| T-Mobile introduced latest mobile phone T-Mobile | | | | hand. We would have found it better to have them a |
| BlackBerry 8800. The keyboard backlight on the | | | | little closer to the middle of the phone. Unlike most |
| BlackBerry 8800 is linked with the screen backlight. | | | | regular phones, the volume keys only function when |
| There are ten brightness settings, and you can set the | | | | you are in an application that has volume controls, such |
| backlight to go off after one of seven time periods | | | | as in a call or the music player. To control the device |
| from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. There is no option to | | | | volume at other times, you will need to use the profile |
| keep the backlight on indefinitely. The keyboard | | | | system. |
| backlight is on whenever the screen backlight is, which | | | | As with the BlackBerry 8700, the 8800 has a |
| means that even if you're in a well lit situation the | | | | landscape QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) display. QVGA |
| keyboard will still be backlit. We found this to be a little | | | | has become the standard for mid to high end phones, |
| wasteful. We found that the quality of the keyboard | | | | and it provides good detail for most functions. Our |
| backlight left something to be desired. Although we | | | | score for screen resolution is standardized based on |
| were able to see all the letters and symbols, we found | | | | the total number of pixels displayed. Pixels Per Inch |
| the backlight to be much weaker towards the center | | | | (PPI) is a measure of how densely pixels are packed |
| of the keyboard. | | | | into the screen. Higher pixel density leads to richer |
| The volume keys on the T-Mobile BlackBerry 8800 | | | | colors and sharper detail, while lower pixel density can |
| are located near the top of the right hand side of the | | | | make the screen seem washed out. The BlackBerry |
| phone. There are two keys, one for up volume and | | | | 8800 packs 165.3 pixels per inch. This is slightly higher |
| one for down. The keys feel "squishy" and don't | | | | than the BlackBerry 8700's 155 PPI, which reflects the |
| provide very much tactile feedback. We also found | | | | fact that the screen is slightly smaller on the |
| that when pushed, they unbalance the phone in our | | | | BlackBerry 8800 than on the 8700. |