T-Mobile introduced latest mobile phone T-Mobile BlackBerry 8800. The keyboard backlight on the BlackBerry 8800 is linked with the screen backlight. There are ten brightness settings, and you can set the backlight to go off after one of seven time periods from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. There is no option to keep the backlight on indefinitely. The keyboard backlight is on whenever the screen backlight is, which means that even if you're in a well lit situation the keyboard will still be backlit. We found this to be a little wasteful. We found that the quality of the keyboard backlight left something to be desired. Although we were able to see all the letters and symbols, we found the backlight to be much weaker towards the center of the keyboard.

The volume keys on the T-Mobile BlackBerry 8800 are located near the top of the right hand side of the phone. There are two keys, one for up volume and one for down. The keys feel "squishy" and don't provide very much tactile feedback. We also found that when pushed, they unbalance the phone in our hand. We would have found it better to have them a little closer to the middle of the phone. Unlike most regular phones, the volume keys only function when you are in an application that has volume controls, such as in a call or the music player. To control the device volume at other times, you will need to use the profile system.

As with the BlackBerry 8700, the 8800 has a landscape QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) display. QVGA has become the standard for mid to high end phones, and it provides good detail for most functions. Our score for screen resolution is standardized based on the total number of pixels displayed. Pixels Per Inch (PPI) is a measure of how densely pixels are packed into the screen. Higher pixel density leads to richer colors and sharper detail, while lower pixel density can make the screen seem washed out. The BlackBerry 8800 packs 165.3 pixels per inch. This is slightly higher than the BlackBerry 8700's 155 PPI, which reflects the fact that the screen is slightly smaller on the BlackBerry 8800 than on the 8700.

The T-Mobile BlackBerry 8800's screen measures 2.4" diagonal, larger than the 2" or 2.1" screens that have become the standard on most regular phones. This is slightly smaller than the 8700's 2.5" screen, although we did not notice the difference in regular use. To measure screen brightness, we use a light meter to measure the light given off by the screen from two inches away. We turn the screen's brightness to maximum and point the browser at a blank white page to ensure that we capture the maximum brightness.

Under normal maximum brightness, the BlackBerry 8800 scored an impressive 90 lux; however, the phone also has an ultra bright mode that can be accessed by hitting the power key. In this mode, it scored near 200 lux, incredibly bright. This mode is likely meant to be used only in bright light situations and so we scored the phone on the lower "normal" maximum brightness that most users will use most of the time. We have to admit that the "ultra" bright mode hurts your eyes. As we discussed in the keyboard backlight sections, the 8800 has 10 settings available for both the screen and keyboard backlight. You can also use the light sensor on the phone to have the backlight adjust itself automatically. Both of these options can be set in the phone settings. Please purchase online www.phoneandbeyond.com