[Aceshigh]

Hey guys, I'm not a Blackberry owner ....yet.
However, I'm going to be purchasing a PDA/Smartphone here in 2 weeks.
Now, I only have Nextel or Sprint to choose from as carriers.
So my first choice was the XV6700 phone, but I learned that they crash alot
and it's Winblows based......I'm a telecom engineer and don't want to deal with that crap anymore then I need to.

So my next idea was a Treo 700p the palm based one OR the blackberry.
So far I'm hearing raves about Blackberries ...aka Crackberries...lol
So I'm stuck on these 2 models and was hoping someone could shed some light on which is better and why.

Nextel 7100i

Sprint 7130e

Truth be told, I've been a Nextel customer for many years, and lately I'm just sick of the crappy signal I get (FYI I'm in a Chicago major suburb) Plus when I traveled out of state, I hardly got signal in Florida or Missouri where my girlfriend (Verizon) got 4 bars. :(

So the key things I'm hearing is the Sprint network is better, plus the EV-Do high speed gig is better. However, I like the GPS functionality of the 7100i and I don't see the 7130e listing that as an option. Are they the same phones in functionality besides this for the most part ??

Opinions, thoughts?? Help me decide if possible.
Also, FYI, I have a Nextel employee account currently, but I can get a Sprint one too so the pricing of web usage isn't a concern.

[mymitsu3kgt]

No doubt, go with the 7130e. It looks sweeter and is less bulky than the 7100i. It will be much faster with EVDO and the screen is much more brilliant. With the 7130e, you can have MP3 ringtones instead of the crappy ADP ringtones on the 7100i. All and all, the 7130e is a much better handheld.

[triregion]

I had the same decision to make and chose the 7100i. Would have been MUCH easier and cheaper to go with the 7130e and just replace one of my phones on my 5 year old plan with Sprint. Two reasons had me choose the 7100i. First, the GPS. I travel every week and buying a stand alone GPS and using it in rental cars every week was not something I was looking forward to. The Telenav GPS works GREAT! I have had the phone for two months and it has saved me hours of looking at maps and planning my routes to see customers.

Second, the buttons for making phone calls. I had the Treo 650 and hated the phone buttons. When comparing the two side by side in the Sprint store the buttons on the 7100i were easier for me to "feel" without looking at the phone which is a must when most of you calls are made from the car. Don't like looking away from the road to dial.

As far as EVDO goes, I don't use the web function much at all. Ringtones, could care less about them this is a business phone for me and as long as it rings that's all I need/want.

Having to set up a new account with Nextel in addition to my Sprint family plan was a pain but hopefully they will merge the billing of both companies soon and that will save me some money.

I also live in a Chicago suburb and find the Nextel has weak spots but in different areas than Sprint. After 5 years with Sprint I pretty much know them all on my most traveled routes. Nextel has some in different areas but no more than Sprint. I have come to the conclusion after using cell phones for over 20 years (first mobile installed cell phone was in 83) that dead spots are a fact of cell life.

As a Palm phone user since the they were released through my last Treo, Blackberry for email is the standard and I could never go back.

Hope this helps

[DLB]

Hi

I have 1 day to decide between a Treo 650 and a BB 7130e for one of my employees. I use a 7130e myself with Re-director which cause Outlook to lose the connection with our Exchange server on a regular basis, therefore no email until the connection is re-established. My dilemma is do I get her a Treo and use ActiceSync or risk another Re-director installation? She prefers the Treo but I'm not sure how stable and user friendly ActiveSync is. BES is not an option.

Thanks

DLB