[coppertop]

I have been using a Treo 650 (Cingular) for the past year and a half. Long story short, it's worn out and in need of replacement.

I use the Treo for calender/contacts, occassionally checking email and Web access. I don't need "push email", a camera, or Instant Messaging.

In looking for possible replacement phones, the Blackberry 7130c has caught my eye. Not being familiar with Blackberry I have several questions.

Has anyone on the forums made the switch from Treo to the 7130c? Any regrets?

Does the 7130c download quicker than the Treo 650?

I've read about Cingular's BlackBerry package. Do I have to subscribe to this service to access my POP email or the internet?

Probably most importantly, how good is the phone? I've read high marks with regards to clarity and reception. Are the reviews right?

[tk6790]

Wirelessly posted (7130c: BlackBerry7130/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I have a 7130c and I love it the suretype is real easy to use and easy to learn I suggest you go to a Cingular store and try one out before you get it...I like mine because its not so bulky

[walds11]

I am a new BB user. Started with the 8700c and went to the 7130c for the smaller size. Very good phone. Clarity and reception are great. Suretype is a breeze to learn. Definitely go to a Cingular store and try it out.

Yes, you have to pay for the BB data plan in order to access POP email and the internet. $29.99 per month with a voice plan.

[BBChristopher]

I have been using the 7130c since it was released.
Great phone, I love it. Excellent phone clarity, never have problems with that.

Download speeds are still a little slow. EDGE helps, but still crawls sometimes.

Suretype is easy to get used to... Just check back for mistakes before you send..

Now, go out and get that BB! ha ha ha

[buster]

Originally Posted by walds11

I am a new BB user. Started with the 8700c and went to the 7130c for the smaller size. Very good phone. Clarity and reception are great. Suretype is a breeze to learn. Definitely go to a Cingular store and try it out.

Yes, you have to pay for the BB data plan in order to access POP email and the internet. $29.99 per month with a voice plan.

I have a 8700 and really like the size of the 7130 but as a new BB user I'm shy on the Suretype...sounds like everyone who uses it is cool with it, but at the store it was a royal pain... maybe need to try again.....

[tk6790]

Originally Posted by buster

I have a 8700 and really like the size of the 7130 but as a new BB user I'm shy on the Suretype...sounds like everyone who uses it is cool with it, but at the store it was a royal pain... maybe need to try again.....

see i felt the same way when i went to play with it in the cingular store but the first day i got the 7130c i fell inlove sometimes it pisses you off at first but after a few hours of using it you will love it because it remembers the words you type so when you type the word another time it will come up for you its really fun to use plus if you want to you can use one hang

pin me 2044d4f3

[pft]

I have been using an 7130c for a few months now and have only great things to say about it. I was a long time user of both an 8700 (Cingular) and a Treo 600 (Verizon). I do not miss the 8700c at all - I believe the 7130c is far superior as a phone. I thought I would miss the full keyboard but Suretype for me works great (I actually prefer it now, I am as fast if not faster than typing on a full keyboard and it works like a pseudo-spellchecker). I also like the fact that the keys while small are spaced out a bit which helps significantly with my larger hands.

As far as the Treo is concerned, there are a few things I miss about it. It felt a lot more solid in my hand but that comes at the expense of size and weight (the 7130c is very light and pockatable). The browser was definately faster on the Treo. And finally the Treo (Palm OS) is more intuitive to use (menu/ app nav and touch screen, etc.). That said, given a choice again I would still chose the 7130c.

[That70sGAdawg]

The 7130c IS Great! ^^^^^ What he said above^^^^

[dulcamara]

I've had a 7100g and a 7130c. You should try suretype before you sign a contract. I like it; others don't.

The 7130c is a great phone. I'll keep it until a 3G version comes out.

[archer6]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I have a 8700c & 7130c. As a new user of three weeks I greatly prefer the SureType input methos of the 7130c. It also has the best phone clarity, the best of any phone I've had.

I think the 7130 is the best BB in the product line. I've also spent a day using a friends Pearl. A very nice phone but the keys are too small & close together to do much email, which is fine for many users.

My 8700c has a rather cramped keyboard. So even though it's a full qwerty, it's harder to use and slower than SureType. Another issue is the shape of the keys. At a glance before I owned it they looked normal. Then after I brought it home and began using it I found that the inside vertical edge of each key to be tapered. This has two effects
1) It makes the top surface of the key smaller so you have a smaller surface to push down on.
2) This taper causes my fingers to roll towards the inside and hit two keys at once. This causes a lot of mistakes and a huge slow down.

The SureType is frustrating at the very start so trying it in the store is misleading. After just a few days while I was getting used to it I found it was learning my words & style. Now it's very fast, accurate & fun.
SureType is amazing technology & the 7130c is the best of all worlds. Finally what I enjoy is one handed usage.

[tk6790]

what do you use both of ur bb?

[archer6]

Originally Posted by tk6790

what do you use both of ur bb?

I found this forum after purchasing my 7130c. Well after just one week I was so impressed that I found myself using it far more than I originally anticipated. I had no idea what a great device a BlackBerry is. I was using if for email much more than I thought I would

In reading through many posts here I saw a lot of "Pro Qwerty" keyboard lovers.
So I bought the 8700c to see what a full Qwerty keyboard was like and which of these two would suit me best. Another reason that I wanted to try the 8700 is because the display is a horizontal format as opposed to vertical like the 7130 and the Pearl.

Now that I have used them both for about a month, I find that I use the 8700 during the week for work and personal. The additional viewing area of the display is great.

However the interesting part for me is I do not really care for the Qwerty keyboard. I find it somewhat cramped and the keys are shaped for style as opposed to usability. They have tapered edges which reduces the top surface area that your fingers press on. If your hands are small it's probably ok but I have larger hands.

I wish the 8700 had a keyboard like the 7290, which I find to be really easy to use and fast. It has proper keys and key spacing.

I like the 7130 because it's shaped like a cell phone and very light. It has a very good keyboard with proper key design and spacing. I use that one for the weekends.

Finally I am watching and waiting to see if the 8800 has a good qwerty keyboard. If it is not cramped and the keys are shaped for optimum ease of use, then I will sell the 8700 and replace it with an 8800. From what I've read so far the 8800 looks like a fantastic BlackBerry with many usefull improvements.

[slance66]

I'm new to Balckberry and the 7130C is the only one I've used. So far it's been great and suretype works nearly flawlessly. I'm getting faster all the time. I've heard that the other 7130 phones do not have as much space between the keys, so I can't comment there. The phone itself is clear and loud...and I was using a good Nokia before, the gold standard in GSM reception. I find the form factor of the 7130c is just right. Any smalller and it would compromise usability, and any bigger and I wouldn't want to carry it around.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by slance66

I'm new to Balckberry and the 7130C is the only one I've used. So far it's been great and suretype works nearly flawlessly. I'm getting faster all the time. I've heard that the other 7130 phones do not have as much space between the keys, so I can't comment there.

Greetings and Welcome!

Before I made first BlackBerry purchase decision I went to each carrier that had the 7130 series. I found it interesting how they each have a different case design and keyboard.

I was very happy to be with Cingular, as the 7130c is the best design of all the 7130 models. The other keyboards do not have the same individual keys with proper spacing between so I was quite satisfied that Cingular just happened to have the best one (in my opinion).

Originally Posted by slance66

I was using a good Nokia before, the gold standard in GSM reception. I find the form factor of the 7130c is just right. Any smalller and it would compromise usability, and any bigger and I wouldn't want to carry it around.

I too, have used Nokia's for quite some time and you hit the nail on the head when you said gold standard. However I find that after a month and some extensive travel with my 7130c the pleasant suprize is that it's as good as the Nokia when it comes to clarity and ability to hang onto a signal.

Regarding the form factor of the 7130c I feel the same way, it's the best of both worlds, as you have the BlackBerry features in a phone that looks like a regular cell phone and has a great keyboard. It's also ideal to be able to use the phone one handed, even working with email. Also with SureType I can enter text faster than with the 8700. Therefore I believe that if one of your needs is to process a fair volume of email , I find the 7130c to be the best choice.

For those who only write or respond to the occasional email the 8100 Pearl is a great choice. What I like best about that model is all the attention it is drawing to the BlackBerry Platform. I also looked at one, and found it truly amazing all the features they have packed into a phone so small. A great consumer phone.

I'm crossing my fingers that there will be a better Qwerty keyboard on the 8800 than the one on my 8700. I have enjoyed the slightly larger horizontal screen format on the 8700, however as I mentioned earlier the keyboard is difficult to use. I can live with the large size as it just goes in my briefcase during the week.

That said, if I was going to have just one BlackBerry it's no contest, the 7130c is ideal.

Cheers...

[sheba619]

I just upgraded my phone from a 7105t to the 7130c. I really like the 7130c much better. I think it has a more solid feel than the 7105t and with Edge, the 7130c is much faster for browsing. As far as Suretype or qwerty are concerned, I learned Suretype quickly so I don't miss the full qwerty keyboard or the idea of holding a "brick" to my head when I am talking on the phone.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by sheba619

or the idea of holding a "brick" to my head when I am talking on the phone.

Oh Yes the old Brick to the Head routine..... LOL thanks for the laughs, the humor was the best part of it...

Cheers...

[sla07]

just out of curiosity...and not to jack your thread....but what is replacing the 7130e and/or 7130c?....

[jfreund]

Originally Posted by coppertop

Has anyone on the forums made the switch from Treo to the 7130c? Any regrets?

What they said...

No regrets, even though I am still learning my 7130c and the differences in the BB from the Palm. I really did not want a big phone, and the 7130c is almost as convenient as my old Motorola flip. Much as I love Palm/Treos (I had a 90), I don't want that banging around in my pocket or against my ear

SureType does take some getting used to -- and the in-store test IS NOT useful. It will make it seem worse than it is.

The key is to Keep typing even though it looks on the screen as if the word is garbage. After you're done, it changes to the correct word. Very counter-intuitive but it works.

You can also manually add words to the word list, which is very helpful for names or other words you use often. Words will also add whenever you use them.

Alternatively, you can disable Suretype and use the multi-tap; also, some features only use multi-tap.

For me, the biggest learning curve issue has been finding the right key-letter, since it is laid out differently than either a Qwerty or a regular phone. But I am getting faster.

In short, I'm keeping it.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by jfreund

SureType does take some getting used to -- and the in-store test IS NOT useful. It will make it seem worse than it is.

The key is to Keep typing even though it looks on the screen as if the word is garbage. After you're done, it changes to the correct word. Very counter-intuitive but it works.

You can also manually add words to the word list, which is very helpful for names or other words you use often. Words will also add whenever you use them.

Alternatively, you can disable Suretype and use the multi-tap; also, some features only use multi-tap.

For me, the biggest learning curve issue has been finding the right key-letter, since it is laid out differently than either a Qwerty or a regular phone.

Very Well Said!

Especially the part about learning where the letter key you are looking for is located.

As we all know a regular cell phone is a Three (button) Across keypad.
The 7130c is layed out like a Qwerty keyboard with fewer buttons, therefore it's a Five Across Keypad.
Then there is the full size BlackBerry Qwerty keypad which is a Ten Across keypad. Whew! all the choices...

The point you brought up about the "in store experience" is really true. It's a detriment to sales as I see it. There are those people who upon trying it for the first time in the store are going to say to themselves, wow, this is a very poor input system. Then move onto something else.

This however does point to one advantage of this forum for those who come here before they buy, and that advantage is that they are able to read reports such as yours and find that SureType is actually a great method of text input.

I myself, found that once I decided to have patience and relax, I learned it in a few days. Now I especially prefer it to the full size keyboard on my 8700c.

So much, that I'm seriously thinking of selling the 8700c.

Cheers...

[tmj]

Originally Posted by buster

I have a 8700 and really like the size of the 7130 but as a new BB user I'm shy on the Suretype...sounds like everyone who uses it is cool with it, but at the store it was a royal pain... maybe need to try again.....

There are a few keys (no pun intended) to using suretype:

Most important, type the word without looking at the screen. It will amaze you how often it gets it right. Most of the people who are uncomfortable are the ones who constantly watch the screen while typing. A lot of options go past, but you need to resist the urge to constantly adjust course "in-word". I like to look back every 3-4 words. Some people do it every word, some at the end of sentences.

Let the machine learn your style a bit before getting too hard on it. I have a sizeable contact list (1000+) imported from outlook, which gave me a good jump start (it learns from your contacts). Either way, it does get more accurate rapidly with use.

Last, learn judicious shortcuts for commonly used words and phrases, as well as for the words it gets wrong most, like "get" and "hey".


BTW I love the 7130c. Best phone i've ever had.