

Sprint Services The 8830 also offers a number of Sprint-specific features when combined with the right service plan, including the ability to stream music to your phone through Sprint's Music Choice service. The 8830 is ideal for international travel, as it gives you full mobile voice and data coverage all over the world without having to change smartphones, phone numbers, or e-mail addresses. The phone also offers a vibrating alert, a speed dial, and a contacts list/address book that's limited only by the unit's 64 MB of internal memory, which is expandable through the microSD card slot. And users will love the dedicated Send, End, and Mute keys, along with the user-definable convenience keys. The special World-Edition 8830 smartphone is ideal for international travel.

Design The BlackBerry 8830 isn't big, but it's also not quite as compact as some of BlackBerry's other recent offerings, such as the Pearl. No prior voice training is required; simply say a contact's name and the phone will dial the number.

Messaging, Internet, and Tools The 8830 offers the legendary BlackBerry e-mail experience. Other enterprise features include the ability to receive proactive wireless notifications and alerts from executive reporting systems, the capacity to wirelessly access service histories and product bullets, and the ability to initiate a spontaneous conference call using the built-in speakerphone.

Vital Statistics The BlackBerry 8830 measures 2.6 by 4.49 by 0.55 inches (W x H x D), weighs 4.6 ounces, and includes a lithium cell battery that lasts for up to 220 minutes of talk time and nine days of standby time on the CDMA network. BlackBerry's push technology, meanwhile, makes it easier than ever to receive your e-mails. And unlike with traditional mobile phones, the 8830 series incorporates advanced security features to satisfy strict IT requirements. Plus, the phone's Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) support lets you combine text and images within a single message, making it easy to caption photos and make amusing comments.

As with most smartphones, the 8830 lets you access the Internet from the palm of your hand, with an integrated Web browser, up-do-date stock quotes, news readers, weather reports, and more--all at fast speeds thanks to support for Sprint's EV-DO high-speed data network. The phone, which is stereo headset capable, also comes with a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box BlackBerry 8830 phone, USB cable, wall charger, user's manual. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and stay continuously connected to your wireless network. And thanks to the phone's speaker-independent voice dialing function, you can call contacts with the sound of your voice. And that's just the beginning, as the 8830 also offers such standard functions as e-mail support, a built-in organizer, Web browsing, and instant messaging, as well as more advanced features like GPS support, access to the BlackBerry Maps service, a media player for your video clips and music, and expandable memory to ensure you have enough room for all your media files. The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone--the first CDMA BlackBerry smartphone capable of roaming globally on GSM/GPRS networks--is the stylish way to get things done. One of the main reasons is that BlackBerry added a full QWERTY keyboard to the 8830, letting you easily type e-mails and text messages without having to peck the same key several times to input each letter. The handset's speakerphone makes it easy to use the device hands-free, or if you prefer, you can use a wireless headset via the phone's built-in Bluetooth capability. Among the options are secure access to Internet- and intranet-based applications, single mailbox integration, wireless synchronization with corporate PIM tools, and remote address book lookup.