BlackBerry 8800: the good and bad

On our sister site CNet, colleague Bonnie Cha reviews the BlackBerry 8800.

Bonnie gives the 8800 7.7 out of a possible 10.

In CNet's evaluation system, 7.7 equals "very good." (Gee, I wish the same grading criteria was around in college when a 77 on an exam would get me a "C")

Here's Bonnie's sum-up:

The good: Boasting a sleek and sexy design, the RIM BlackBerry 8800 offers integrated GPS, push-to-talk capabilities, and multimedia features. The quadband smart phone also has Bluetooth, push e-mail, a full QWERTY keyboard, and long talk-time battery life.

The bad: Unfortunately, the BlackBerry 8800 doesn't have integrated Wi-Fi. Call quality was a little muffled, and the phone is quite wide and awkward to hold. The media player could also use some refinements, and instant messaging is limited to the BlackBerry Messenger client. The bottom line: Despite some minor issues, the RIM BlackBerry 8800 offers mobile professionals a well-rounded smart phone with added multimedia functions, GPS, and push-to-talk capabilities. That said, messaging remains its forte.