By last year, most people had heard of BlackBerry; but for the most part, the only people who got to use BlackBerries were type-A business professionals. Then BlackBerry came out with a set of phones for each of the major cellular carriers and started an ad blitz on TV to become a major player for not-so-connected professionals too.

The BlackBerry Bold is one of the phones that has made this push possible. The Bold, offered on the AT&T network, is a competent and flexible smartphone -- allowing it to act as your personal digital assistant as well as your electronic umbilical cord. Using a recent update to the BlackBerry operating system and interface, it provides the same easy-to-use address book, calendar and task functions as in previous BlackBerry smartphones. But it sports an updated body and a new software interface.

I like the new software scheme, using a matrix of on-screen buttons with line-art icons against a jet black background. It's easy to see in daylight and low light; and the buttons are big enough to find easily with the traditional pearl cursor controller. The default icons are much more intuitive than on previous BlackBerry devices, making it easier to pick up and use your smartphone for the first time, even without training.

One of the enhancements to the interface is the natural way in which you can drill down from icon to icon to find the application you want -- even though the application may not be on the face of the device.

The screen is not as large as the recent spate of touch-screen devices that have hit the streets, but it's plenty big for most applications (except Web-browsing, but I've never met a screen that is truly big enough for that). Its resolution, at 480x320, is almost half as crisp as some older computer monitors that some people are still using -- even though the screen takes up only half of the 2.6-inch by 4.5-inch face of the phone.

The Bold does a good job of balancing old-world needs with new-world needs. Its full QWERTY keyboard allows you to type out a text message readily. And it comes pre-loaded with a version of Documents-To-Go, a mobile application that simulates Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The onboard keyboard might not be the best choice to type a chapter of your next book; but Word-To-Go is strong enough software to handle it. All you need is an add-on, full-size keyboard, which you can get from a third-party supplier to connect wirelessly to your Bold by Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the version of Documents-To-Go is not the fully functional version. It can open existing documents on your device, but not create new ones unless you upgrade to a premium edition for an extra fee.

Additional smart features on the Bold include a music player and a slot for an SD memory card. So you can listen to your favorite music and store it on multiple memory cards. This gives you the ability to store more of your songs, back them up for safe keeping and change your selection occasionally.

The unimpressive parts of the phone include the GPS, which has led me astray by hundreds of miles, and the way the standard task list presents you with your tasks. It also is hampered by the latest version of BlackBerry's Desktop Manager, which synchronizes your phone data with your computer data. It's simply not as reliable or as fast as older versions.

A new Bold currently goes for $300 online with a two-year plan.