22 June 2006 0:26 GMT / By Shaun Marin

Beloved by celebs and stressed business types, the latest BlackBerry device is a slimed-down affair for the common man (or woman).

Now you’ve got even less of an excuse for not taking the office every where you go. The latest BlackBerry offers pretty much everything that the last model – the chunky 8700g does – but it does so in a form factor that’s not much bigger than your common or garden smartphone.

This obviously allows the 7130g to slip into your pocket more easily, and even takes it to the stage where you don’t need to have to consider a second phone for the weekend – something I’d have to do with the larger devices.

Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on two things: how much you love your job, and how much self control you have.

If the answers are "not at all" and "none", then steer well clear. But if you need to be in touch with the office all the time and have the will-power to ignore emails at night and while on your holiday then this more compact device could be for you.

The new sleek design means it features that compressed QWERTY keyboard seen on previous 7000 series BlackBerry devices. And if you aren’t used to it could come as a bit of a shock. There’s something about the cross between text messaging, predictive text and a full keyboard that results in the kind of input speeds not seen since I bought my nan a phone at Christmas.

But you can get used to it, and after a surprisingly drawn-out set up process – I couldn’t access the O2 email site using Firefox for starters – the email service immediately grips you and proves invaluable.

But this handset is about more than just email, and its comprehensive address book, large clear screen and basic but functional internet access make this a great business phone.

However, the lack of true smartphone functionality offered by the likes of O2’s XDA range may make serious business types think twice.

Verdict

If always-on email is important to your life, then this slimmer BlackBerry is a great little number.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

RIM

Price as reviewed

£price dependent on contract

The good

It’s slimmer then most recent RIM offerings; push email is fantastic...

The bad

...but also incredibly addictive; compressed keyboard takes lots of getting used to; not as easy to set up as people claim

Quick verdict

Worthy addition to the BlackBerry family, especially if you like your handsets to have more standard proportions

Score

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