[simulator]

Originally Posted by BlitzSix

RIM may need some help regarding build quality but the battery door comment doesn't make sense, the battery door is the sturdiest part of the 9700. It's super tight until you push down on that part, great design. I would never choose an unremoval battery, THAT in itself is a greater design flaw that a battery cover that creaks.

I was referring to the battery door on the 8900. I agree the battery door on the 9700 is perfect.

[sean76]

I just exchanged for another 9700, and this one has by far the worst build quality of any berry that i've gotten. The sides are extremely clickly and loose, the battery door does not line up at all with the device itself, and insanely enough the screen is lop sided. Yes the LCD is not straight at all. Sounds nuts, but true. This thing is put together like garbage in my opinion. This is try number 3. Could be a batch problem, all said 11/17 delivered, made in Mexico.

But lets be honest here. The original Bold was $399 with a $100 rebate. The 8900 was $299 with a $100 rebate. And now the 9700 which is supposed to be the Bold 2 is selling for $149 with a $100 rebate. So at the end of the day it'll run you $50! Sorry in English that translates into cheaper materials, and sub par build quality.

I will stick to my 8900, and see what RIM puts out next. If they continue this trend with lower quality devices, they will loose in the end. Especially when HTC and Apple are putting out devices for fairly good prices, with great Build quality.

[ifonline]

Strange. I don't have any issues with mine. Build quality is fine. Oh well.

[quillhill]

I finally switched over from my original Bold last night ... I ordered it from Premier on Monday because I knew I wouldn't have a chance to get to a store anytime soon to buy one. It's a risky move to buy a device sight unseen but I have been quite impressed with the build quality in the short period of time I've used it. I want to put a case or skin on it, though, because I don't want to scratch the hell out of the silver bezel.
Being a first batch device I'll cross my fingers and hope it doesn't suffer from any issues. My first Curve was a first batch phone and I had to exchange it ... it wasn't till the 8310 that it was right, so three Curves.
But my original Bold, purchased on launch day was excellent, so it's hit and miss.
Looks like my 9700 was made in Mexico. Wee.

[torberry]

Originally Posted by sean76

I just exchanged for another 9700, and this one has by far the worst build quality of any berry that i've gotten. The sides are extremely clickly and loose, the battery door does not line up at all with the device itself, and insanely enough the screen is lop sided. Yes the LCD is not straight at all. Sounds nuts, but true. This thing is put together like garbage in my opinion. This is try number 3. Could be a batch problem, all said 11/17 delivered, made in Mexico.

But lets be honest here. The original Bold was $399 with a $100 rebate. The 8900 was $299 with a $100 rebate. And now the 9700 which is supposed to be the Bold 2 is selling for $149 with a $100 rebate. So at the end of the day it'll run you $50! Sorry in English that translates into cheaper materials, and sub par build quality.

I will stick to my 8900, and see what RIM puts out next. If they continue this trend with lower quality devices, they will loose in the end. Especially when HTC and Apple are putting out devices for fairly good prices, with great Build quality.

It's you brother, it's you.

My Rogers 97-hun is SOLID. No creaks from day one. 8900 was great too, Curves and prior were very plastic. Bold 9000 is great for a woman who carries in purse or someone with big fingers.

If you have normal size fingers and hands then there is no comparison to any other RIM device. It's just the best out there. It's like saying, you know I really love my 67 Vette and I think it peforms better than an 09 ZR1. Nonsense. You have every right to your preference but you can't compare the features. They just keep bringing new features into every device that build on prior ones. 97-oh-oh has the latest. Not that you need every feature by any stretch or should bother upgrading over 8900 or 9000 (I wouldn't if the money mattered to me) but it is just better! And the lower release price has more to do with competition with the iToy and Droid then the quality of the device btw.

All in all I would not upgrade over 8900 though. Difference is very minimal so only if you get a really good deal it is worth it. I personally find 3G to be a massive gimmick. Rarely do I notice the increased speed.

[Joshiyama]

1 week later and mine is still as solid as when I took it out of the box.

[sean76]

Originally Posted by torberry

It's you brother, it's you.

My Rogers 97-hun is SOLID. No creaks from day one. 8900 was great too, Curves and prior were very plastic. Bold 9000 is great for a woman who carries in purse or someone with big fingers.

If you have normal size fingers and hands then there is no comparison to any other RIM device. It's just the best out there. It's like saying, you know I really love my 67 Vette and I think it peforms better than an 09 ZR1. Nonsense. You have every right to your preference but you can't compare the features. They just keep bringing new features into every device that build on prior ones. 97-oh-oh has the latest. Not that you need every feature by any stretch or should bother upgrading over 8900 or 9000 (I wouldn't if the money mattered to me) but it is just better! And the lower release price has more to do with competition with the iToy and Droid then the quality of the device btw.

All in all I would not upgrade over 8900 though. Difference is very minimal so only if you get a really good deal it is worth it. I personally find 3G to be a massive gimmick. Rarely do I notice the increased speed.

Nope not just me, 2 guys in my place returned as well! One said the track pad was unresponsive, and the other guy said he couldn't lower or raise the volume and it was stuck in the middle, even after a hard reset, so he wound up just going over to Vzw for the Tour. I seriously think the price reflects the build quality. How can u compare an original Bold at $399 at launch, and now this one at $49 after a rebate. at&t and RIM are not into losing money, no way! My feeling is that this round of devices are made cheaper then past devices, just my 2 cents. I'm a phone, Tech junkie, and I can just tell the difference with a device that's made really well, and one that's not.

All in all, it does not matter one bit, people will still buy, and they will still be overly mass produced. Think about it, kids that used to have sidekicks, now have Blackberries. The mass appeal is a broad range now, not just to the business market.The Curve was the beginning of a global take over for RIM. I love the way they have grown. I'm just saying, maybe better materials. and a little bit more attention would go really far. But in any event, my words mean nothing to a giant company like RIM. I'll continue to rock a berry, as will my wife, my brother, and my Father at 60 years old. Guess U can say I'll be sticking to my trusty 8900 for right now.

[The_Omegaman]

I don't believe it can be accurately said that one phone is better than another. I think, as some have said, that it depends on what you want it to do, and I guess what your expectations are.

I have a BlackBerry Bold 9700, the first BlackBerry I have personally owned, as well as an AT&T Tilt, and a IPhone 3GS. If the criteria for review is which is most powerful (can do the most things), the AT&T Tilt wins on that front. It can do things none of the others can do (also has BlackBerry support), but with Windows Mobile, they are all difficult to do. A terrible UI (Windows Mobile). If it is ease of use that is important, the IPhone wins hands down, no question. Someone noted that it takes too many steps to do something on the IPhone, as compared to the BlackBerry. I don't see it. The BlackBerry for everything you want to do, has many more clicks and scrolls to get something done than the IPhone. The IPhone is just the simplest phone to use there is.

The BlackBerry is suppose to have the best email of any phone on the planet, and I cannot say it doesn't (all my coworkers use BlackBerries), but haven't seen any real advantage yet. I believe this is due to my inexperience with BlackBerry OS. With both the Tilt and the IPhone, I can create folders to hold my emails, so I might create a folder to store all work emails and one to store all personal emails (on each email account). I then save the emails I want to the folder I want. This makes it easier to find a specific email I want, especially on the IPhone. On the BlackBerry I just save them and they all go to the Save Folder, and you have to scroll through the Save folder to try and find the one you want (personal and work as all mixed up together), or search for it, if I can remember the right word to search for. I have not seen a way to create the separate email folders on the BlackBerry, although as I said, I have little experience with BlackBerry, so there probably is a way to do it. The BlackBerrry does put all emails accounts into one folder (icon), and also each one separately, which I like. It has all sorts of features for emails such as flags, that the other two do not.

If Apps are your thing, the IPhone and Tilt win on that front as well. I can download and install a 10MB App on the IPhone in just a few minutes and be using it. I can also do so on the Tilt, but with many more steps. On the BlackBerry, because it will NOT use WiFi to download Apps (that I can see), and instead uses the MediaNet (first thing I removed on the Tilt), does it over the air, and since I have little to no signal in my home, it just took 10 minutes to try and download a 200K App, which eventually failed to download. Also, every time you install a App on the BlackBerry, the phone has to reset. This is usually also true on the Tilt. Not so on the IPhone, the App is available to use immediately after it is downloaded and installed (which is just one step, and over WiFi).

If you are thinking at this point that I am down on the BlackBerry, you would be wrong. I like the 9700 very much so far. I think the email is much more powerful, and I just need to learn the new approach to email that the BlackBerry has. I like typing on the BlackBerry, although the keys are a little close, I can type pretty good on it already. The Tilt keyboard can only be used in landscape mode, and the keys are a little to far apart. I make a number of mistakes typing on the on screen keyboard of the IPhone in portrait mode, and the keys are significantly too far apart in landscape mode.

I will drop comments about the Tilt now by just saying that everything can be done on a Tilt that can be done on any other phone, but all are a pain to do. On the BlackBerry, it is hard to find the App you want, for example Notes, which you have to scroll around to get to the correct folder and then find the App out of the many others. There probably is a way to organize the Home Screen to make this easier. On the IPhone, it is easy to find any App with a flick of the finger.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 looks wonderful, seems to be build very well (so far), can wirelessly sync email, contacts, and calendar free (with Google, IPhone needs MobileMe, not free but works over WiFi, BlackBerry does not), can edit Microsoft Office documents (but cannot create them, the IPhone can handle Office files to, but to do so you must buy an App), feels better in your hand, has a very clear albeit smaller screen, a great keyboard, and is a very beautiful device. I like the way it feels, and so far everything except downloading and installing Apps has worked flawlessly. Note: When I am in a good signal area, downloading and installing Apps has also worked flawlessly.

I like the BlackBerry Bold 9700 very much so far, and intend to use it almost exclusively for work, where as I use the IPhone for personal uses, and the Tilt when I need to do something the other two cannot. This is only a brief discussion on the differences between these phones, and I tried to discuss points not previously mentioned. There are many, many others, too many to mention. I think once I learn the BlackBerry OS, and if the phone has no problems, I will end up loving the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Note: I did buy my wife a BlackBerry 7100i years ago, and quite frankly, it simply was a complete peace of junk. Must have removed the battery (a con with all BlackBerries) a hundred times to reset that phone to try and keep it working.

The_Omegaman

[MiamiBerry]

Thank you all for your comments, although for some it seemed hard to focus on the subject of build quality.
I got mine yesterday; I got a slight gap on the right side of chrome bezel, just above the volume rocker...lights comes through it. Also, my ENTER key is slightly tight, but responsive.
As much as I would like to have a "perfect" 9700, I am not going to risk getting a worse unit and making multiple trips to the AT&T store...so I will just stick to this one and live with it. After all, it won't be long until another BB comes out....and we all will want that one, right?

[ifonline]

Yep. I can't say my 9700 is perfect, but then I've never owned a phone (iPhone included) that was perfect. And as you said, there is another one just down the road that I'm sure I won't be able to avoid getting!

[sean76]

I hear ya on the it's not perfect thing! But I slightly beg to differ, my alt keys as no pop to it at all, it's like it's not there. That creates a problem and a headache when typing. However I'm in your boat when u say, who wants to risk more of a headache. Seriously, shame on rim for havin no quality control on issues like all of these. I've owned plenty of nokia's and HTC devices...never ever a problem. One device , and that's it! Not 2,3,4,etc! But we'll just have to see what they come to the table with next.

[btaylor1]

may i intrude with a question? a friend suggested 9700 might not charge from standard usb like 9000. is that correct? would prefer not to have to get any adapter if i upgrade from 9000 to 9700

[ifonline]

The 9700 uses Micro USB. I believe all of the newer phones also use Micro USB, so this is the direction that RIM will be taking for USB accessories for their phones, it appears.

[sean76]

Yes all new berrys have a micro USB port! However they returned the port to the left side, which is a little easier to type on while it's charging.

[forefun]

The charcoal/chrome sides are bowing outward already, after only 2 days. I can see inside the unit between the screen and the side trim. At night in the dark, light escapes from between the screen and the trim. There is a little "rippling" of the screen at the bottom if you touch the screen with part of your finger when you are pressing the top row of buttons. Other than that the new OS is great, and I have had no issue with the rest of the build.

[kurizma]

I've had the bold about a week now and it's solid. moving from the curve 8900, it fells much more solid and well built.

The only problem i had was the rubber lining right above the usb port was sticking out a little bit. i pushed it back in and has been fince ever since.

this is by far the best blackberry i've seen. I've had just about every model from ATT since the 72xx series.

Virtually no lag and battery life on 3g is amazing. I'm on Y! Messenger around the clock and can go about 2 full days withough charging.

[illuzioN]

Originally Posted by sean76

I just exchanged for another 9700, and this one has by far the worst build quality of any berry that i've gotten. The sides are extremely clickly and loose, the battery door does not line up at all with the device itself, and insanely enough the screen is lop sided. Yes the LCD is not straight at all. Sounds nuts, but true. This thing is put together like garbage in my opinion. This is try number 3. Could be a batch problem, all said 11/17 delivered, made in Mexico.

But lets be honest here. The original Bold was $399 with a $100 rebate. The 8900 was $299 with a $100 rebate. And now the 9700 which is supposed to be the Bold 2 is selling for $149 with a $100 rebate. So at the end of the day it'll run you $50! Sorry in English that translates into cheaper materials, and sub par build quality.

I will stick to my 8900, and see what RIM puts out next. If they continue this trend with lower quality devices, they will loose in the end. Especially when HTC and Apple are putting out devices for fairly good prices, with great Build quality.

are you kidding me? My 9700 is perfect with no issues whats so ever...

hmmm..

Troll?

[JRawlinson]

My 9700 is rock solid thus far. The gap tolerances are minimal, the keyboard is firm and responsive, the trackpad much better than I ever would have envisioned. I had a brief moment today where I thought my right convenience key was broken, but after googling to see if anyone else had run across this, it turns out you have to depress it even further than the initial 'click' to make the contact.

To sum it up, the 9700 is one beautiful machine. Barring manufacturing defects which could show up in the next few months or so, I think this is powerful enough to be a 5 year phone.

[Joshiyama]

Originally Posted by forefun

The charcoal/chrome sides are bowing outward already, after only 2 days. I can see inside the unit between the screen and the side trim. At night in the dark, light escapes from between the screen and the trim. There is a little "rippling" of the screen at the bottom if you touch the screen with part of your finger when you are pressing the top row of buttons. Other than that the new OS is great, and I have had no issue with the rest of the build.

You must be hard on your phones cause mine still looks brand new like a car off the showroom floor.

[sean76]

Originally Posted by illuzioN

are you kidding me? My 9700 is perfect with no issues whats so ever...

hmmm..

Troll?

Troll? Are u talkin to me new Jack? Easy on how u speak to people, and choose your words a little wiser.