BlackBerry 7130c

A few years ago, the BlackBerry already had a cult following, but only e-mail junkies could swallow its stodgy form factor. Fortunately, recent generations of BlackBerrys have shed the utilitarian look for a slimmer, sleeker design aimed at those of us who don't want to look as if we're talking into a calculator. The new 7130c from Cingular shoehorns a zippy Intel processor into a sleek handheld that costs a very reasonable $199.

At 4.2 ounces, the 7130c barely sags a shirt pocket, and it's roughly the same width and height as a Palm Treo 700w. Like other BlackBerrys in the 7100 series, the 7130c features SureType technology, which fits a QWERTY keyboard onto only 20 keys with few trade-offs in terms of ease of use. That design makes the phone slimmer. The Talk and End keys, as well as Bluetooth functionality and a loud speakerphone, make the 7130c as practical for talking as it is for messaging.

The 7130c's 2.3-inch display is bright and crisp, making e-mails a pleasure to read. The device senses ambient lighting and adjusts brightness to improve viewability in all but the most blazing sunlight.

The 7130c's beauty isn't skin deep. This is the first member of the 7100 series to use the 312-MHz Intel XScale processor, which delivers excellent performance when moving between applications. Like other BlackBerrys, this device delivers the goods when it comes to e-mail, immediately forwarding out new messages as soon as they hit the server, even if you're using a consumer POP3 account. For small-business owners that want a BlackBerry server but have a limited budget, the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is available as a free download and supports up to 15 users. (For details, see www.blackberry.com/express.)

E-mail set-up is a cinch. For a POP3 account, simply enter your address and password on the handset, and the wizard fetches the rest of the information necessary to set up the account. We found that process slightly faster than with rival platforms, such as Windows Mobile 5.0. Like other recent BlackBerrys, the 7130c supports up to ten accounts, so you don't have to forward e-mail from one address to another.

Attachment support is excellent, with built-in readers—but not editors—for common formats like DOC, XLS, and PDF. PowerPoint presentations can be viewed as slideshows. Like other recent BlackBerrys, the 7130c zooms in on and rotates images sent as e-mail attachments. If the image is fuzzy after zooming in, you can select Enhance to sharpen it. These two features are particularly handy for reading faxes and maps.

The 7130c supports EDGE, which is noticeably faster than GPRS but lags far behind EV-DO, which the 7130e from Sprint and Verizon Wireless use. Still, Web pages and e-mail attachments loaded quickly enough over EDGE. Globe-trotters will value the 7130c's worldwide roaming capabilities,

Battery life was an impressive 6.3 hours in our tests, two hours longer than the rated 4 hours of talk time. When used mainly for messaging, the 7130c lasts for a couple of days. Standby time is an amazing 18 days. Voice quality was good over Cingular's ever-improving network.

The 7130c is worth considering if you prefer BlackBerry's approach to e-mail, thumbwheel navigation, and want global roaming. The best part is that the new Intel processor inside this model is faster than the one inside the identically priced 7130e from Sprint and Verizon, and you don't have to pay a premium for it.