[lawnworks]

What is the best blackberry for battery life for call usage? I have a 7100i now and it is dead by 2pm. I like my 7100i because it can take a beating. I had a Pearl, but it is flimsy for my line of work. I have beat the crap out of my 7100i. I can drop it and it will be fine. I have tried the extended OEM battery, but when I drop it the battery falls out and it won't power up for about an hour. If I can't answer calls for 10 hours a day I am losing money. I am in the field and cannot plug into a car charger without missing calls. Any suggestions?

[Stinsonddog]

Any of them that are not 3G. 8800 is very well built. Haven't held one of the new Curves. Get an extended batt and no worries.

[The_conductor]

The pearl seems to be ok if u turn off the gps

[Godzilla07]

If you're staying with Nextel, get the 8350i. Get an Otterbox case for it and you should be fine. It doesn't work with extended batteries however.

[Rhyalus]

The 8820 (or the 8800 series) hands down!

I got the Curve after that one, and was shocked! The Bold was even worse.

I find extended batteries to be critical.

(FYI, I have no experience with the Pearl or Javelin)

Regards,
R

[Dubdub]

Too many variables when trying to say which has best whatever. It really depends on how you use it and where you use it.

I have an 8800 and use it as a phone, a PIM and for email with very limited surfing and GPS. As a result, I can get a couple days out of a charge if I push it. I generally keep it topped up however, just in case. Phone usage make a big difference in how long the battery lasts. More calls, less battery life.

As someone mentioned, a non-3G device should have better battery life than a 3g, especially if you are in a fringe area and it is constantly searching in and out of 3g.

The same is true if you surf a lot, the more you surf, the more battery is needed.

So the answer to your question must consider too many variables to come up with one definitive response, IMHO.

My suggestion is to keep a charger handy if you are in your car and carry an extra battery if you use it that much.

[lawnworks]

My primary use is for the phone is taking calls. I don't typically surf at all, but I do use it for e-mail. Maybe I will try an 8820.

[Dubdub]

3G doesn't matter much in that case.

[david9962000]

Yeah, an 8820 with a rubber sleeve.

[snowwy66]

i tried the 8330 with sprint last weekend. battery life seemed to be ok. spent most of the first day loading apps. but the second day i tried the gps. first thing in morning. gps killed a full battery in 20 minutes. plus it was slow. i'm guessing becuase of the battery drain. i just bought the thing so i didn't buy a car charger for it yet. so i had a dead phone most of the day. this weekend i'm trying the storm on verizon. pulled phone off charger and went to bed. it was full. by morning there was only one bar. charged it to 2 bars. pulled batter out. an hour later i put battery back in phone and no juice to power phone up.

i did a search and see no complaints. did i win the draw and get two seperate phones with defective batteries? was there a lousy batch that got sent from china? or where ever? i'm liking the blackberry but man. the phone is no good if i to spend more time charging then actually using. i can see applications maybe being a problem. but when the battery is actually pulled out and still goes dead. SHEESH.

3 1/2 years ago i had my first winmo5 phone. after 6 months the battery was shot. bought a brand new battery for 15 bucks on internet. took two weeks for delivery. but it worked much better then original ever did. cheapest i've been able to find for blackberry is 45 bucks. but i'm within my return policy so i might as well save my money.

[lawnworks]

Forgot to mention I need it to be a nextel compatible phone... that rules out the 8820.

[rambo47]

If the absolute arbiter of usefulness to you is battery life, perhaps you should go REAL old school. Something like the 7250 might be just the thing.

[dc/dc]

Originally Posted by rambo47

If the absolute arbiter of usefulness to you is battery life, perhaps you should go REAL old school. Something like the 7250 might be just the thing.

The 7250 will still operate on 3G CDMA networks though.

Unfortunately, all iDEN devices are battery hogs, including the old 7520 and 7510. The 8350i should be better, but it will be marginal at best.

I would honestly suggest switching off of Sprint iDEN, getting a GSM carrier, and getting an old 6230. The monochrome screen and GPRS-only capabilities will give you extraordinary battery life.

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by lawnworks

If I can't answer calls for 10 hours a day I am losing money. I am in the field and cannot plug into a car charger without missing calls. Any suggestions?

How much actual talk time do you need? You might just have to carry a spare battery and get a spare battery charger.