Blackberry 9720 Vintage Mobile Phone

The Blackberry Curve 9720 was one of the later mobile phones produced by RIM, later to become Blackberry in line with the name of its phones

History of Mobile Phones Includes:
Cellular telecommunications history Cell phone systems table Vintage & classic mobile phones GSM history UMTS history 5G history & timeline History of Blackberry & Research in Motion, RIM

The Blackberry 9720 was one of their low end phones which was launched in August 2013 amidst a background of the company which was originally called RIM (Research in Motion), at the time, losing its market share and looking at ways of regaining it.

The 9720 was a Blackberry phone that was aimed at people upgrading from a feature phone or an entry-level Android or Windows Phone device. It was also aimed at existing BlackBerry smartphone customers who wanted a what the company referred to as a "richer experience" and an improvement in style and performance.

The 9720 had a simple QWERTY keyboard, a squat, chunky design, and it incorporated a touchscreen and the focus was on the use of BlackBerry Messenger as its unique selling point.

Front view of Blackberry 9720 (black) vintage classic mobile phone

Front view of Blackberry 9720 (purple) vintage classic mobile phone

Rear view of Blackberry 9720 (purple) vintage classic mobile phone

Rear view of Blackberry 9720 (horrible pink) vintage classic mobile phone

Blackberry 9720 vintage mobile phone with rear cover removed

Blackberry 9720 vintage mobile phone - side view

Blackberry 9720 vintage mobile phone - internal view

For the 9720 BlackBerry dropped the model names and called the phone the 9720. Although the 97xx series has always been designated the Bold series, in fact many thought the device looked more like the Curve models, especially with the keyboard.

The 9720 has an IPS touchscreen display. This is an improvement on previous Blackberry models used a TFT touchscreen display, but the IPS (in-plane switching) display of the 9720 was able to provide a wider viewing angle and quicker response times.

The camera for the 9720 was fairly basic. Although it had a 5MP sensor, the camera did not have autofocus, but it did have an LED flash. The flash also was fairly limited but it did enable photos to be taken under low light conditions.

Blackberry Curve 9720 Vintage Mobile Phone Specifications
Parameter	Details
Technology	2G (GSM, GPRS, EDGE), 3G (UMTS, HSPA)
Launch	August 2013
Dimensions	66 x 114 x 12 mm
Weight	120g
CPU	806 MHz, 1 core
Memory cards	microSD, microSDHC
Display	2.8 inch TFT, 480 x 360 pixels 24 bit
Battery	1450 mAh, lithium ion
Camera	2592 x 1944 pixels 24 bit with LED flash
SIM card	Mini-SIM, 2FF (one SIM card position)
Wi-Fi	802.11b, g, n
USB	USB2.0, micro-USB connector
Bluetooth	2.1
Positioning	GPS & AGPS
Mobile Technologies	GSM, GPRS (Class 10), EDGE, UMTS, HSPA
Bands	GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz UMTS: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
Loudspeaker	Yes
Radio	FM radio
Talk time	7h on 2G & 3G
Standby time	432 hours on 2G & 3G

Overall, the phone was not particularly well received and many of the reviewers were said to be "underwhelmed by its performance. Nevertheless, it was used in large numbers by those who were already in the Blackberry eco-sphere. It provided an upgrade for those who wanted the Blackberry experience, although by this time, Blackberry were falling behind the competition with their new smartphones.

At this stage, RIM, owner of the Blackberry series of phones was finding the marketplace very hard as it had lost the lead to other competitors and it was seeking to hold on to customers using the approach it had aways done, rather adapting in a more robust manner.