The BlackBerry 7130c represents Research In Motion’s expansion beyond the email-centric market. Its slim and sleek design loses the utilitarian “calculator” look better target a more mainstream market segment.
At 4.2-ounces, the 7130c is comparable in size to the Palm Treo 700w, and comes with a condensed 20-button keypad. Although this leads to some tradeoffs in ease-of-use, SureType technology is present, and provides a slightly awkward but perfectly usable rendition of a QWERTY keyboard.
This device is one of the first in its price range to feature a 312-MHz Intel XScale processor, enabling well-oiled application performance. The EDGE mobile data connection can’t compete with EV-DO, but it provides a satisfactory connection for email and basic web surfing. Global voice and data roaming capability is another big plus of the 7130c device.
Like other BlackBerrys, the 7130c delivers a very strong wireless email experience. Set-up is notably simple and unproblematic, with the mere entry of an email address and password being sufficient to set up a push email account. The platform used by RIM supports up to 10 separate accounts, and manages to outperform rivals in terms of speed and usability.
DOC, XLS, PDF, and PowerPoint attachments can be viewed with no hassle, using a number of convenient pre-installed readers, making this a great device for viewing maps and faxes. Editing attachments, however, can be a little more tricky, and requires the use of external applications.
Battery life is very impressive in this device, allowing for talk time of up to 6.3 hours of talk time, or two days of frequent messaging use. Standby time, meanwhile, can be as high as 18 days.
Currently being offered by Cingular Wireless at a cost of $199 (with two-year contract), the BlackBerry 7130c is another strong addition to the Research In Motion family. It delivers the same powerful email performance that we’ve come to expect from the BlackBerry brand, but puts them in a slim and stylish new package for a more mainstream target audience.
