The BlackBerry 7230 / 7210 is RIM's first color-screen model. The device enables you to access many of the functions found in your home PC directly in the palm of your hand from anywhere in the world. The stylish-looking unit combines a GSM/GPRS phone, a PDA, wireless e-mail capabilities and more. All of these functions fit within a slim, 4.8-ounce unit that doesn't require an earbud to talk on.

The 240x160-pixel color display supports 65,000 hues and the large screen is wide enough to see text and browse the web without straining the eyes. It has also been designed so that the screen can be viewed easily in sunlight. The full QWERTY keyboard located below the screen is easy to use and convenient for those who need to type quick messages and dial numbers. The keyboard is also fully backlit for use after the sun goes down.

The unit comes with an attachable earpiece and microphone to make calls virtually hands-free when you need to. Along with the convenient scrollwheel and the Back button on the right-hand side of the unit, you'll find a port for the USB cable and charger on the left. It is sold with the USB cable to plug into your home or office PC and transfer files. Located on top of the smartphone is a quick-launch button for phone mode, plus an IR port.

While it has no SD card expansion slot, this model features 16MB of internal flash memory and 2MB of SRAM. With full e-mail capabilities, you can open a wide variety of e-mail attachments. Specifically, the unit supports Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, as well as Adobe PDFs.

Full text messaging capabilities are also possible as it supports two-way SMS messaging. The device features J2ME gaming technology and comes with a preinstalled BrickBreaker game so you can keep yourself occupied in bored situations. You can also add third-party applications downloadable from the web. Additionally, the unit comes with all the bells and whistles a more traditional cellphone should have. It ensures storage of a long call history, the ability to dial contact numbers directly from the address book, and a vibrating ringer option.

Also, all of the organizational functions are included here, such as a calculator, organizer, alarm clock, to-do list and more. No matter what your business needs, this small device can handle them in the palm of your hand.

Pros

• QWERTY keypad with keys spaced apart for ease of use
• Excellent user interface
• Excellent support for email capabilities for businesspeople on the move
• Support for Java
• 16 MB of internal flash memory

Cons

• No Bluetooth
• No camera
• Lack of support for expandable memory
• Lacks a music player

Overall

All in all, the BlackBerry RIM 7230 / 7210 is a nice PDA/GSM/GPRS phone that packs in a lot of features useful for businesspersons. It excels at its primary goal – emailing on the move. However, you should note that there are some important features missing, before you decide to buy one.