BlackBerry 8820 Cell Phone Review - Hardware

Mark Brezinski
Published on October 11, 2007 Comment on this

Keypad

Text Words Per Minute (8.58)

The 8820's QWERTY is a bit odd, as every key has a raised curve on it. We assume this is supposed to help with accuracy, but the keys are so small you'll wind up making mistakes anyway. We were able to squeeze 42.92 words per minute (WPM) out of the 8820's keyboard using our sample paragraph. This is a respectable time. We liked the Curve's keyboard a bit more, and it got a better score, but the 8820 holds up well against other QWERTY keyboards. We only wish the keys were bigger, as mistakes are ridiculously easy to make. Only those with the most spindly fingers will be able to type flawlessly.

Cell Phone	Words Per Minute	Score
BlackBerry 8820	42.92	8.58
Nokia E90	49.00	9.80
Nokia N95	29.28	5.86
T-Mobile Wing	40.10	8.02
Palm Treo 750	43.80	8.76
Apple iPhone	39.60	7.92

T9 and Auto Complete (0.0)
THe 8820 has no need for T9, as it has a full QWERTY keyboard. We would've liked to see some sort of auto complete, however, but we were left wanting.

One-Hand Usability (4.40)
As you might have guessed, here is where we fumble around trying to type with one hand in order to establish a words per minute score. QWERTY keyboards are incredibly hard to type on with one hand, as the phone tends to shift around a lot, leading to mistakes (especially with such microscopic keys). Here we found ourselves achieving 22 WPM. This is worse than half the score of two-handed typing. While phones with a standard or suretype keypad will achieve similar or perhaps better scores with one hand, QWERTY keyboards often receive tremendous drops in their time.

Cell Phone	Words Per Minute	Score
BlackBerry 8820	22.0	4.40
Nokia E90	24.0	4.80
Nokia N95	29.64	5.93
T-Mobile Wing	14.7	2.94
Palm Treo 750	24.8	4.96
Apple iPhone	32.1	6.42

Keypad Backlighting (6.0)

The keypad is well backlit, and we were able to read everything just fine. The lighting looks a bit uneven, though this could be because some of the keys' features allow more light to shine through than others. The keypad backlight is linked to the main display, and is on whenever the screen is lit up. There aren't any keypad-specific brightness controls, and turning up the screen brightness doesn't have an affect on the keypad.

Controls

D-Pad/Joystick (8.0)
The 8820 has a trackball in lieu of a d-pad. We tend to prefer the trackball design to the standard d-pad, as there's no actual pressing involved; you just flick the ball around to move. It is able to leap around menus and through lists easily, especially on the higher sensitivity settings. You can set horizontal and vertical sensitivity separately, just in case you'd prefer to zoom up and down through lists a bit faster than overall navigation. The only bad part about the sensitivity is that any number below 80 requires so many flicks to get anything done that it's not worth it. This leaves three sensitivity settings, but that's still enough to suit even the twitchiest user. We personally can't handle the 100 sensitivity setting.

Jog Dial (1.0)
The 8820's trackball performs almost the same functionality as a jog dial, in that it allows quick scrolling through menus.

Soft Buttons (0.0)
BlackBerry phones typically don't have soft buttons, and the 8820 is no exception.

Volume Control (3.0)
The volume rocker is near the top of the phone's right side. The keys don't have much snap to them, so you might not be sure you've actually pressed the button if you're not looking. The volume keys are a bit lazy, and only function if you're using an application that necessitates them, such as in the music player or if you're in a call. The volume of the phone itself is handled through ringer profiles, so pushing them on the home screen won't do anything.

Power and Standby (6.0)
The power and standby buttons sit on top of the 8820. Pressing the power button quickly will cycle through a few display settings (backlight on, dim, or off). A longer press will prompt the device to power down. The standby key is located on the opposite side of the top. Short presses mute calls when you're in them, otherwise nothing will happen. A longer press sends the phone to Standby mode.

Other Buttons (4.0)
The 8820 has a few additional buttons that weren't mentioned above. Two of them happen to be on either side of the track ball: the menu and back buttons. They both perform their namesake functions and are necessary for navigating around the phone. The left side harbors a dedicated Push-to-talk button. If you'd like, you can assign it to a different function, which is great since many users simply won't use PTT. The fourth and final button is the just-mentioned standby/mute key, located on top of the device.

Display

Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The 8820 sports its predecessor's 320 x 240-pixel display. This is a fairly standard resolution. Many mid-to-higher-end phones are starting to boast displays with higher resolutions, but business devices really don't need astounding graphical capabilities.

Cell Phone	Resolution	Score
BlackBerry 8820	320 x 240	8.0
Nokia E90	800 x 352	10.00
Nokia N95	320 x 240	8.00
T-Mobile Wing	320 x 240	8.00
Palm Treo 750	240 x 240	5.00
Apple iPhone	480 x 320	9.00

Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (8.27)
Pixels per inch, or PPI, describes just what it sounds like: how many pixels are crammed into every inch. Higher density will allow for sharper resolution and richer colors. The 8820 can fit 165.3 pixels into every inch, which leads the middle of the pack. The E90 and other rare phones, however, will trump the likes of the 8820 with their ridiculously high resolutions.

Cell Phone	Pixels Per Inch	Score
BlackBerry 8820	165.3	8.27
Nokia E90	219.0	10.95
Nokia N95	153.8	7.69
T-Mobile Wing	142.2	7.11
Palm Treo 750	141.7	7.09
Apple iPhone	164.8	8.24

Screen Physical Size (6.0)
The 8820's screen measures 2.4 inches diagonally. This is slightly larger than average, but falls quite a bit short of the iPhone.

Cell Phone	Size Diagonal (inches)	Score
BlackBerry 8820	2.4	6.0
Nokia E90	4.0	10.00
Nokia N95	2.6	6.50
T-Mobile Wing	2.8	7.00
Palm Treo 750	2.4	6.00
Apple iPhone	3.5	8.75

Screen Brightness (9.0)

We measure brightness by holding a light meter two inches away from the phone's screen. We set the phone to have maximum brightness (if the option exists) and browse to a blank white Web page. The 8820 was exactly as bright as its predecessor, at 90 lux. Also like the 8800, the 8820 had an Ultra Bright mode that measured nearly 200 lux. In this mode, it scored near 200 lux, which is incredibly bright. This mode is likely meant to be used only in bright light situations, so we scored the phone on the lower "normal" maximum brightness that most users will use most of the time. We have to admit that the Ultra Bright mode hurts your eyes. As we discussed in the keyboard backlight sections, the 8800 has 10 settings available for the screen and keyboard backlight. You can also use the light sensor on the phone to have the backlight adjust itself automatically. Both of these options can be set in the phone settings.

Cell Phone	Brightness (lux)	Score
BlackBerry 8820	90	9.00
Nokia E90	54	3.95
Nokia N95	72	4.85
T-Mobile Wing	112	7.60
Palm Treo 750	60	5.75
Apple iPhone	168	15.40

Screen Bright Light Performance (8.0)
This test approximates what a user might experience on a sunny day. We shine 3000 lux worth of light onto the screen, then judge how well we are able to navigate through the glare. Thankfully, the 8820 has the setting to combat the sun, which is its Ultra Bright setting. This setting nullifies any adverse effects the sun might have on your BlackBerry-related efficiency, and can be activated by a simple push of the power button.

Color Depth (6.0)
Color depth refers to the number of colors a phone can display. More colors means those reproduced will be richer. Like most other phones, the 8820 has a palette 65,000 swathes deep. Fancier displays can manage more than 16 million colors, but again, if you're buying a BlackBerry, this isn't you highest priority. Pictures and video will still look fine without tens of millions of colors.

Cell Phone	Colors (thousands)	Score
BlackBerry 8820	65	6.0
Nokia E90	1,600	10.0
Nokia N95	1,600	10.0
T-Mobile Wing	65	6.0
Palm Treo 750	65	6.0
Apple iPhone	65	6.0

Ports & Storage

Power & Data Ports (9.0)
The 8820 transfers its data via a standard mini USB cord. It also uses this port to charge, although it won't charge while connected to a PC as it can't draw as much power as it would like. We definitely like phones with standard data and charging ports, as it isn't as big of a deal if you lose a cable. It seems as though the industry is moving toward micro USB cords, however, which means the 8820 will be left behind in that shift.

Headphone & Jack Compatibility (2.0)
The 8820 has a 2.5mm headphone jack. Though still a standard jack, 2.5mm headphones aren't as common as 3.5mm ones. Adapters are easy to find, however. The 8820 also supports Bluetooth headsets, something the 8800 didn't.

Internal Storage (1.0)
The 8820 doesn't have very much in terms of internal storage. Its 64 MB will be enough for your PIM, messages, and calendar entries, but you'll need a Micro SD card if you want any sort of multimedia.

Expansion Slot & Format (5.0)

The expansion slot on the 8820 accepts Micro SD cards, which allows an additional 2 GB of storage. The 8820 doesn't support the newer, 8GB SDHC cards. The slot is located under the battery cover, but thankfully you won't need to remove the battery to get at it. We would've liked a spring-loaded, external expansion slot, however.

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