Another RIM mobile success.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Rock solid e-mail, calendar & contact management. Good U.S. and European metro coverage.

Cons: Less than desired battery life. Rural coverage limited, good near highways though.

The Bottom Line: 
Function over form. Not the biggest or most capable, but what it does do, it does very very well. E-mail, calendar, contacts, phone.

Author's Review
RIM's 6210 Blackberry (AKA: "Blueberry" or "Crackberry") is another little gem of engineering. Having supported, used and installed Blackberries for the last two years in a large corporate environment I can say that the 6210 is my favorite so far. I currently use the 6210 (T-mobile) and have for the last two weeks. Prior to that, I have used the 6750 (Verizon), 957 (Cingular) and 950 (Cingular).

The 6210's GPRS coverage makes this unit especially nice for those who travel overseas as the GPRS standard is a bit more common than it is in the U.S. However, if you don't make a whole lot of trips way into the sticks you should have no problem. GPRS coverage is pretty good in major U.S. metro areas. If you do make forays into the hinterlands, you might consider the 6750 from Verizon.

The operating system for the 6750 and 6210 are virtually identical, with vendors making a few tweaks here and there. The e-mail is excellent and very easy to integrate with Outlook, especially if your company runs a Blackberry Exchange Server (BES – pronounced “bez”). Blackberries can be cranky and need you to pay attention to the settings. However, if you READ THE MANUAL you will do very well and find your blackberry will cause you very little trouble. E-mail synchronization is flawless and operation very solid on the unit. The calendar synchronizes wirelessly. This is very nice for those folks who are out of the office a lot but whose secretaries work their calendars.

The phones on both units work as well as any other phone I have owned, however they do not have voice activation or downloadable ring tones (there are quite a few pre-programmed ring types to choose from, however.) Both devices come with a well-designed ear-bud or you can hold the device up to your head (looks a little funny.) I cannot speak for the browser on either unit as my employer has had me disable it on all the units I distribute.

I am disappointed in the battery life. The 957’s had a “permanent” battery that would (and still does) last for up to two weeks. The 6210’s and 6750’s last about 2-3 days at best. Less with heavy use. Your mileage may vary. The good thing is, they come with a travel charger (unlike the 957) so you get used to hooking up the charger at night when you get home. The 6750 and 6210 seem to be shipped with the plastic holsters, which while perfectly capable, are less attractive with the 6210 especially. The electric blue of the 6210 clashes with the black plastic holster. Not so bad with the black 6750.

The 6210 has a USB based connection to the PC that is much faster than the serial port based 6750. Unfortunately the 6210 has a cable that plugs into the side of the unit itself and is threaded through the bottom of the cradle. It can be awkward to disconnect and reconnect, but you get used to it. The cable has a tendency to un-thread itself from the cradle. The cradle for the 6210 would be more accurately described as a stand, since it really is not technically necessary. The design of the 6750 that mates directly to the cradle is a better design.

Miscellaneous: Nice “white light” backlit keyboard and screen. Slightly smaller screen than the 6750, but has not been an issue to me. I like the “feel” of this device better than the 6750. I recommend this device if you care about function over form. The 6210 does what it says. No color screen (see 7230), no spreadsheets. (who wants excel on a handheld…get a laptop) Great contact management.

http://www.t-mobile.com/products/overview.asp?phoneid=196550
(my HTML was correct, but wouldn't link when I submitted, sorry. Review of epinions anyone?)

Some of this review will be included in my review of the 6750.