BlackBerry 8820 Cell Phone Review - Audio Quality
We test audio quality by using the same hardware and software manufacturers do. Our hardware is HATS, a head and torso simulator. The software is Sound Check, which is a sound analysis program developed by
Listen, Inc. For more information on how we test cell phones, see
this article.
Sound Receive Frequency Response (7.03)
In these graphs, the blue line represents the phone's frequency response, and the red lines represent the desired limits said blue line should fall between. Ideally, the blue line would bisect the red lines, but as this scenario is a bit of a high bar, all we really look for is whether or not the phone falls within the limits. As it is, the 8820 does well with receiving sound. The line is a bit on the low side for most of the graph, but then something happens during the higher frequencies, and the graph peaks to the point that it breaks outside the limits. This means that, because the higher frequencies may sound overly exaggerated, voices will sound tinny. As you can see from the limits, we want the higher frequencies to have a better response, but the 8820 goes too far. The 8820 still manages to stay within the limits fairly well, however; most voices should come across pretty well.
| Cell Phone |
BlackBerry 8820 |
Nokia E90 (Unlocked) |
Nokia N95 (Unlocked) |
| Score |
7.03 |
6.09 |
6.46 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |
 |
 |
 |
Sound Send Frequency Response (6.67)
The 8820's graph looks much more consistent for the sounds it sends, but that doesn't necessarily translate into a better relative score. The problem is that a greater range of frequencies toward the lower end will be slightly overemphasized, making your voice sound a bit bassier and boomier than it really is. There's the opposite problem with the higher frequencies: the frequency response curve drops off very quickly, meaning that some high frequency parts of the spectrum might not be sent properly. So, this combination might make your voice sound a bit bassy, but also a little clipped. But neither of these issues are huge; your voice should be easily understandable.
| Cell Phone |
BlackBerry 8820 |
Nokia E90 (Unlocked) |
Nokia N95 (Unlocked) |
| Score |
6.67 |
5.74 |
6.81 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |
 |
 |
 |
Handset Side Tone (7.47)
Side tone is the amount of your own voice the phone plays back to you. You unconsciously use side tone to judge how loudly the phone is relaying your voice. The 8820 had a side tone measurement of 20.53 decibels. This is quite close to the ideal 18. You won't feel the need to speak louder or softer than you should on the 8820.
