BlackBerry Design

The photographs answer the obvious questions here – the 8300 is a full QWERTY device that utilises the new navigation standard for BlackBerry devices, the trackball. The keys are arranged in an oval shape across the body of the device, and as a result the BlackBerry 8300 is narrower than other full QWERTY models. Also, unlike the 8800, the BlackBerry 8300 keyboard has spacing between each key (similar to the 8700), making for very comfortable use.

On both sides of the casing you’ll find fully programmable Convenience keys, Send and End keys on the main body of the device and on the top a volume mute key.

So comparing this to the recently launched BlackBerry 8800, you’ll find that everything on the new 8300 is in pretty much the same place.

In addition to the standard miniUSB port you expect to find on the left side of the body, you’ll also notice the headphone jack – the first new enhancement. Closer inspection of the headphone port will reveal that the old 2.5mm headset jack is actually now a standard 3.5mm headphone socket which means you can plug in any headphone set.

In terms of size comparison to other devices, the BlackBerry 8300 is actually shorter than both the current 8700 and 8800 models is also narrower than both. In terms of thickness, the 8300 measures in almost identically to the ultra thin 8800 and Pearl devices.

Looking at the overall build quality we would have to say the BlackBerry 8300 has come on leaps and bounds. The case feels solid, not at all flimsy and the sides of the casing are also rubberized which is obviously there to enhance durability. Some Pearl owners have claimed that the device is a little flimsy and the back case slides off too easily – none of those complaints are expected on the 8300 which we think is the most rugged BlackBerry yet!

Under the back cover you’ll find a C-S2 battery (so expect a similar battery life to that of the 8700) and underneath that the microSD card slot. It seems that in this model (like the Pearl) you must remove the battery to change the memory card. RIM overcame this with the 8800 so we’ll assume that it was design constraints which prevented them making the BlackBerry 8300 the same.

Technical Detail

The GPRS/EDGE enabled quad band 8300 is another device utilising the Intel chipset. Moving through the menu screens and applications is nice, quick and smooth with next to no lag at all – booting times are also comparable to the 8800.

The firmware code on this model is version 4.2.2.67 (Platform 2.4.0.29) running Kernel 3.8.4.47, although this may alter slightly on the final release as our device is pre-launch.

In terms of OS enhancements there is now a built in spell check utility with the ability to create custom words in your own dictionary. Anyone who has used BBCorrector will find RIM’s own spell checker very similar. Once you have composed an email, click the trackball and in the submenu you will see ‘Spelling’. Clicking on this will check the entire email, highlighting any suspect words with suggestions underneath. In the Options screen you will also find the ‘Spelling’ application where you can configure your custom dictionary.

Also in the Options screen you’ll find a ‘GPS’ icon, but this is for pairing to an external GPS receiver – there is NO built in GPS as found on the BlackBerry 8800 so don’t be confused about this.

The Media Player has seen something of a facelift and now has a very ‘Apple Inc.’ feel to it. This coupled with the new headphone jack shows that RIM are trying hard to get the media users on board with this model.

The media player supports a variety of audio and video formats, and to compliment the media section you’ll also find a 2 megapixel camera with flash. While we’re on the topic of cameras, the 8300 (like the Pearl) will only take still images, not record video.

One of the many speculated features which our pre-launch device doesn’t have is Wi-Fi. This is either not happening at all, not happening on O2 (who kindly supplied us with this pre-launch device), or it simply isn’t on our pre-launch model and will feature on the final release.

We would love to have taken some screen images of the new BlackBerry 8300 but unfortunately we have been unable to get any of the screen utilities to work with devices running this version of the handheld firmware, including BBScreenShooter, JL_Cdmer, BBScreen or Idokorro BlackBerry Viewer. No doubt it’s just a matter of time.