[LCC]

So I have an 8700, 8800, 8310, and 8110. Most recently used the Curve and Pearl. My curve died and switched to the Pearl, but could never get use to the non-Qwerty keyboard. So I pulled my 8800 out of the drawer until AT&T releases the Bold. I realized how solid my 8800 is. Its fast, battery lasts an extremely long time, and compared to my Curve and Pearl, just seems better.

Those of you who have both the Bold and the 8800, did the the Bold satisfy you? How is battery life on the Bold compared to the 8800? I don't think I could go back to a Pearl or a Curve after my trusty 8800 has performed so well, and would be disappointed if the Bold couldn't best my 8800. If the 8800 or 8820 had a camera, I would likely keep it.

Thanks for the input.

[gfunk11]

Wirelessly posted

What specific feature are you interested in? As for the Bold, there's a long list of excellent features that it has, 3G, WiFi, VGA screen, awesome. Faster processor, and so on. You could search this forum to find the rest.

latest OS' are fixing bugs that have been out there for quite a while. That includes memory leaks, batt life as the 2 main qualms with Bold owners. Newest .162 has fixed the batt life to a certain extent, however better memory and apps mgt are still lacking. Maybe newer OS will solve that.

It really is up to u. If you like the sturdiness of the 8800, then keep it. If you want a power tool... Get the BOLD. Personal preference buddy!

[Swede]

Have used a 8703, a Pearl and most recently a Curve. I now carry a IPhone, I must admit, it has gotten my attention and the width and vividness of the screen is a lot to be desired. Oh yea, I can open .xls, .doc, .ppt and .pdf with it and havent had to download anything. So far, I am impressed. I guess to each their own. My .02.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Swede

Have used a 8703, a Pearl and most recently a Curve. I now carry a IPhone, I must admit, it has gotten my attention and the width and vividness of the screen is a lot to be desired. Oh yea, I can open .xls, .doc, .ppt and .pdf with it and havent had to download anything. So far, I am impressed. I guess to each their own. My .02.

So the OP was looking for an 88xx to Bold comparison, and you offer up an iPhone review? Seems helpful.

[Swede]

I thought it might be useful. Oh well........

[Klotar]

I've been an 8800 user for the past 18 months. I always felt that the 8800 has been solid, performed well, and speedy enough for me. This was my first Blackberry (previously Nokia E62 user), so I have no comparison -- the Pearl wasn't for me, the 8820 and the Curve were not out yet.

Then, I got a Bold this past weekend. I had been planning the transition for weeks, because the missus will be getting the 8800 when I upgraded. I was uninstalling software on the 8800 and researching what apps I was used to that would run on the Bold. The apps I would keep, I repurchased new licences for, those that I would no longer be using (or that I was running versions of that would no longer work with the Bold) I researched and looked at alternatives. I downloaded the .162 OS, DM 4.6 and scoured these boards for info.

The Bold is very impressive, 3G service is decent but not stellar where I live, while it does frequently drop to EDGE in my basement; my 8800 would drop to edge about as often in the basement, so I'm not disappointed in signal strength. This is my first Wi-Fi device and I was worried about setting it up on the home wireless network, but it ended up taking, oh... 1 minute! The camera is a novelty to me, and GPS performance is about the same as on the 8800 (satellite acquisition ranging from seconds to 2 mins tops). The screen, oh my, the screen is so sharp, vibrant and easy to read.

Tonight I decided to upgrade the 'ole 8800 from OS 4.2.1.115 to 4.5.0.81. I had not touched the 8800 for two days and it felt foreign to me. I also felt like I was not wearing my glasses when reading the screen (and believe me, I need glasses!). The fonts were so grainy and the icon graphics seemed so blocky... I went upstairs while the OS loaded (generally I ALWAYS sit there watching OS upgrades, but not this time -- it was almost painful).

I was worried about the battery life, but it seems the same to me (I run on 3G & 2G, Wi-Fi on, Bluetooth off), however I've only been running it for 3 days now. It came with OS .134 but I upgraded to .162 as soon as I set foot in the door. On the other hand, I have been playing with it a lot and haven't settled into a normal routine yet. That said, I don't use the phone much as a phone (email, sms, text, rss news, gps stuff yes, phone calls no). In the 18 months I had the 8800, I logged less than 7 hours talk time. So, I don't know about dropped calls and such.

As for the browser, I find most of the waiting is during the "requesting" stage to the RIM servers, the actual retrieval of data from the internet once it starts is very quick (on 3G/Wi-Fi).

Not a very comprehensive review, but I'm happy and doubt I will have regrets.

[LCC]

Very helpful! Thank you so much. Battery life compared to the 8800 is what I was most concerned about. On the 8800 it is excellent. Seems much better than on the 8110 and the 8310 I have.

Originally Posted by Klotar

I've been an 8800 user for the past 18 months. I always felt that the 8800 has been solid, performed well, and speedy enough for me. This was my first Blackberry (previously Nokia E62 user), so I have no comparison -- the Pearl wasn't for me, the 8820 and the Curve were not out yet.

Then, I got a Bold this past weekend. I had been planning the transition for weeks, because the missus will be getting the 8800 when I upgraded. I was uninstalling software on the 8800 and researching what apps I was used to that would run on the Bold. The apps I would keep, I repurchased new licences for, those that I would no longer be using (or that I was running versions of that would no longer work with the Bold) I researched and looked at alternatives. I downloaded the .162 OS, DM 4.6 and scoured these boards for info.

The Bold is very impressive, 3G service is decent but not stellar where I live, while it does frequently drop to EDGE in my basement; my 8800 would drop to edge about as often in the basement, so I'm not disappointed in signal strength. This is my first Wi-Fi device and I was worried about setting it up on the home wireless network, but it ended up taking, oh... 1 minute! The camera is a novelty to me, and GPS performance is about the same as on the 8800 (satellite acquisition ranging from seconds to 2 mins tops). The screen, oh my, the screen is so sharp, vibrant and easy to read.

Tonight I decided to upgrade the 'ole 8800 from OS 4.2.1.115 to 4.5.0.81. I had not touched the 8800 for two days and it felt foreign to me. I also felt like I was not wearing my glasses when reading the screen (and believe me, I need glasses!). The fonts were so grainy and the icon graphics seemed so blocky... I went upstairs while the OS loaded (generally I ALWAYS sit there watching OS upgrades, but not this time -- it was almost painful).

I was worried about the battery life, but it seems the same to me (I run on 3G & 2G, Wi-Fi on, Bluetooth off), however I've only been running it for 3 days now. It came with OS .134 but I upgraded to .162 as soon as I set foot in the door. On the other hand, I have been playing with it a lot and haven't settled into a normal routine yet. That said, I don't use the phone much as a phone (email, sms, text, rss news, gps stuff yes, phone calls no). In the 18 months I had the 8800, I logged less than 7 hours talk time. So, I don't know about dropped calls and such.

As for the browser, I find most of the waiting is during the "requesting" stage to the RIM servers, the actual retrieval of data from the internet once it starts is very quick (on 3G/Wi-Fi).

Not a very comprehensive review, but I'm happy and doubt I will have regrets.

[dbltap]

I think the thing you have to look at is battery life is a very personal and subjective thing. How long is "good" for you vs what is "good" for someone else? How many features are you willing to "tune" to get longer life? I've seen lots of folks talking about turning 3G off until they need it to extend battery life. Others play with the screen brightness and time outs. Some use software that runs all the time that uses more battery. Some turn bluetooth & WifI off and on as needed.

All of these things effect battery performance. That's before we even start talking about actual usage of the phone. Is lasting 7-5 good enough? 7-12? 24 hours? 36? 48? Everyone has a different opinion.

I've been using 3G phones now for a couple of years. I haven't found any of the ones I've used to have a weeks worth of charge. Best case has been 2 days. And that was with a battery pack that required a new backplate for it to fit. I think the 8525 was the worst. Although the original BlackJack was pretty bad. The extended life battery in that helped a lot.

I had the Seido 8800 extended life battery in my 8820. With moderate usage, I could get a couple of days with it. I did notice when I was on a flight and spent 3 or 4 hours reading news feeds it had an effect on the battery. But I could still get through a 24 hour day pretty easily. I use some sleep induction mp3s while I am on international flights. With the 8820, I still had a lot of battery left after 24 hours.

The Bold isn't giving me that kind of life. I have run it down completely while reading, playing a few games and 5 -7 hours of music on those overnight international flights. But I am still getting 24 hours or so even with that kind of usage. I just pop the car adapter into the seat power for a bit before landing and I am fine. Normal days of just surfing and making calls, picking up 50 or so email I get a full day of usage. I keep the screen on for 90 seconds @ 80% brightness. I turn bluetooth and WiFi off when I'm not using them.

Am I upset over this battery performance? Nope. It's pretty much what I expect of a 3G phone. I charge my phone over night every day. I expected to have to do that. I keep it plugged into my computer when I am not away from my desk. If someone expects to charge this phone and have it last 3 days, they will be disappointed. If you don't use common sense in how energy is used, your battery life will be reduced. Only you can decide if the performance is good enough for you.

As a final point, when the BlackJack & 8525 came out, there was loud wailing and gnashing of teeth all over the internet about the battery life. We haven't seen such threads on the Bold. Take that for what it's worth. But most folks seem to be ok with the battery life. Will I get an extended battery when one is available? If I don't have to increase the thickness of the hone with a new back cover, yes. Otherwise, I life the form factor of the Bold too much as it is to change.

As with any subjective opinion..... YMMV. ;)