In today's Washington Post, reviewer Rob Pegoraro has it in for the Cingular BlackBerry 7130c.
He criticizes the newly released model's inability to handle complicated" Web sites, as well as its lack of an Instant Messaging software utility.
Despite giving the 7130c mild props for its addy book, calendar, to-do list and Outlook-synchable memo pad, that's about all the praise he is willing to give.
"The 7130c includes a speakerphone, but no camera, memory-card slot or music playback," Rob writes. "Its Bluetooth wireless seems good only for pricey Bluetooth headsets; it couldn't exchange any data with an iMac or work with a Toyota Prius's hands-free mode."
Think that's something? Well, Rob is only getting started.
"The 7130c shares its biggest flaw with every other BlackBerry -- a relentlessly awkward interface that spits on most rules of good design," he adds. "Clicking on a link on a Web page should take you to a new page, but here it invokes a menu 17 items long."
Oh, and what happens when you open a memo on the 7130e? Don't ask. I guess I just did, though, so the cat is out of the bag on what Rob thinks.
"Opening a memo requires choosing between reading it and editing it," he writes. "When you close a document, the default action is to discard your edits.
Lest you think Rob is just in a bad mood about technology today- well, probably not. The rest of his piece offers praise to the T-Mobile Sidekick 3.
1. he does have a point though, it would be nice if alt-clicking a weblink took you to the page without the context menu being invoked. and bluetooth support is generally pretty basic on blackberry.
the whining about lack of mp3 playback on blackberrys is getting a bit tiresome, they're not toys.
Posted at 7:24AM on Jul 3rd 2006 by jon fisher