There are two different web browsers, two different e-mail programs, and, on the Flip, six different chat programs. Confusingly, there’s no unified design from one add-on program to the next. The Bold even comes with unsolicited trialware programs, just as on new Windows PCs. Is this what the cellphone is coming to?

Keep in mind, too, that a BlackBerry is not an iPod. There’s a music player, but it’s feels more like an afterthought. Music and video are nowhere close to being highlights of the machine, as on the iPhone.
Even so, RIM is firing on all cylinders these days. If e-mail figures into your mobile life more prominently than entertainment, then you’ll be very happy with either one of these phones.
DAVID POGUE, — NYT