[JasonSuave]

I'm wondering if anyone has made the switch from the Q to the 8830?

I'm looking to make the switch myself, on account of the Q's horrible battery life. However, after reading some posts on this forum, I'm not sure if I can confidently assume that the battery life on the 8830 will be better than the Q. Can anyone comment on the difference between the 2 batteries?

I'd be using the phone primarily for email, voice calls and internet. I'd say on an average day, I spent and hour for calls, an hour checking/reading/writing emails, and another hour with the mp3 and internet. With this usage, I can't even get through half of the day on the Q. I'm hoping to get at least a full day with the 8830.

[greggebhardt]

The 8830 battery will greatly outlast the Q. With what you are saying you are suing per day, the Blackberry would go all day and have likely 50% of it power left. You can even compare the two when it comes to battery life.

[JasonSuave]

So here's a question - how much continuous internet usage can you get from the 8830 on a full battery? Are we talking 2 hours, or more?

[perfectlyfailing]

I made the switch from Q to 8830. No regrets, its an awesome unit!

[Mark Rejhon]

It can sustain an idling Internet connection pratically all day long -- BlackBerries don't have a connect/disconnect procedure like Windows Mobile phones do. It's 'always on' - it is your pocket DSL or Cable connection.

Active data transmissions WILL use lots of data, however... But it's always "on the ready" - it will immediately download emails in seconds.

However, you can run properly-designed instant messengers (such as BlackBerry's branded Google Talk) all day long, and into the next day. They are optimized to intermittently update their status in a battery-friendly manner. However, heavy chatting will eat up the battery -- expect battery usage to be similiar to active talk time. (i.e. 4 or 5 hours of intensive chatting. Or about 24 hours of idling plus maybe 3 hours of intensive chatting)

GSM devices are more battery-friendly than CDMA devices however. This is compensated somewhat by the 8830's larger battery, though.

If you like the thought of an "ALWAYS-ON" Internet connection in your pocket - look no further. The BlackBerry is great at keeping Internet at the ready...

[JasonSuave]

Another downside I noticed with the Q was that the battery life correlated with reception. If you're in a good signal area, you can surf the internet for hours on the Q. In a bad signal area, your phone will be dead within an hour. Does the 8830 have similar characteristics, or is the batter life independent of signal quality?

[mmohn01]

I beleive that is with any phone. If the phone is trying hard to keep a signal, it wears on the battery a bit.

[JaredH]

I used to own a Q and the battery life made me want to kill myself. I now own the 8830 and I charge the battery every other day. If I have a full battery I can go two days with only 2 bars down with about 30 minutes of solid internet browsing each day. I charge it just incase I need to browse for longer. I could probably make it 3 days if I really wanted to.

I used the internet a lot when I first got my 8830 and I could easily browse and have enough battery life by the time I went to bed.

On my Q I had to charge the battery every night or fear of battery death an hour after I wake.

The 8830 is 100% faster than the Q as well. It's much more user-friendly with txt/email/gmaps/everything. The only draw back to the 8830 is that I cant listen to XM radio on it, where as it was possible on the Q. But still, the battery died way to fast.

Switch to the 8830 you will not regret it, I guarantee it.

plus, your just a straight up baller with a BB. The ladies will ouhh and ahhh.

[jlbdca]

Yes, if the radio needs to be boosted to get reception, that's going to drain battery faster. If you're in an area where the radio spends time searching for signal that's going to drain battery.

[greggebhardt]

As I said, there is NO comparison. The Blackberry will run circles around the Q. You simply will not need to worry about the battery any longer. You will be set free to use as you wish.

Get one and you will believe.

[tomtheguitarguy]

Originally Posted by perfectlyfailing

I made the switch from Q to 8830. No regrets, its an awesome unit!

Ditto!

Although I do miss Flash and Streaming Video - the stability of the 8830 keeps me on it. Hmm. maybe i should fire up the old Q just for the video stuff.

tomtheguitarguy

[maxima]

No contest! Used to have a 7100 and switched to a Q - I have early adopter disease. Lasted a year and having gone back and picked up an 8830 I can't believe how the ease of use and response times blow the Q away. For pure business tasks - sending emails and calls from a phone book or a list, switching between numbers, etc - the BB is a much better choice. Oh yes, battery life is way better. Also, for some reason, I used to have to reboot my Q once or twice daily. The 8830 is just purely stable. The only thing I miss are a few windows apps (eWallet).

[nyyrules@gmail.com]

I debated Q or 8830... 8830 or Q and in the end it was and still is.. All about the berry. Weight bout the same and the device is just awesome - end of story. Now battery life? Yeah all day and night, usually charge it over night and another option is get an extra charger. One at work one at home, if you have heavy usage charge and u'r good to go. By the way.... Get the memory disk and you can add u'r fav music, pics and you'd have a near Iphone, a third of the cost.

[DSS597]

My cousin has a Motorola Q with Sprint and I'm trying to get him to switch to the BB 8830. He says the main reason he won't do it is because the BB 8830 might have problems pairing up to his Bluetooth in his BMW. Go figure. I paired my 8830 in his car with no problem. Oh well.

[Berry One]

Originally Posted by JasonSuave

I'd be using the phone primarily for email, voice calls and internet. I'd say on an average day, I spent and hour for calls, an hour checking/reading/writing emails, and another hour with the mp3 and internet.

You are almost a perfect description of an ideal blackberry user.

There may be stuff that blackberries can't do keeping people locked to other smartphones, but for what blackberries can, and they really can what you want, they are best in their class.

The battery on blackberry will not dissapoint you.

[bjack56]

I'm a Q user on the fence right now, in here doing research...you guys are pulling me overrrrr.....

[TeamWRX]

If you own a Q right now and your reading this, MAKE THE SWITCH. I cant even begin to tell you how much I hated the Q. I honestly would be taking up to much bandwidth on here if I even tried to make a list.

Besides the half azz batter life, the typing on the Q sucked. Half the time when I was texting or writing an email, some of the letters wouldn't register and I would have to go back and re-check what I typed and then fix it before sending it out. It was absolutely ridiculous. Not only that, but Windows sux wether its mobile or not. The phone took a year to boot/reboot. And the interface is to slow. All the opposites of the 8830.

I'm telling you, if you make the switch from the Q to the 8830, the only thing you'll be sorry about is not making the switch earlier.

If your reading this now, go post your Q up on eBay, let it sell for about 275-300 (if you have extras) and go get yourself an 8830. Trust me.

[Tritan]

Originally Posted by Mark Rejhon

It can sustain an idling Internet connection pratically all day long -- BlackBerries don't have a connect/disconnect procedure like Windows Mobile phones do. It's 'always on' - it is your pocket DSL or Cable connection.

Active data transmissions WILL use lots of data, however... But it's always "on the ready" - it will immediately download emails in seconds.

However, you can run properly-designed instant messengers (such as BlackBerry's branded Google Talk) all day long, and into the next day. They are optimized to intermittently update their status in a battery-friendly manner. However, heavy chatting will eat up the battery -- expect battery usage to be similiar to active talk time. (i.e. 4 or 5 hours of intensive chatting. Or about 24 hours of idling plus maybe 3 hours of intensive chatting)

GSM devices are more battery-friendly than CDMA devices however. This is compensated somewhat by the 8830's larger battery, though.

If you like the thought of an "ALWAYS-ON" Internet connection in your pocket - look no further. The BlackBerry is great at keeping Internet at the ready...

ok, I don't want to hijack the thread , but i recently switched to a Treo I have had it two weeks and wondering if I made a bad choice . I have to pull email which doesn't always log onto the network so then i have to wait a few minutes then try again. I also have wondered about call quality of the 8830 to the Treo as the Treo seems quite. I tryed to download a program called volume care but it didn't do any good its still soft.

My main features I want are good phone quality, good battery life, email, todo list and calendars are a must. I also feel the Treo is bulk and heavy compare to my I880 flip phone

In order to make a call on my Treo i have to hit the power button to power up, hit the center toggle to unlock the keyboard, hit the phone key(3 clicks) then start to type the name of the person to find them in the phone list(4) then toggle to there number and highlight (5 ) then hit the send.

How does the BB8830 work?

I also have had strange resets, white screens in the internet browser and other issues. I am wondering how stable the BB 8830 interface is compared to blazer?

[bjack56]

I'm not in the "hate" part of a love/hate relationship with the Q yet..only had it 2 months. So far, the "challenges" had been interesting and I've been able to address (fix) them all, which sorta makes me feel like my own little hero.
I can see it getting old after time though, and don't see how super-me is going to cure the less-than-stellar battery life.

[bubbatex]

I have had a Q since they arrived at Sprint. It has been frustrating at times, but with a Seidio 2100 extended battery and the latest MOL update, it is working well right now. However, the keyboard is driving me nuts. It is a good PHONE but not necessarily a good business tool. I use email a lot on it. I am looking at the 8830 and the Mogul. The primary reason I have not jumped on the 8830 yet is the data costs. I have free PV right now, so moving to a BB would cost me additional money to Sprint ($40/mo) and another $15/mo with my Exchange provider.

BTW - is everyone here happy with the 8830's keyboard compared to other devices you have used?