RIM BlackBerry 7230

RIM clearly expects you to carry the BlackBerry round with you at all times, with a holster provided. This attaches to a belt, but unfortunately the 7230 isn't as discreet as a pager so you might feel self-conscious using it in public. Slotting it into the holster switches the screen off and also means the 7230 will vibrate by default when it receives a new email. At 136g, it won't weigh you down, while the sturdy plastic chassis should withstand the test of time.

The BlackBerry performs normal PDA duties pretty well. It uses Intellisync, like many Palm devices, and I found it synchronised data with Outlook perfectly. What's more, its Address Book allows you to quickly find someone and then email, call or send an SMS just by pressing the jog dial.

As you'd expect, apps such as Tasks, MemoPad, Alarm and Calculator are all built-in. It's possible to load third-party applications, but these tend to be specialist, B2B applications - as the BlackBerry uses Java, though, we can expect a flurry of games at some point. If you want a more flexible device, you should take a look at the Palm Tungsten W. This isn't as advanced as the BlackBerry for email usage - for example, it's a pull system rather than push - but as it's a Palm device there are thousands of third-party applications available.

Unlike the Tungsten W, you can use the BlackBerry as a normal mobile phone without a headset. Its sound quality is just as good as a normal mobile phone; the only problem we found is that the speaker must be positioned precisely or it sounds muffled. It also looks slightly odd in use, so you might prefer to stick with a conventional mobile phone. However, there's a headset jack on show, while tri-band support means it will work in the US.

Bearing all these functions in mind, a price of £169 - with your choice of phone contract, plus a £10 per month supplement for 100MB of data - is surprisingly good. If email is important to your working life and you're frequently on the move, the BlackBerry 7230 is worth every penny.

Author: Tim Danton