I have been a BlackBerry user for about six years now and I still use my first model, the old and mighty 7290. My BlackBerry use is limited to emails and so the handset still looks new. It cost me a fortune then, but I still think you should look at a BlackBerry only if you are serious about emails.

My needs are very simple, I prefer a side scroller like the old BlackBerrys—that is no longer an option—a full QWERTY keyboard, a good camera and the latest Operating System which would allow me to use both Flickr and Facebook. I don’t really require fancy ringtones, but a music/video player is more than welcome.

But I have been looking at the new BlackBerrys. You might remember that I was not very gung-ho about the BlackBerry Storm, as I am used to a full QWERTY keyboard, and the Bold seemed a bit beyond my budget. So I requested BlackBerry to send across their latest 8900 Javelin for a review.

It felt like the lightest BlackBerry till date at just 109.9 grams and looked cool with a VGA resolution screen (480x360 pixels) and Transmissive LCD. The QWERTY keyboard is smaller than previous versions, and takes some time to get used to, but the trackball has been raised a little and is no longer in a recess.

Most new phones have a light sensor that changes screen brightness as per the ambient light, but the Javelin undoubtedly has the most soothing display indoors, backed up with sharp and bright display outdoors—you can even work on it with the sun shining right on top.

... contd.