BlackBerry 8800 Review - Connectivity
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Alfredo Padilla Published on May 22, 2007 Comment on this |
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Cellular Bands (8.0)
The BlackBerry 8800 is a quad-band GSM phone. We reviewed the phone on AT&T's network. As a quad-band phone, the 8800 not only supports North American GSM bands (850/1900) but also international GSM bands (900/1800). This means that the phone will function on any GSM network worldwide, an important feature for business users that travel internationally. Our score for cellular bands is standardized based on the number of bands supported.
Data Support Score (3.0)
The BlackBerry 8800 supports GPRS and EDGE data on all four of its GSM bands. EDGE tops out at about 230 kbps, although your performance will vary depending on your local network performance. We were disappointed that the 8800 does not support AT&T's newer 3G data network. Other smart phones like the AT&T 8525 and Treo 750 support both AT&T's 3G network and global 3G networks. Still, EDGE is more than sufficient for email and light browsing. Our score for data support is standardized based on the type of data supported and the bands it is supported on.
Bluetooth (6.0)
The BlackBerry 8800 supports Bluetooth 2.0, which allows for multiple connections at the same time. The BlackBerry 8800 supports the headset, handsfree, desktop connectivity, dial up networking, and wireless bypass profiles. We were easily able to pair a Bluetooth headset with the 8800.
Wi-Fi (0.0)
The BlackBerry 8800 does not support Wi-Fi. This is a disappointment as Wi-Fi would enable helpful services for business users such as VOIP.
Infrared (0.0)
The BlackBerry 8800 does not support Infrared. Although we understand that this is an older technology, we would have liked to see support for it as business devices often have to interact with older legacy hardware.
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