Bold 9700 vs 9650

Kosmik

Kosmik

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The bold 9650 was released today but I can't see any real difference between the two besides someone saying there is slightly more system ram ( 512Mb ).

Bold 9650 Specs

Stylish design (4.4" x 2.4" x .56" and 4.8 oz.) with glossy black finish and chrome highlights
Large (2.44") high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi), able to display pictures, videos and web pages with impressive contrast and detail
3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone*
Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr®, as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry® Messenger
Support for BlackBerry App World, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
Full HTML web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP
Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry® Maps and other mapping applications
Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.1).
Support for high-speed EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad
Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of CDMA talk time
 
Side by Side Specs

Dimensions
BlackBerry® Bold™ 9650
Height: 4.43 inches (112mm)
Width: 2.4 inches (62mm)
Depth: 0.56 inches (14mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (136 grams)

BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700
Height: 4.29 inches (109mm)
Width: 2.36 inches (60mm)
Depth: 0.56 inches (14mm)
Weight: 4.3 ounces (122 grams)

Display
Half VGA 480x320 pixel color display (BlackBerry Bold 9000)
High-resolution 480x360 pixel color display (BlackBerry Bold 9650, BlackBerry Bold 9700)
Transmissive TFT LCD
Font size (user selectable)
Backlighting
Light sensing screen

Camera & Video Recording
2.0 MP camera (BlackBerry Bold 9000)
3.2 MP camera (BlackBerry Bold 9650, BlackBerry Bold 9700)
Flash
2X digital zoom (BlackBerry Bold 9650, BlackBerry Bold 9700)
3X digital zoom (BlackBerry Bold 9000)
Video recording

Battery & Battery Life
BlackBerry Bold 9650 battery: 1400 mAHR removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
BlackBerry Bold 9000 and BlackBerry Bold 9700 battery: 1500 mAHR removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium polymer cell

BlackBerry Bold 9000:
Standby time: GSM–up to 13.5 days/324 hours, UMTS–up to 11.5 days/276 hours
Talk time: GSM–up to 4.3 hours, UMTS–up to 4.3 hours
BlackBerry Bold 9650:
Standby time: up to 13 days/312 hours

Voice Input & Output
3.5mm stereo headset capable
Integrated speaker and microphone
Hands-free headset capable
Bluetooth headset capable
Integrated hands-free speakerphone
BlackBerry Bold 9650: M3 Rating for hearing aids (PDF)
BlackBerry Bold 9700: M3/T3 Rating for hearing aids (PDF)

Talk time: up to 5 hours
BlackBerry Bold 9700:
Standby time: GSM–up to 21 days/504
hours, UMTS–up to 17 days/408 hours
Talk time: GSM–up to 6 hours, UMTS–up to 6 hours
Music playback time: up to 38 hours

Memory
Expandable memory—support for microSD card
BlackBerry Bold 9000: 128 MB onboard memory, 1 GB internal media memory
BlackBerry Bold 9650: 512 MB onboard memory, 2 GB media card included
BlackBerry Bold 9700: 256 MB onboard memory, 2 GB media card included

Wireless Networks
BlackBerry Bold 9000:
Tri-band 3G HSDPA networks: 2100MHz/1900MHz/850MHz
Quad-band GSM®/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
BlackBerry Bold 9650:
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Single-band: 2100 MHz UMTS®/HSPA networks
Dual-band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA/EVDO REVA networks
BlackBerry Bold 9700:
Tri-band 3G HSDPA networks: 2100MHz/1900MHz/850MHz
Tri-band UMTS networks: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz and 2100/1700/900 MHz
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
 
The 9650 is meant for american cdma networks. It won't be released in SA. It is not meant to rival the 9700 but just be a clone for cdma users. Ignore its existence. The Pearl, however will probably be released in SA (too small for me but quite nice).
 
oronte said:
The 9650 is meant for american cdma networks. It won't be released in SA. It is not meant to rival the 9700 but just be a clone for cdma users. Ignore its existence. The Pearl, however will probably be released in SA (too small for me but quite nice).
Click to expand...

Pity about the memory though, would be nice to have a BB Bold 9700 mkII with 512Mb ram :D
 
oronte said:
The 9650 is meant for american cdma networks. It won't be released in SA. It is not meant to rival the 9700 but just be a clone for cdma users. Ignore its existence. The Pearl, however will probably be released in SA (too small for me but quite nice).
Click to expand...

makes sense... I have a 9000 and find the 9700 to small... won't even look at a curve lol....
 
oronte said:
The 9650 is meant for american cdma networks. It won't be released in SA. It is not meant to rival the 9700 but just be a clone for cdma users. Ignore its existence. The Pearl, however will probably be released in SA (too small for me but quite nice).
Click to expand...
Phew... :p I'm very close to getting a bold 9700 from vodacom. Either gonna do it this week or wait till May. oronte, u reckon there's a risk that the price for the 9700 will increase on 6 May when vodacom release their new pricing guide?
 
MTN pricing increased by R20/month this month, don't know about Vodacom, I doubt they'll increase it though. Wait till the end of the week though, RIM might announce something new (I hope).
 
why is vodacom more expensive for contracts and packaged deals? Is it justified?

so if RIM announces something new the vodacom pricing could decrease on the 9700?
 
It is in no way justified since Vodacom is worse than MTN for Blackberry service (in every way). If you need the minutes more than air time though the Vodacom package might suit you better. It doesn't look like anything better will be announced until the end of the year so go ahead and get it now if you want. No reason to wait. The price wouldn't come down but I thought they might announce the new slider model which they have not.
 
oronte said:
It is in no way justified since Vodacom is worse than MTN for Blackberry service (in every way). If you need the minutes more than air time though the Vodacom package might suit you better. It doesn't look like anything better will be announced until the end of the year so go ahead and get it now if you want. No reason to wait. The price wouldn't come down but I thought they might announce the new slider model which they have not.
Click to expand...

:wtf: not according to most stories i've read on *this* very site...
 
Read carefully. I'm talking about BIS only here (not billing issues, etc). Vodacom BIS was down (I mean virtually not working) for a total of four months last year. MTN service was slow for two months at the beginning of this year (and no problems last year). Even when the MTN network slowed down e-mail still had priority, check the 'Problems begin again' thread, Vodacom users still have trouble with e-mail today. Vodacom EDGE network is minimal and they have turned off edge at several locations, MTN edge network covers 90% of the country - not great for Curve users. Nothing Vodacom offers justifies them charging more for Blackberry contracts.
 
oronte said:
Nothing Vodacom offers justifies them charging more for Blackberry contracts.
Click to expand...
Yeah, vodacom in general charge more for the same phone (BB or otherwise) on their contracts than MTN do. It is just a bit worrying signing up with MTN and being one of the unlucky people who gets a huge erroneous bill at the end of the day.
 
ryan411 said:
Phew... :p I'm very close to getting a bold 9700 from vodacom. Either gonna do it this week or wait till May. oronte, u reckon there's a risk that the price for the 9700 will increase on 6 May when vodacom release their new pricing guide?
Click to expand...

I was quite close to getting the 9700 - and still might - but I have just seen there's no radio, something I really like in my current phone. Pity. :(
 
Radio is rubbish anyway :P Get one of those cheap mini FM radios. I just got my 9700, loving every bit of it.
 
@McT, no phone has everything. That's a fact unfortunately! Gonna wait till 6 May for new pricing from Voda and then make a decision on the 9700. No real rush other than my Samsung Omnia irritates me.
 
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