[MMcNeil]

Putting my love for my 7130g and SureType on the Rogers network, I do believe that as soon as I'm ready for an upgrade (Mar 22!!) that I'll be picking this bad boy up. I'm a Rogers Wireless employee and see everythign that comes into Canada for GSM. I've used them all too. Treo, Nokia, Blackberry, etc. I've always come back to the Blackberrys!

I can't decide if I'll wait for the Camera version in Q2 of this year or just take the plunge and get the 8800 now. I don't really have any need for a camera and the 8800's camera would probably only be 1.3mp again.

Anyone heard anything about the 2nd version of the 8800's camera features?

[finch]

If your a Robbers employee I'd hold out or the 8300 their bond to be ripping the public off shortly after doing the same with the 8800 release. I had the opportunity to play around with the 8800 and here are two most notables I came across: While I didn't think it was possible RIM has outdone themselves with a build quality that could be cheaper then the 8700 (I'm on my third...) The keyboard, awful, right up there with a Treo, they'll tell you different but its just become to cramped. It's still early I like what I see in the pics on the 8300, camera and crap aside that I have no use for the keypad appears to be superior over the 8700 and 8800 in my opinion.

[mortys11]

BG says 8300 has 2MP camera so that is some what respectable for a cam fon...4MP would be nice but we wont see that for another year as 3-4MP ccd sensors drop in cost to manufactures.

ideally a BB with:

full qwerty KB,
4 MP cam,
Video rec+play back,
BT (stereo)
MP3 player,
GPS
MS office ready
built in Spell chk
WIFI
3G
smooth OS
SD Card (4-8 GB are coming)
full html browser
IR capable
sleek and slim

did i forget anything?

[archer6]

Originally Posted by MMcNeil

Putting my love for my 7130g and SureType on the Rogers network, I do believe that as soon as I'm ready for an upgrade (Mar 22!!) that I'll be picking this bad boy up. I'm a Rogers Wireless employee and see everythign that comes into Canada for GSM. I've used them all too. Treo, Nokia, Blackberry, etc. I've always come back to the Blackberrys!

++++++++++++
I have a 7130c that is one of my absolute favorites. A definite keeper.

That said I'm particularly fond of my 8800, which I've had since the day it became available. Now after having a lot of time on it there are a few truly outstanding improvements.

1st) For those of you power users, the keyboard is fantastic.

2nd) The phone is very clear, with great volume & tone.

3rd) Fit & finnish are exemplary.

4th) I see the absence of a camera a big plus.

The reason I say this is I have yet to see a very good camera on any phone. And I've owned a lot of phones as well as researching new phones daily. It's not just a matter of more megapixels to produce a good camera. Want a camera? Buy a Canon. Small, light, inexpensive, great photo's. If one is that interested in a camera on your BB why not wait till the model is released, others provide feedback on it, then make your decision. This process is going to take up to a year.

Get an 8800 now & enjoy!

Cheers...

[backbeat]

Originally Posted by finch

If your a Robbers employee I'd hold out or the 8300 their bond to be ripping the public off shortly after doing the same with the 8800 release. I had the opportunity to play around with the 8800 and here are two most notables I came across: While I didn't think it was possible RIM has outdone themselves with a build quality that could be cheaper then the 8700 (I'm on my third...) The keyboard, awful, right up there with a Treo, they'll tell you different but its just become to cramped. It's still early I like what I see in the pics on the 8300, camera and crap aside that I have no use for the keypad appears to be superior over the 8700 and 8800 in my opinion.

I agree that build quality is not what it was/is in the very early days thru the 62/72xx series. Some thermoplastics are virtually indestructable while others are much more fragile upon impact. Until and unless RIM employs a higher grade/type thermoplastic, it's clear to me also that RIM is devoting considerable resources to the consumer market while increasing their per-unit margin with comparatively lower production costs. A necessary economic evil? It's all subjective, I suppose.

From the initially leaked pics, it doesn't appear likely that the 8300 model is an improvement in build, but may provide a more acceptable feature set.