Introduction

It didn't take long for T-Mobile and Research in Motion (RIM) to release a new BlackBerry. In fact about six months to be exact. After consumers complained about the easily scratched screen and poor outdoor conditions, RIM and T-Mobile added a few upgrades and improvements and introduced the new and improved BlackBerry 7105t.

Much of the functionality and features are identical to the 7100t, as the 7105t is more of an "upgrade" rather than a successor. But slight improvements often times make the biggest differences.

Holding to the core values of the BlackBerry product line, the 7105t features all the powerful email functionality and business productivity tools loyal users have come to love, with good looks to boot. Also including an IM client to support AOL, Yahoo!, and ICQ, and new enhanced access to Yahoo! Mail, the BlackBerry 7105t builds upon the already well-rounded 7100t.

Design

The boxy blue BlackBerry of the past is long gone. With a darker shade, the 7105t's exterior is virtually identical to the streamlined angular design of the 7100t. Measuring 119 x 58 x 19 mm and weighing 120 g, the 7105t is not much larger than standard cell phones, and considerably less bulky than most PDAs.

A large part to the condensed size is RIM's innovative keypad. Packing a full QWERTY keypad into just 20 keys, RIM was able to design the 7105t into a smaller device. Through SureType predictive text technology, users get the best of both worlds, typing as if each key was a unique letter. Even though buttons shares two letters each, the 7105t knows what letter is being typed, eliminating impossible combinations of the English language.

One of the major flaws of the 7100t was its screen. Easily scratched, RIM has since fixed the problem on the 7105t, replacing the prior LCD with a scratch-resistant glass with hard coating. Capable of displaying up to 65K-colors at 240 x 260 px, the screen is similar to those found on the 7100-series, except brighter and more visible in direct sunlight, another improvement on the BlackBerry 7105t.

On the edges, nothing has changed from the 7100t. Along the top, a Power On / Off button and LED indicator alerting users when new information has arrived. The left side contains a standard 2.5 mm headset jack and USB port allowing data synchronization and battery charging. While the right has an Escape key and Trackwheel (roll and click) for convenient navigation through the menu structure and email messages. Turned around on back, a speakerphone port is located just above the removable battery door.

Out of the box, the RIM BlackBerry 7105t comes with a standard 960 mAh Li-Ion battery, handsfree headset, holster, international travel charger, two USB data cables, BlackBerry desktop software, SIM card, and user manual.

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