BlackBerry fans who are also Cingular users have a sleek new option in Research in Motion's BlackBerry 8700c. This Bluetooth-enabled hybrid phone/personal digital assistant packs BlackBerry's signature QWERTY keyboard and e-mail management features, plus a few new tricks.
The 8700c ($300 with a new two-year contract; otherwise $450) is the first BlackBerry to support Cingular's EDGE network, which can deliver data transfer rates similar to those of very good dial-up service. It isn't as skinny as the Palm Treo 650, but the 8700c uses its extra width to accommodate larger keys, simplifying typing. Another plus: You can operate the BlackBerry's jog-wheel-and-escape-button navigation one-handed.
The included Intellisync software synchronizes with virtually all popular desktop organizers; it worked nicely in my hands-on testing of a preproduction 8700c. The 8700c's browser does only a fair job of small-screen formatting. Other features on the 8700c include dedicated dial, hang-up, and mute keys.
If your company has invested in a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, you should find the 8700c an attractive choice for managing e-mail from up to ten accounts in a single inbox. Alternatively, you can use the BlackBerry Internet Service (free with any Cingular data account) to collect POP3, Microsoft Exchange, and Lotus Domino e-mail; but the service won't sync your handheld e-mail (so you have to delete messages twice), and it makes you choose one address to serve as the unique source identifier for all your outbound mail, regardless which account sends it.
Yardena Arar
