Another Newbie 8900 v. 9700 thread
 

I am going back and forth between the Nokia E72 and the BB 8900 but whenever I see a pile of E72 problem threads I think of abandoning the Nokia idea (I am very sick of Nokia but the E72 has all the specs I'm looking for and S60 is a known quantity for me in terms of hacks and apps etc). Right now I have a handful of Nokias and they all have good points but most of them have bad points as well and I'm losing patience with their policy of "the paying customer always alpha tests our products".

If I don't need 3G which is better the BB 8900 or 9700? Taking things like build quality and texting experience into account...I have a good multimedia phone but I need a phone with a hardware keyboard and an email and texting setup that "just works".

Never had a BB before and I have lots to learn about this platform and the services. For example is the coverage area different for a given operator's GSM/CDMA service and BIS?

Anybody using S/MIME on BB? How is it?

Why is BB said to be more secure? Doesn't everything go through BB's servers? That sounds like one-stop shopping for anybody who wants to p0wn your phone.

Thank you.

Wirelessly posted (Lets Go Canes!)

One simple difference is the 9700 or Bold 2 uses a more advanced operating system, has larger memory, better camera and uses a trackpad as opposed to the obsolete trackball.

Wirelessly posted (White and Nerdy)

The BB encrypts it's data if you set it to do so. There are NO HACKS for the berry. The OS is ENTIRELY secure as of this post. They can use DOD encryption techniques, so you know its good.

I find the 9700 to be faster than 900 in my experience. They 9000 has a better keyboard I think, but the 9700 is better in just about everything else

Thanks guys. The only thing was there seem to be more problems reported by guys using 9700s than 8900s. I also like the 8900's form factor. I do like the hardware upgrades in the 9700, it looks awesome.

I don't know what you mean by DOD encryption techniques, but don't bet money the Blackberrys we can buy use the same crypto as the gov. gets. Any pointers to details? I hear a lot of comments but haven't seen any facts. I'm not knocking BB, I think it's probably the best email and texting solution out there. I just don't think it's any more secure than anything else. I hope I'm wrong.

hmmm...owned them both
 

I have owned both phones. Go to the Blackberry website and compare the 8900 and the 9700. Same dimensions, SAME camera, same screen. THE phone are sooo close in build and the OS is PRETTY much the same.

ONLY differences is the 9700 has: 3G, slightly better keyboard, and the track pad...oh...OS 5.0 too but you REALLY can't tell the difference between them unless you REALLY look for little stuff. 5.0 will be out soon for the 8900 as an over the air upgrade anyway.

If you can get the 8900 for free with contract or something: it is a solid phone. Also, I wouldn't buy a new blackberry with anything less than 256meg of base memory though. Only the Tour, 8900 and 9700 come with 256 meg. Oddly, the Bold 9000 had 128 meg (too bad for it).

IF both phones are for the same price? The 9700 has the extras! But you should pull a 8900 for $0-$99 with contract (cheaper). I also SWEAR my 8900 had a better batter life than my 9700 although the website claims different....

Thanks..I have to pay cash the prices on plans and phones where I live is very high. I'll order an unlocked phone over the net and pay for the BIS plan. There's about 100 - 150 dollars difference between the 8900 and 9700 right now.