Compare Bold 9700 Deals

The Blackberry Bold 9700 follows on from the Bold 9000 and is a great all-rounder smartphone. Full QWERTY keyboard with a carved design on each key for quick typing. Like its predecessor, it has 3G and WiFi but a better camers: 3.2 megapixels that boasts both an LED flash and image stabilisation, making the most of the high-resolution (480x360 pixels) 2.4-inch display.

The Blackberry trackpad makes navigation around the device quick and easy with simple glides and clicks, once you've got used to the idea. At 60 x 14.1 x 109 mm and weighing 122g, it is smaller than the 9000, but nevertheless loses nothing in functionality and feel.

The on-board software is BlackBerry OS v5 - and BlackBerry claims much better battery life with the new phone too: up to six hours talk time or 17 days on standby from a full charge. With HSDPA (3.5G) for fast internet and email, bolstered by Wi-Fi and short-range wireless Bluetooth 2.1, plus A-GPS in case you wonder where you are.

Good to see it has a 3.5mm headphone socket for listening to music with your own headset and it takes micro SD cards in an ingeniously-slanted slot, just above the battery, for additional storage. A well designed, fully featured smartphone!