9700 is a quality upgrade on the 9000 which was also a quality phone once they got the firmware right.
POSITIVES
1) Those of you worried about the keypad don't be its really a question of about 1-2 mm difference. The Bold appeared much bigger because it has an extra rim around the edge but actually the keyboard is only marginally larger on the lowest row. It"s a kind of optical illusion and until you lay one on top of the other you may not see what I mean.
2) The camera and video camera are qualitatively much better and night photography is even possible in a way it was not on the Bold 1. Its not perfect but this is not promarily a camera or a video camera is it.
3) The firmware seems to do everything better- the menus are more intuitive and there are better links to make connections from one thing to another. For instance from the camera menu you can choose video camera or in the applications folder you can choose files. Or there is a nice visual display option for memory use.
4) The battery life is far better and really the Bold 2 has to be the best Smart phone out there on that score and far better than an iPhone 3GS for instance. You cannot take a battery out of an iphone AND the one you have does not last as long
5)Basic hardware changes I like are havign the sd card slot inside the battery cover but above the battery.
6) I like the big bold size but I have to say the new bold fits nicely in the hand with no sacrifice of typing ability.
7) All the functions from the old version carry over well e.g. modem, wifi , bluetooth
8) The trackpad is awesome and so much more practical - hopefully dust resistance improves also.
9) Having 256 MB of flash memory makes all the difference with over sized email accounts - saved messages and application downloads no longer beign the problem they were on the Bold 1
10) The visual display seems better and the finish better. I had a million bugs on my first Bold which got resolved over the year I had it. But this one has workd out of the box. I am on later firmware only in my pursuit of East Asian jap input really - Idid not have any pressing need to upgrade this tiem as I did last time. Think RIM did this rollout better and tested better this time.
Considering all the positives I wonder why I was not more excited when this thing came out. I was over the moon with the Bold 1 whereas this device is like a quality upgrade to me. No need to brag , no need to flaunt its functions - did all that with the Bold 1 - it just feels better like I am walking around with a quality device. Maybe cause it does not have the shock of the new just the quiet assurance of extra quality in just about all areas of the phones usage. I would not swap this for any other phone I have seriously looked at including E72 Nokia, iPhone 3GS.
NEGATIVES
1) Japanese Input is not working on the Bold 2 whereas it was on the Bold 1. This is a pretty major thing for me but I figure that RIM will solve it soon enough. Sooner the better though RIM!!!
er thats it for negatives .... guess I like this one then!!!!
