Blackberry - Which One?

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faskham

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My employer is giving me a Blackberry. I have a choice of three models:

8700
7130
8100 (Pearl)

Which should I go for?

I'll be using it mainly for email, and occasionally as a phone.

I'm unlikely to use it for GTD - my plan is to stick with my Treo 650 for that (basically the Treo is my personal phone, but is sync'd with my work computer - I use Agendus for GTD and I get on with it very well).
 
Two things to consider

Well, I'd look at this two ways. If email is your primary purpose, you're probably going to want the full QWERTY on the 8700. The only downside is that means you're pretty much carrying around 2 full size smartphones with that and your Treo.

So, the other option is the Pearl, (I wouldn't go 7130), which will be a lot smaller to carry, but you're back to the suretype keypad. I haven't used one of these, so I don't know what kind of hit you might take to typing speed, but it generally will be lower.

I'd say if size isn't an issue, go for the 8700.
 
Pearl without a doubt.

I have owned and tested all three of these devices. The 8700 is bulky compared to the other two. And I would never want to carry a Treo and and 8700. The 7130 shouldn't even be in consideration now that the Pearl is on the market. The Pearl is a terrific phone and it is SMALL. You won't even know you have it. You will get used to the SureType in about a day. It is extremely smart. I have used a blackberry for 6 years and I had no problem adapting to the SureType. Be sure to get the littel leather case that they sell on the official Blackberry site for the Pearl, it is nice to be able to utilize the ring functions when it is in a "holster" as they call it.

Good luck and enjoy your new gadget.
 
Very helpful.

I managed to get my hands on both the 8700 and the Pearl for a couple of minutes.

I like my qwerty keyboards. I have had Nokia phones for many years and got on well with their predictive text. I was initially put off the Pearl by the fact that the characters on the keyboard weren't laid out in the same way as the Nokia and most other phones (ie. q and w together, instead of the usual a-b-c). After typing in a few lines of text on the Pearl it was suprising how quickly you get used to this layout.

I've plumped for the Pearl - a neat little package and I reckon I'll be fine with the predictive text.

Thanks again for your help.
 
Here is another vote for SureType. With fewer keys that a QWERTY keyboard, the thumbs don't have to move as far. I find I am faster on this keyboard, and the accuracy of SureType is surprisingly accurate.

Frank
 
No Pearl on Sprint

I am interested in moving back to a Blackberry and would love to get a Pearl. However, it is not available through Sprint and I have my entire business set up with them. The 7130 looks "close" but I am concerned about some of the above-feedback about not considering it given the Pearl.

What did you feel were the downsides of the 7130? I recall liking the trackwheel on earlier BB devices and I know the Pearl has ditched this in favor of the joystick.

Has anyone had a good experience with the 7130?
 
Pearl works fine

faskham;44771 said:
My employer is giving me a Blackberry. I have a choice of three models:

8700
7130
8100 (Pearl)

Which should I go for?

I'll be using it mainly for email, and occasionally as a phone.

I'm unlikely to use it for GTD - my plan is to stick with my Treo 650 for that (basically the Treo is my personal phone, but is sync'd with my work computer - I use Agendus for GTD and I get on with it very well).
Click to expand...

I am using the BlackBerry Pearl right now and it works fine. Also it has best design a BlackBerry ever had. There is also a good article on GTD for BlackBerry on the Internet.
 
I like the 8703e (Verizon)

I have had this model for a week now, coming from a Treo 650, and actually a palm user forever. It took me a few days to break some touch screen habits, but only a week in, and I really like the 8703 ... love the way it sits in my hand when I'm working on it with one hand.

It's also lighter, and no antenna ... so it's a great fit for me.
 
8700c with outlook 2003 and exchange server for realtime synch of email, tasks, notes, calendar, contacts, etc. Works great with GTD Outlook Plugin.
 
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