The Bold 9700 and one of BlackBerry’s most petite handsets, the  Curve 8900, look and feel practically as if they were stamped from the same die. Both measure exactly 4.29 inches tall and 2.36 inches wide, with the Bold packing just a smidge of extra flab on the belly for a thickness of 0.56 inches and weight of 4.3 ounces with battery. Make no mistake: the extra decimals can’t do much to diminish the superbly pocketable size and weight of the new Bold, which sidles up right next to the very similar Curve 8900 as one of the most portable smartphones we’ve ever tested.

The physical keyboard, one of RIM’s strongest features in most of its handsets, is maximized on space and layout. It might look a bit cramped at first but it’s just enough and comfortable for two-fingered typing. RIM shaped the individual keys with a chiseled edge, half of which faces the left and the other half facing the right. This is actually a clever and practical move — your thumbs get some sort of traction over the keys and helps prevent from slipping and hitting the wrong keys.

Again, RIM has fully transitioned it’s old and problematic trackball and replaced it with a touch-sensitive trackpad. This is probably the most welcomed change made on BlackBerry handhelds lately and it does seem to perform well.

Putting aside the fact that I’m terribly spoiled working on sizable slide-out QWERTY keypads like those of Nokia N900, Nokia N97 Mini or Samsung OmniaPRO B7610 and keeping in mind that people who get a Blackberry are actually fans of its candybar-style thumb QWERTY keypad, I’d say that BB Bold 9700’s keyboard is one of the best ones I’ve used on any device in this category. The fretted keys, which are slightly raised in the middle, make typing not only fast but more importantly, accurate.

The display on the Bold 9700 matches the Curve 8900 exactly for brightness, resolution and color, which is to say, it’s amazing. Granted, at 2.44 inches across, it won’t run beside full touchscreen phones, but half-VGA brightness crammed into such a tiny area produces a tack-sharp display that makes even the tiniest text and details look crisp. A powerful backlight produces all the punch you need to read under all conditions, without washing out the deep blacks and vibrant colors.

Research In Motion (RIM) has been targeting the entry-level market for some time now but it wasn’t very evident until they released another qwerty smartphone, the Blackberry Curve 8520. Like most other Blackberry phones, the Curve 8520 gets a stylish glossy finish and a sleeker look. It’s a bit smaller than the previous full qwerty Blackberry handsets but is still comfortable to use.

RIM ditched the usual trackball and replaced it with a touch sensitive optical track pad instead. The trackpad is really nice and comfortable to use but sometimes I find it cumbersome especially when scrolling over really long web pages or list of messages.

The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520 is probably most notable for its design, since it brings a couple of new tricks to the table. The overall look of the phone, however, is similar to the Curve 8900, and the two models actually share the same measurements at 4.3 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick. The Curve 8520 is a smidge lighter at 3.7 ounces, and while lightweight, we thought the phone felt slightly plasticky. However, the black model features a soft-touch finish along the outside edges preventing the smartphone from feeling too slick. T-Mobile also offers the smartphone in a frost color.

Specifications

Camera: 2-megapixels, 5x digital zoom
Display: 2.46in (320×240-pixels)
Messaging: SMS, MMS, push e-mail
Connectivity: Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz), GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, WiFi 802.11b/g
Internal memory: 256MB Flash memory
Expansion slot: microSD
Other features: Multimedia player, wireless email, organizer, browser, phone
Standby/talk time: 17 days/4.5 hours
Battery: 1,150mAh lithium-ion
Weight: 106 grams
Dimensions (w x d x h): 60mm x 13.9mm x 109mm

Samsung’s first bada phone - the Samsung Wave S8500 - is finally here. A few months ago we reviewed a prototype unit, which left us with rather high expectations for the final product. Now that it’s here, we are ready to see what Samsung’s latest and greatest creation has to offer. Being a full-featured mobile platform however, bada will inevitably face some pretty strong competition in the form of BlackBerry, webOS, Android and iPhone OS.

In terms of hardware, there’s plenty to like about the Wave S8500. Measuring a slender 10.9mm thick, the fascia is taken up by a 3.3-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, brighter than regular AMOLED, while there’s a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus, 720p HD video recording, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. Otherwise it’s the usual mixture of dualband (900/2100MHz) HSPA, quadband GSM/EDGE, a microSD card slot (augmenting 2GB or 8GB of internal storage, SKU depending), A-GPS and a 3.5mm headphone socket. Keeping things running is Samsung’s own 1GHz Hummingbird processor, and the whole thing feels high-quality with a metallic chassis that’s certainly more smartphone than it is feature-phone.

Being the first of a kind has its implications. Some may be willing to forgive a few flaws but a brand new OS needs a flagship capable of facing up to the competition. The S8500 Wave fits the bill. Trademark Samsung exterior and premium build are inviting enough to encourage exploring a wealth of features.

Key features

• 3.3″ 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, WVGA (480 x 800 pixels), multi-touch input support, scratch-resistant glass surface
• Solid 10.9mm-thin metal body
• Bada OS with Samsung Apps
• ARM Cortex A8 based 1GHz CPU
• Quad-band GSM support with dual-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 2Mbps HSUPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity with WPS support, Wi-Fi tethering app
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support, digital compass, Samsung Mobile Navigator
• 5 MP autofocus camera with touch focus, geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection and LED flash
• 720p video recording at 30fps
• 390MB user available memory, 1GB Bada apps storage and 550MB messaging storage
• microSDHC card slot
• Standard microUSB port and Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack, TV out
• Stereo FM radio with RDS, FM recording
• Webkit-based Samsung Dolphin Browser 2.0 with full Flash support
• YouTube client, Facebook and Twitter integration
• DivX/XviD video support
• Impressive audio quality

The HTC Tattoo wants to redefine smart in smartphone. This affordable little thing was among the first droids to go mass-market. But run-of-the-mill specs don’t mean a boring personality. The HTC Tattoo wears its heart on the sleeve and a shirt for every day of the week means no shortage of sleeves. What do you know, HTC are busy running a tattoo shop.

The Android Market is a huge part of the deal with every droid phone. The HTC Tattoo has two: a beauty shop and a food store to go to. Back at launch, the QVGA screen resolution wouldn’t let the Tattoo make the best of the Android Market. Things should be different a few months later with more QVGA droids around.

The back side hosts the 3.2-megapixel camera that we don’t expect much of. There is a picture of the iconic green robot next to it, but as you probably know, HTC has recently started a dedicated service that allows HTC Tattoo owner hopefuls to unleash their creative thinking and come up with their unique designs. Cool! Still… keep in mind the indisputable pleasure of personalizing the appearance of your future handset will set you back with extra 15 EUR.

The HTC Tattoo is a nicely built handset and feels very sturdy indeed, with no creaks or squeaks from its covers. The front of the handset features a 2.8-inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) resolution resistive touchscreen display, with an earpiece and notification LED above it, and most of the device’s hardware buttons beneath it. These hardware buttons comprise a home key, menu key, back key, search key, and call send and end keys. The Tattoo is also the first HTC Android device in the UK to come without a trackball, instead featuring a 5-way d-pad. Personally, although I like the trackball, I think the d-pad actually makes the handset easier to use in some ways.

The rear of the handset is very rounded at its edges, which gives the Tattoo a pleasant feel in the hand. Top left of the rear cover is the camera lens, next to the centrally-positioned loudspeaker grille. The texture of the front and rear covers feels odd, but in a good way. The surface is smooth, with an almost soft-touch feel. The right edge of the handset is bare, and the left is home only to the volume rocker. The top of the handset features the Tattoo’s 3.5mm headphone port and a lanyard fixing. The bottom features just HTC’s miniUSB port for charging and data, and a microphone pinhole.

The HTC HD Mini is a jaunty wee smart phone that manages to pull off the seemingly impossible — it runs the Windows Mobile operating system and still manages to be excellent. HTC has injected some life into the old dog that is Windows Mobile 6.5 with a snazzy user interface and sexy hardware. As far as pocket-friendly smart phones go, the Mini is a surprise success.

It sounds like a recipe for success: take the surprisingly popular HTC HD2, shrink it down some, and offer it as a more pocketable alternative. Yet out of the three devices HTC announced at Mobile World Congress in February, the HTC HD mini has prompted the least interest. The HD mini  has to convince prospective buyers not only of its own merits but that it’s worth buying into an ageing OS that’s just months away from replacement. Can it deliver? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

The hardware is great. It’s what we’ve come to know and love from HTC, scaling the HD2  down to a more accessible size. It’s an industrial one, the HD Mini. Certainly not sleek and sexy like the Legend, nor curved like the Desire. Exposed screws on each corner of the rubberized back plate give it a very masculine appearance—which I loved.

Underneath the cover lies a bright yellow inside, a hidden secret which I showed off to countless friends while testing it. The size of the phone is perfect, proving easier to handle than the 4.3-inch HD2, with the 3.2-inch capacitive HVGA screen more than big enough to browse and type on. It’s bright until you hold the phone in the sun.

The first thing to be said here is that HTC did itself a disservice by calling this the HD Mini. Sure, the company’s trying to capitalize on the parallels with its brawny WinMo flagship, but the fact is that this handset has the looks and construction to easily withstand one of HTC’s more flamboyant names — we’d have few qualms about calling it the HTC Spectacular.

The plastic back cover — which offers a pleasing, grip-friendly surface — envelops most of the body, with the only seam being where it meets the front end’s glass screen. This leads to a smooth and sophisticated appearance, garnished by the exposure of the internal screws. It’s a nice aesthetic touch, which doesn’t actually affect the cover itself — it slips off around them. Aside from such minimalist design flourishes, the phone’s body looks about as tapered as can be. Its back is as flat as the front, thanks to the camera and speaker module being perfectly filed down, and aside from the fact we’d prefer more screen and less bezel (a longstanding bugbear of ours), there’s really very little cause for complaint. If we have to pick some niggles, the cover is a pain to remove and having to take out the battery to replace SIM cards isn’t ideal, but those shouldn’t be things that will trouble you on a daily basis.