[imwillzillla]

I'm 2 days away from upgrading (2 years with Cingular) from an 8700c to a Blackberry Pearl.

I thought it was pretty common sense until I started reading here and other forums about how bad the trackball is. I've read people saying the pearl is an upgrade surely because of the sd slot and camera, however i'm more concerned with call qaulity and browsing speed.

So if anyone out there can share something positive from going from an 8700 to a Pearl it would be appreciated. And be honest. If it's not the right thing to do it's okay to say so. I have to slow down from purchasing cell phones as it is lol

[iamsteelio]

I am a current pearl user and former 8700g user on T-Mobile, and I am happy with my switch to the pearl. I made the switch a few months back after being a satisfied 8700g user but wanting a camera. I don't have a preference between full qwerty and suretype which most people seem to have a favorite between the two. I also recently got a chance to play around with the T-Mobile 8800 and I am still going to stick with the pearl. I found the 8800 too heavy and the trackball was akward to navigate with the longer reach due to the full qwerty keyboard. Hope this helps.

[Unwanted Hero]

Well i actually got a blackberry 8100 a few days ago. I got it for really cheap since the seller didn't want it because it was broken. I fixed everything and i'm happy with my new lil buddy. I still have the 8700c but i'm just giving the 8100 a little test drive right now.

Pros and cons up upgrading to 8100

Pros

Camera - the camera is surprisinly clear and takes great pictures. Although the camer could use a lil more options but it's not that bad.

Memory card - Probably the main reason why i got the 8100 since 15mb just isn't enough to hold my stuff.

Size - Probably the smallest blackberry out there and it does almost the same thing as the bigger ones. It's easy to carry in your pocket and it feels great in your hands.

Cons

Suretype keypad - Well i think this is just something that needs getting use to. But i've been doing stuff with the qwerty keyboard for some time now and i just can't get use to pressing a key more then once to type. Like i said, it's just something you will need to get used to.

Screen size - Well this isn't really a con since the 8700 is bigger then then 8100 therefore, the 8700 would have a bigger size. I'm just still use to the 8700 nice big bright display over the 8100's much smaller brigh display.

No scrollwheel - I'm just too used to the side scroll wheel and sometime find myself looking for it with my fingers on the 8100. The rollerball takes time to get used to also but it's actually not that bad. If only there is an option to set the sensitivity of it, then that would be great.

Phones casing - The phones casing is made of clear smooth plastic. It's kinda like the same material from the housing display screen. It's just that the whole phone is made of that material and it's prone to get a lot of finger prints on them.

Soft speaker - The speaker is very soft since it's enclosed behind the battery cover. So even if i had a ringtone that was loud on my 8700, it would be soft on the 8100.

All and all the 8100 is probably somewhat different but it adds a lot more comfort into it. Everything really takes time to get used to but it should be smooth sailing from there on.

[Unwanted Hero]

Well i actually got a blackberry 8100 a few days ago. I got it for really cheap since the seller didn't want it because it was broken. I fixed everything and i'm happy with my new lil buddy. I still have the 8700c but i'm just giving the 8100 a little test drive right now.

Pros and cons up upgrading to 8100

Pros

Camera - the camera is surprisinly clear and takes great pictures. Although the camer could use a lil more options but it's not that bad.

Memory card - Probably the main reason why i got the 8100 since 15mb just isn't enough to hold my stuff.

Size - Probably the smallest blackberry out there and it does almost the same thing as the bigger ones. It's easy to carry in your pocket and it feels great in your hands.

Cons

Suretype keypad - Well i think this is just something that needs getting use to. But i've been doing stuff with the qwerty keyboard for some time now and i just can't get use to pressing a key more then once to type. Like i said, it's just something you will need to get used to.

Screen size - Well this isn't really a con since the 8700 is bigger then then 8100 therefore, the 8700 would have a bigger size. I'm just still use to the 8700 nice big bright display over the 8100's much smaller brigh display.

No scrollwheel - I'm just too used to the side scroll wheel and sometime find myself looking for it with my fingers on the 8100. The rollerball takes time to get used to also but it's actually not that bad. If only there is an option to set the sensitivity of it, then that would be great.

Phones casing - The phones casing is made of clear smooth plastic. It's kinda like the same material from the housing display screen. It's just that the whole phone is made of that material and it's prone to get a lot of finger prints on them.

Soft speaker - The speaker is very soft since it's enclosed behind the battery cover. So even if i had a ringtone that was loud on my 8700, it would be soft on the 8100.

All and all the 8100 is probably somewhat different but it adds a lot more comfort into it. Everything really takes time to get used to but it should be smooth sailing from there on.

[brucejr]

Went from the 8703e with VZW to the 8100 with Cingy and am very happy. The 8100 is feature rich compared ot the 8703e. I miss the Qwerty a little, but the size of the 8100 is the most apealing to me.

[mike_187]

never had an issues with the trackball, just clean it once in a while.

[SoUnCool]

i was 8703 user, went to Pearl for media player, SD card and camera, great features, but i do lot of emails using my BB and sure type keybd doesnt suite me. after couple of weeks back to 8703 and now 8800

[JeffAUV]

I went to the Pearl from the 8700 for the smaller form factor. I will likely go to the 83xx whenever T-Mo releases it just for the QWERTY keyboard as I now send much longer messages on the BB and would be able to do so quicker with the full QWERTY layout

[brosson]

I moved from an 8700c to the Pearl. I've been a big fan of qwerty keyboards for years now. I decided to get a Pearl because of the size and camera. I have been very impressed with the suretype data entry method so far. It has taken me a few weeks to get completely used to it but I'm sold on it and love the incredibly small form factor.

As for the trackball, the function is definitely superior to the wheel but I'm not crazy about the fact that lint gets pretty easily stuck on the ball. I love to put my phone in my pocket so now I use the sleeve case when carrying it in my pants.

[BB4Life]

I went from the 8700c to the Pearl..not a big fan of suretype, and once the 8300 comes out, i'm switching back to qwerty..probably will keep the pearl and switch it up every now and then...that's why i love GSM

[eykhong]

I made the switch and was glad I did. The deciding factor for me was size and expandable memory. While I still prefer the QWERTY keyboard, I don't typically write long messages on my BB, so the SureType works fine for me. Hope this helps and good luck!

[imwillzillla]

Thanks alot guys for your feedback. I'm thinking i'm going to end up going with the pearl as I got used to the suretype with the 7100 no problem. This is great.

[Ragz]

I went from an 8700 to the Pearl and I love the Pearl. I was skepitcal at frist about the smaller keypad and the ball instead of the wheel but after a few days it was like I always owned one. The suretype is easy to use and I made about the samw amount of mistakes on the 8700. The smaller size of the phone is great in carrying as well as using. Get a new back from Seidio with the rear speaker cutout and you can eliminate the sound problem. Buy the skin with the same cutout and the phone will never slip out of you hands. The smaller screen is fine also. If you put it next to the 8700 you might feel like you are missing something but alone you will soon forget about the 8700. the size and ease of use makes this a great phone.
P.S. I kept my 8700 in case I was not happy with the 8100. Its collecting dust

[W8RZ]

I still prefer a full qwerty keyboard but I used to have a 7130e & the form factor was better, especially when you have a phone stuck to the side of your face for any lengthy period of time. I wasnt all that thrilled by suretype at first but after about 3 weeks (I'm a SLOW learner!) I found that I could type about as fast as I could with qwerty. It all comes down to personal preference: If you do more typing (allot of typing) then I'd give a nod to full qwerty but if you spend more time on the phone & receive text messages that are not lengthy and or not receive all that many text messages in the first place, then My choice would be to go with suretype. I'ts nice that us bb users actually have a choice. Now, if RIM would just go back to building bb's that are built like a brick house, I would be VERY happy!

From the South end of Lake Erie.

[jclif]

Originally Posted by Unwanted Hero

Well i actually got a blackberry 8100 a few days ago. I got it for really cheap since the seller didn't want it because it was broken. I fixed everything and i'm happy with my new lil buddy. I still have the 8700c but i'm just giving the 8100 a little test drive right now.

Pros and cons up upgrading to 8100

Pros

Camera - the camera is surprisinly clear and takes great pictures. Although the camer could use a lil more options but it's not that bad.

Memory card - Probably the main reason why i got the 8100 since 15mb just isn't enough to hold my stuff.

Size - Probably the smallest blackberry out there and it does almost the same thing as the bigger ones. It's easy to carry in your pocket and it feels great in your hands.

Cons

Suretype keypad - Well i think this is just something that needs getting use to. But i've been doing stuff with the qwerty keyboard for some time now and i just can't get use to pressing a key more then once to type. Like i said, it's just something you will need to get used to.

Screen size - Well this isn't really a con since the 8700 is bigger then then 8100 therefore, the 8700 would have a bigger size. I'm just still use to the 8700 nice big bright display over the 8100's much smaller brigh display.

No scrollwheel - I'm just too used to the side scroll wheel and sometime find myself looking for it with my fingers on the 8100. The rollerball takes time to get used to also but it's actually not that bad. If only there is an option to set the sensitivity of it, then that would be great.
Phones casing - The phones casing is made of clear smooth plastic. It's kinda like the same material from the housing display screen. It's just that the whole phone is made of that material and it's prone to get a lot of finger prints on them.

Soft speaker - The speaker is very soft since it's enclosed behind the battery cover. So even if i had a ringtone that was loud on my 8700, it would be soft on the 8100.

All and all the 8100 is probably somewhat different but it adds a lot more comfort into it. Everything really takes time to get used to but it should be smooth sailing from there on.

There is a way to adjust the trackball sensitivity, under options, screen/keyboard towards the bottom.

[CantHideTheHips]

My 8700 crashed a couple of weeks ago and I didn't really want to wait for the 8800 or the 83XX So i went ahead and got the pearl... Glad that I did... I kind of miss the full keyboard, but I previously had a 7105t, so it's not to hard to get used to using the sure type again... anyway.. I'm happy...

[LunkHead]

I will say this.... If you are a qwerty lover then wait for 83xx series or get 88xx....

I had the 8100 (came from 8700) and loved it but could never really get adjusted to suretype, I got better on it as time passed, but nowhere near qwerty speed...

I am now on an 8800 and loving the fact I have qwerty back.....

[blakeatl]

I just can't get into my 8700c. I love my Pearl so much better than the 8700. I'll give the 8700 this though.....it's rock solid with the original OS as with the Pearl, I became satisfied only after upgrading to .71 OS. The original .42 was terrible.