Research In Motion has so far introduced five 7100 models: the 7100t (see top image) for T-Mobile in the U.S.; the almost identical 7100r for Rogers Wireless network in Canada; the 7100v, with slightly different externals, for Vodafone networks in Europe and the Asia-Pacific; the particulary sleek black 7100x for U.K. carrier O2; and the 7100g in Hong Kong, which will purportedly be the edition offered by Cingular Wireless in the U.S.

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R

Typical BlackBerry

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All 7100s are quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS phones that work virtually anywhere in the world where your service provider has inked a roaming agreement. With them, you can send and receive e-mails, SMS messages, and Web-based instant messages, as well as surf the Web and Web-like operator portals such as T-Mobile's T-zones. The handsets include the usual suite of Blackberry applets—calendar, phone book, to-dos, notebook.

We reviewed a T-Mobile unit. It costs $200 with rebate, plus $70 a month for unlimited mail and Web browsing and 1,000 voice minutes a month.

Form
Anyone who tried the pre-7100 series Blackberry smartphones soon learned that their un-phone-like form factor really wasn't a serious drawback. You got used to it. And while these devices are heavier and bulkier than the smallest cell phones, evern earlier generation Blackberry smartphones could still fit in a shirt pocket—and they did a lot more than your average mobile handset.

But RIM, one of the cagiest marketing organizations on the planet, understood it was missing a segment of the market by sticking with its square PDA/e-mail device form factor. Hence, the company invented the 7100.

The 7100s, while still not as small as the very smallest cell phones, are long and narrow (4.6 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches) and 'candy bar' shaped. They're as light as most cell phones at 4.3 ounces, but don't feel quite as solidly constructed as past Blackberries, however.

The color LCD screen is also not as big as on some earlier models. That said, at 1 5/8 x 1 3/4 inches, it is larger than many other smartphone displays. Bright and clear, the screen supports a good resolution of 240 x 260 pixel.

Keypad/Keyboard & Interface
The innovation that really makes the new form factor possible is the keypad and its SureType software. The keypad is laid out in the familiar QWERTY pattern, but includes only 20 keys, each with two letters plus a punctuation mark, symbol, or number.

The key at the top left is Q/W, to the right of it is the E/R key, to the right of that the T/Y key, and so on. Keys with numbers on them are arrayed in the middle of the pad in four rows of three keys each—the E/R key is 1, the T/Y key is 2, and so on.

Consequently, it looks just like a conventional cell phone number pad.


                               Keyboard/Keypad

The number keys show up easily when you glance at the keypad because the numbers are dark on white, while the letters and symbols are light on dark with smaller characters. And the keys are big enough to poke with a fat index finger when dialing.

Doubling up the letters on the keys means fewer but larger keys. Multiple letters per key, however, pose a familiar problem. With conventional phone number pads that have keys with three or more letters assigned to them, entering a letter means hitting the key multiple times, which is very unwieldy.

This is one of the huge problems with data entry on many handsets. Not so with RIM's new SureType technology.

SureTyping
With SureType, you hit each key only once. The device uses a built-in dictionary of the 35,000 most often used English words plus all the place and people names in your address book, along with some very clever predictive software to deduce which word or name you're typing.

It works something like the automated phone attendant systems that let you key in an employee's name using the number keys on your phone to get to the correct extension, except its much more sophisticated. SureType can learn new words or proper names and add them to its dictionary, for example.

As you type, the 7100's screen displays the words that could be formed by the letter combinations you've typed so far. At the end, if there is more than one valid word or proper name, you can use the Blackberry's thumbwheel to scroll through them and select the correct one. If you pressed the E/R, A/S and T/Y keys, for example, the intended word could be 'eat,' 'ray' or 'rat'.

          SureType In Action

During testing, I rarely had to select from alternate words or names, as there usually was only one possibility. In the few cases where there was more than one, the correct word was almost always the first one in the list. So simply hitting the space key—conveniently positioned at the bottom center (just like on a real QWERTY keyboard)—automatically selected it.

Another nice keyboard feature is the dedicated Start and End call keys, with familiar green and red handset icons—just like most other mobile handsets.Hitting the Start key from anywhere puts the unit into phone mode.

Besides the keyboard itself, the physical interface is similar to other Blackberries, with a thumbwheel and multi-function Back button on the right edge of the device—both easily manipulated with your thumb.

Phone
As a phone, the 7100t works very nicely. In our test calls, mainly from a location where reception on the Rogers Wireless network (we were testing the unit in roaming mode) is not its strongest, voices were still clear and loud enough.

People at the other end did, in a few cases, complain of some electronic hiss and the hint of an echo. This was almost certainly more a function of the connection at that particular location than of either the phone or the network in general.

The unit offers two excellent hands-free options. The built-in speaker works better than most mobile speakerphone features I've tried—very loud and clear—and it works well whether you place the phone face up or face down (the speaker is on the back).


Rear View with Spearkerphone

You can also use a Bluetooth wireless headset with the 7100. I tested it with the Mobile Bluetooth Headset from Logitech. Pairing and set-up were problem free, which is more than can be said for my attempts to use this headset with other phones. Volume level was a tad lower than I would have liked, but otherwise it generally worked very well.

Battery life, as with most Blackberrys, is a major strength. The company claims four hours talk time and eight days in standby mode. Testing did nothing to dispell those numbers.

Applications
As a Blackberry, the 7100 series work much the same as other BlackBerry handhelds. You can integrate up to 10 e-mail accounts, including corporate MS Exchange accounts through a Blackberry Enterprise Server, and ISP e-mail accounts through the Blackberry Internet Service (formerly Blackberry Web client.) Blackberry supports POP3/ISP, IMAP, AOL Mail, Outlook, Notes and other mail systems.

The huge advantage of the Blackberry is its e-mail 'push' technology. You never have to dial up or log on to collect your mail. It's sent to you automatically as soon as it's received at an Enterprise Server or the Blackberry Internet service. E-mail push, though no longer an exclusive, is the feature that has made this platform as successful as it is.


         On Screen Interface

Our experience synchronizing Outlook data into the Blackberry personal information management (PIM) applets was all positive. It worked flawlessly the first time with minimum set up required.

Moving data—there's a lot in my case as I have a phone book with over 2,500 names—took less time than with other handheld synch systems I've tested.

Caveats
A few quibbles, none deal killers:

Most important is the absence of a flash memory card slot. Mind you, given that this device does not have a camera (no great loss in my opinion) and doesn't play MP3s, storage may not be a huge issue anyway. And the 7100t does integrage 32MB of flash memory plus 4MB of SRAM, which is good for a BlackBerry.

Another quibble: MSN Messenger is conspicuously absent from the list of instant messaging services (AOL, Yahoo and ICQ) supported by device. It's probably not a huge problem, but there are certainly a lot of MSN Messenger users out there.

Finally, Blackberry does not provide native support for synchronizing with the Apple Macintosh, though a new third-party product, PocketMac for Blackberry from Information Appliance Associates, does the trick.

Bottom Line
If you've been holding off buying a Blackberry because you didn't like the boxy form factor, this product should change your mind. Even current Blackberry users will find it very attractive product, although they'll find the new keyboard takes a little getting used to.