[ref18]

I live in Waterloo, and a buddy I know works for RIM, he has this new blackberry on his belt, looks like the 7780 from the back except it has the a speaker.

I didn't see the front of it though.

Maybe next time I see him I'll ask him for a look.

It looks really cool.

[whsbuss]

What a tease. How could you let him get away without see it?

[nihilist]

I played with one the weekend of the 10th. Pretty sweet. Slapped in my SIM card, hooked right up to the network in EDGE mode. Cannot wait to get my hands on one to replace my 7100.

[remoteshoppe]

Originally Posted by nihilist

Cannot wait to get my hands on one to replace my 7100.

How's the form factor compared to the 7100? Looks like a more traditional BB size to me

[ref18]

It looks like the same form factor as the 7700 series.

My favourite BB is the 7780 so I think it's a good thing.

[jibi]

Originally Posted by ref18

It looks like the same form factor as the 7700 series.

My favourite BB is the 7780 so I think it's a good thing.

every single person that i've heard from who has actually touched and played with one of these state that its the form factor of the 7200 series. considering the popularity differences between the 7230/7280/7290 and the 7730/7780, i would have to believe that it will be smaller like the 7200 series form factor. not contesting your judgement, but considering those persons who have had it in their hands state one thing, based on side-by-side comparisons, then i'd have to believe them...

[MobileRC]

nothing like the 7780 form. mix between 7200 and 7100

[MrH]

I saw it today as well and had a chance to play with it for about 5 minutes. The quality of the screen is simply amazing. Build quality felt really good as well too. The lagginess of the 72xx series is gone as well, it's really really REALLY quick. Browsing via EDGE was quick as well too. As I was typing in email addresses it was doing autocomplete with a smart list being dynamically generated below where I was typing, uber smart...really nice touch on the OS.

[bbmike]

so is the material (plastic compound - i'm no expert so correct me if i'm wrong) similar to current 72xx series?

[MrH]

Originally Posted by bbmike

so is the material (plastic compound - i'm no expert so correct me if i'm wrong) similar to current 72xx series?

bbmike,

I think so...for the all of 5 minutes that I had it in my hands it felt very similar (weighed less though) than the 72xx series. I'm sure build quality will be similar if not better...knowing RIM they can't afford to have these devices not handle bumps and drops since their clientele pretty much demand it...

[Skive]

When you compare it with a 7290, there is very little difference in size with the new device being slightly smaller in each dimension.

I have to say that I can't really notice any difference in weight from holding one and a 7290.