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walds11 · 11-21-2009, 06:19 AM

I received my 9700 on Wednesday. Used it Wednesday evening. Yah know what, not sure if it is a keeper. I immediately switched back to my iPhone 3GS that evening.

The good...

-The trackpad is superb.
-OS is nice, quick and snappy.
-Nice form factor.
-The camera is not bad, nice to have a flash.
-The video recorder is nice.

Other than that, I am not that crazy about it. The device feels VERY small, although a nice form factor. The keyboard is very cramped. The browser absolutely sucks!!! Build quality is decent, but not as good as I would of thought out of RIM's latest device. If the 9000 had the trackpad and better camera, I may consider it. The 9000 is a brick in my opinion. It's much wider and thicker than the iPhone, but possibly doable. The iPhone is a tank compared to BB devices. I guess I will be sticking with my iPhone for now. I did use a BB (8700, 7130, 8100, 8110 and 8900) for about 3 1/2 years prior to getting my iPhone in June.

akosnitzky · 11-21-2009, 07:07 AM

Wirelessly posted (Lets Go Canes!)

Thank you for your feedback.

ifonline · 11-21-2009, 07:08 AM

Hm... the 9000 is 2.6 inches wide and .59 inch thick, while the iPhone is 2.4 inches wide and .48 inch thick. That's less than 1/4 inch wider and a shade over 1/10 inch thicker... not sure that qualifies as much wider.

The browser on BlackBerry devices is passable at best, but definitely pales in comparison to the iPhone browser (or any other Webkit browser, really), so I will definitely agree with you about that. RIM has bought a company that specializes in Webkit development with plans to revamp the browser... hopefully sooner rather than later.

I have had all of the iPhones except the 3GS, so I can understand the lure of the iPhone. Plus, I took a trip a few days ago to check out the HTC Droid Eris, and I thought the phone was an amazing device (possibly more capable than the 3GS even). And at $99 on a new contract with Verizon, a heck of a buy. But, like the iPhone, it fails to do what I have come to rely on with the BlackBerry.

That said... I have always kept my eye on the iPhone to see what's new, and now I have added the Android OS to my watch list. Who knows what will happen next year, but for now, I'm going for the 9700. The form factor is exactly what I am looking for in a device, and since getting the 9000, I have always wanted the Bold in an 8900 size. The 9700 is it, plus it has the added bonus of the trackpad versus trackball. I have been bitten several times by a failed trackball.

walds11 · 11-21-2009, 07:24 AM

Not much of a difference in dimensions when looking at those numbers on paper, but the 9000 feels and carries much bigger in my opinion.

I'll stick with my iPhone 3GS until RIM releases something to my liking. I do miss some stuff on the BB...multi-tasking, LED light, more customization, full QWERTY keyboard and a few other minor things. It's taking me a while, but I am actually getting used to the touchscreen keyboard. Landscape mode makes it much easier. And I like having full access to my yahoo email (old emails in inbox, folders, etc). I do a lot of web browsing and nothing beats the Safari browser.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ifonline

Hm... the 9000 is 2.6 inches wide and .59 inch thick, while the iPhone is 2.4 inches wide and .48 inch thick. That's less than 1/4 inch wider and a shade over 1/10 inch thicker... not sure that qualifies as much wider.

The browser on BlackBerry devices is passable at best, but definitely pales in comparison to the iPhone browser (or any other Webkit browser, really), so I will definitely agree with you about that. RIM has bought a company that specializes in Webkit development with plans to revamp the browser... hopefully sooner rather than later.

I have had all of the iPhones except the 3GS, so I can understand the lure of the iPhone. Plus, I took a trip a few days ago to check out the HTC Droid Eris, and I thought the phone was an amazing device (possibly more capable than the 3GS even). And at $99 on a new contract with Verizon, a heck of a buy. But, like the iPhone, it fails to do what I have come to rely on with the BlackBerry.

That said... I have always kept my eye on the iPhone to see what's new, and now I have added the Android OS to my watch list. Who knows what will happen next year, but for now, I'm going for the 9700. The form factor is exactly what I am looking for in a device, and since getting the 9000, I have always wanted the Bold in an 8900 size. The 9700 is it, plus it has the added bonus of the trackpad versus trackball. I have been bitten several times by a failed trackball.

ifonline · 11-21-2009, 07:31 AM

E-Mail is something else I forgot... I'm on BES so my work e-mail is handled perfectly. Why on earth RIM won't incorporate proper IMAP for BIS accounts is beyond me, however. I miss the IMAP support that the iPhone (or virtually any other smartphone) has.

walds11 · 11-21-2009, 07:41 AM

That's the term I was looking for, IMAP support. It's a great thing.

I wonder if AT&T will get a touchscreen BB like the Storm? Pretty cool device, but the touchscreen does not compare to the iPhone's touchscreen. From what I remember playing with it in the VZW store, I really had to push down on the screen to get things to work.

Oh and what about a touchscreen BB with a slide out keyboard? That would be pretty cool.

I bought the 9700 at no-commitment, so my line is still eligible for an upgrade waiting for that next "perfect" device

Not sure if I will return the 9700 for a credit to my credit card or sell it.

sean76 · 11-21-2009, 09:02 AM

I agree with u about the build quality 100%! I am a very big blackberry fan, and I always will be. However my iPhone 3gs is just lite years ahead of anything that rim has ever put out as far as construction is concerned. I'm not impressed by the my new 9700. Very loose and shotty feel. Maybe I got a lemon! Either way I'll be sticking to my trusty 8900 for my business line, and rolling with my 3gs for personal. Hopefully Rim will get there act together and stop making phones that all are exactly the same, with the exception of a few chorome pieces. I hope so, cause I would love to have one device that does it all. Let's go Water loo...

zGuy · 11-21-2009, 10:38 AM

iPhone = AT&T. Nuff said!

SmoothOperator · 11-21-2009, 11:14 AM

Dude, thanks for the input. I was just about to buy a 9700. As I predicted, the browser would suck. I have a 3GS 32GB, but I can't stand the lack of keyboard, not to mention AT&T's connectivity issues. Time to consider the Droid!

walds11 · 11-21-2009, 11:43 AM

I have absolutely no problems with AT&T. Also, I am starting to get over the lack of a physical keyboard. Landscape mode works great. I make too many typing mistakes when using the keyboard in portrait mode.

leicashot · 11-21-2009, 01:25 PM

I love my BB 9700 but inexperieced BB users/iphone users won't be thrilled with the device unless they're not in need of the iphone features.

The iphone is definitely the most solid (build/software) device ever created....but good luck with the poor battery life....my main reason for stick with the Berry, well that and the BBM, allowing seemless instant communication, even internationally - nothing the iphone has can match it.

jzarowitz · 11-21-2009, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walds11

I received my 9700 on Wednesday. Used it Wednesday evening. Yah know what, not sure if it is a keeper. I immediately switched back to my iPhone 3GS that evening.

The good...

-The trackpad is superb.
-OS is nice, quick and snappy.
-Nice form factor.
-The camera is not bad, nice to have a flash.
-The video recorder is nice.

Other than that, I am not that crazy about it. The device feels VERY small, although a nice form factor. The keyboard is very cramped. The browser absolutely sucks!!! Build quality is decent, but not as good as I would of thought out of RIM's latest device. If the 9000 had the trackpad and better camera, I may consider it. The 9000 is a brick in my opinion. It's much wider and thicker than the iPhone, but possibly doable. The iPhone is a tank compared to BB devices. I guess I will be sticking with my iPhone for now. I did use a BB (8700, 7130, 8100, 8110 and 8900) for about 3 1/2 years prior to getting my iPhone in June.

interested in selling it to me?

rifleman · 11-21-2009, 01:44 PM

I used the iphone for a week just to really give it a go. And honestly, I hated it! I could ot wait to go back to my BB. Messaging on iPhone is HORRIBLE. BB rocks this by far. And the battery life??? WTH! That sucked too. The 9700 was tested and it ran for 39 hours straight playing music. Lets see the iPhone try that and not die within 4 hours.

The iPhone is cool, but not a workhorse like BB. Everything takes too many steps to do. Sorry, I will never use the blasted device.

walds11 · 11-21-2009, 02:51 PM

I can easily go all day (my useage day is usually 7:00am-9:00pm) on a full charge and that's with heavy Internet use, moderate emailing and light phone calls. No complaints there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leicashot

I love my BB 9700 but inexperieced BB users/iphone users won't be thrilled with the device unless they're not in need of the iphone features.

The iphone is definitely the most solid (build/software) device ever created....but good luck with the poor battery life....my main reason for stick with the Berry, well that and the BBM, allowing seemless instant communication, even internationally - nothing the iphone has can match it.

Let me think about it. I may just return it and get my $ back (credit my credit card).

Quote:

Originally Posted by jzarowitz

interested in selling it to me?

See above about battery life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rifleman

I used the iphone for a week just to really give it a go. And honestly, I hated it! I could ot wait to go back to my BB. Messaging on iPhone is HORRIBLE. BB rocks this by far. And the battery life??? WTH! That sucked too. The 9700 was tested and it ran for 39 hours straight playing music. Lets see the iPhone try that and not die within 4 hours.

The iPhone is cool, but not a workhorse like BB. Everything takes too many steps to do. Sorry, I will never use the blasted device.

torberry · 11-21-2009, 04:03 PM

Just wanna give props to RIM for the media player. Not that it's a big bump from 4.0 to 5.0 but I gotta say that I honestly think it's superior to iphone/ipod. I mean you download a song and just drag and drop it into your music folder. I find that itunes takes forever to load and I don't trust what's it's doing in the background. The RIM player can organize playlists, play by artist, album, genre, or song. It's works perfectly for me and I use it daily in car and working out. I find the whole ipod interphase to be too many steps to play a damn song!

Just my thoughts...

leicashot · 11-21-2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rifleman

I used the iphone for a week just to really give it a go. And honestly, I hated it! I could ot wait to go back to my BB. Messaging on iPhone is HORRIBLE. BB rocks this by far. And the battery life??? WTH! That sucked too. The 9700 was tested and it ran for 39 hours straight playing music. Lets see the iPhone try that and not die within 4 hours.

The iPhone is cool, but not a workhorse like BB. Everything takes too many steps to do. Sorry, I will never use the blasted device.

While I agree about the battery life and messaging....the 9700 sound quality for music playback is sub-par to the iphone.

sean76 · 11-21-2009, 07:51 PM

In general, the back and fourth about what phone is better is useless here guys. There 2 very different devices. I love Rim, but they need to step there game up! Build quality is not as good as it should be, and the browser is about 5 years ago. With that said I still use one. Email is the best, bbm is great, and as a phone it works fairly well. But my iPhone is just an animal! Too many things to list, nay Sayers be quite please! The iPhone is one of the best built devices, on the planet! And the blackberry platform is great, it just needs to be tweeked. I use both a berry and an iPhone, so I support both devices, and companies!

miamirulz29 · 11-21-2009, 11:05 PM

I have used the Bold 9000, the motorola Droid, and the iPhone 3gs.
Here is what I can tell you:
iPhone:
-Browser better than any other phone (although Droid comes to a close second)
-battery life fine for my use.
-had all the apps I need
-for some reason I have not been able to get used to the touch screen keyboard so its hard for to me to use the Iphone
-the os does not allow much customization
-the display is nice but not as good as the bold and droid
-whenever I held it always felt like it would fall out of my hands
-no multitasking
-call quality good
Bold 9000
-browser is lacking compared to other browsers
-emails is the best
-has an os that you can customize, but sometimes wish you could do more
-battery life is fine for my use
-has all the apps I need
-has the best keyboard I have used yet
-has a great form
-the display is better than the iphone but not as good as the droid
-multitasking is great
-call quality good
Droid
-the browser is fine definitely better than blackberry, but not yet up to par with the iphone
-email is like any other smartphone except blackberry
-you can customize
-android will surprise many users. They did a great job with this os.
-I like the fact that it has a keyboard (but they could have done a better job with the keyboard) and its touchscreen.
-has all the apps you need
-battery life is fine for my use
-has a great form (though a bit skinny)
-display is the best of the three (I was amazed when saw the droid's display)
-multitasking is great
-call quality good

One thing I forgot to mention: the processor was good an all of them so I they were quick and snappy.

bimmerny · 11-22-2009, 08:53 PM

the Droid is really starting to grow on me but i dont know about Verizon...

TS6141 · 11-23-2009, 07:25 AM

The droid made one mistake....no global card so inability to roam overseas...if it had that I may consider one but since it doesn't I can't as I travel overseas sometimes for work.

Nothing integrates with the workplace email like a BB, if they made a smartphone that did or one that did it almost as well I would consider it but so far I haven't seen anything that catches my eye.

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Bye-bye 9700...