Ahhh, finally. One of Canada’s awesome discount carriers, Mobilicity, has finally got around to launching one of the new OS 7 BlackBerry devices. The Bold 9900 is available today for $549.99 without contract. To sweeten the deal, Mobilicity is offering three months of free BlackBerry data if you sign up for a $35 plan. Not too shabby at all! It also looks like Mobilicity won’t be blocking NFC capabilities as it has been on other carriers.
The Bold 9900 is currently RIM’s top-of-the-line BlackBerry, boasting a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 touchscreen, fixed-focus 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 1.2 GHz processor, and 8 GB of on-board storage plus microSD. The operating system has had a bit of an update, including support for 3D graphics, augmented reality, voice-activated universal search, and improved web browsing, but overall, you’ll find the same messaging-centric, app-starved experience as on previous BlackBerry models. My full review of the phone is over here if you’re thinking of picking one up.
It bugs me a little bit that BlackBerry data costs a little more on top of a standard unlimited data add-on as if those bytes are the choicest, most delicious 1s and 0s available, but I get that RIM charges carriers to pump everything through their central Waterloo servers. I suspect Wind Mobile will be offering the Bold 9900 at some point soon too, and if it weren’t for Mobilicity’s promo, might have a leg-up be offering unlimited local calling, texting and data for $35/month (rather than $40 on Mobilicity).
My contract with Rogers is up, so even though I’m less than thrilled with the battery life on the Bold 9900, and the lack of camera auto-focus is a serious pain, it’s likely going to be my way out. If you’re in the same boat, the Bold 9900 can be found in the Mobilicity online store over here.