[EagleTG]

Ran JBenchmark immediately after a fresh reboot with wireless turned off and Bluetooth disabled. Here are the new results:

JBenchmark 1: 697
Details:
Text: 161
2D Shapes: 167
3D Shapes: 140
Fill Rate: 59
Animation: 170


JBenchmark 2: 46
Details:
Image Manipulation: 40
Text: 113
Sprites: 19
3D Transform: 51
User Interface: 47


Does it make sense that the results are worse with JBenchmark 1 than they were for the first run I posted?! I re-ran with similar results, so I'm confused.

[EagleTG]

Originally Posted by itsj

i like so many am suffering from processor speed issues, my name is J and I am a recovering windows mobile user.

Hahahahah!!! Yeah, we totally need a support group. PDAPhoneHome.com was my previous support group...

[BB Junkie]

Originally Posted by EagleTG

Ran JBenchmark immediately after a fresh reboot with wireless turned off and Bluetooth disabled. Here are the new results:

JBenchmark 1: 697
Details:
Text: 161
2D Shapes: 167
3D Shapes: 140
Fill Rate: 59
Animation: 170


JBenchmark 2: 46
Details:
Image Manipulation: 40
Text: 113
Sprites: 19
3D Transform: 51
User Interface: 47


Does it make sense that the results are worse with JBenchmark 1 than they were for the first run I posted?! I re-ran with similar results, so I'm confused.

Welcome to the world of qualcomm chipset.

[drsimps]

New 8703e on the way tomorrow! Can anyone tell me if the cases for the 8700g will work with the 8703e? I'm looking for a good case and wondered if the other 8700 cases will work with the 8703e. Any recommendations on a good case?

[cdd543]

Originally Posted by EagleTG

I've had mine for about 8 hours now as well. So far, I have no complaints about speed.

A quick comment on my prior post of the JBenchmark results. To be fair, I will re-run the Benchmark without the wireless enabled. After I ran it and posted the results, I wondered if the wireless functionality might have been taking some horsepower in the background. I will re-run after this post.

I administer our BES server at work, and have experience with 6750, 7750, 7250, and 7130e (and the T-Mo and Nextel 7100's).

My previous phone was a Samsung i730 (with the recent Windows Mobile 5 upgrade).

This device "feels" faster than the other models I've used, especially faster than the 7130e. And also MUCH MUCH faster than the i730 in general menu response and navigation. Then again, the i730 was dog slow. I haven't expereinced (or noticed?) any lag in the menus, interfaces, or in anything I've been doing. I'm extremely pleased with the speed.

The screen is incredible, and on-par with the Samsung i730 I came from. I think the keyboard is phenomenal, but anything is better than the i730. I personally like the 8703e keyboard more than the 7250 and 7750 keyboards I've used. The keys on the 8703e are a little closer together as far as I can tell, but they feel bigger in a way.

@cdd543: Browser speed seems OK to me. mobile.blackberry.com was a little slow, but I think it was on their end. Then again, I didn't really notice much problem on the 7130e either. I'm usually in EVDO territory, so maybe that's part of why it feels so nice? Either way, it's definitely on-par with the i730 that I had.

I downloaded the Overlord-Icon theme from mobile.blackberry.com, and MAN it's nice... Very very nice, but then again, I'm a geek.

Some stupid little things I've noticed. I like the fact that the escape key clicks, makes for a much nicer tactile feedback. I also like the added shortcut key on the left edge. So far I love the auto-screen brightness (based on how bright the surroundings are).

Obviously, the 8703e has all of the tweaks that make the BlackBerry awesome. It was tough seeing all of the BlackBerries we were deploying, and how slick they worked... Comparing that to my Samsung i730 and how unstable, unreliable, and generally clunky it was (it doesn't even have a factory NumLock) makes the 8703e feel even nicer. So maybe I'm a bit jaded having used the i730 for the last two years.

As whsbuss mentioned, BBMessenger was not included. Was simple to install, and seems to work fine.

I've already dropped it once because of the dang "launcher" plastic belt holster. I've ordered a better belt clip/case. It can't get here soon enough... Heheh.

All-in-all, I'm extremely pleased with this guy. Then again, compared to the i730 I had, anything would be nice.

Thanks for the info.

[offroadr35]

I got mine today. I've been using the 8700C for 6-7 months.

8703 is definitely slower. Things like changing themes take noticeably longer. However, the browser is noticeably faster. So far the processor isn't slow enough to be annoying to me, and the browser is fast enough that it's a worthwhile upgrade. Other than that, the main difference is that Verizon coverage is way better here than Cingular.

[itsj]

thats good to hear that the processor isn't really that noticeable coming from someone who has had the phone with both providers.

[Smith_RS]

Can someone tell me:

1. Can you download ringtones for the 8703 thru Get It Now / vtext.com ?

2. Can you download polyphonic MIDI files from random sites on the web (not Verizon) and have it work? I mean it worked with the 7250 but only with simple MIDI's that were not polyphonic at all.

Thanks.

[pspiegel]

another question... has anyone been able to sync it yet with a mac using Pocketmac?

[rudyo]

Here are my results from JBenchmark. I turned the radio off, did a fresh reboot and ran JBenchmark.

Radio Off Results:

JBenchmark 1: 1020
Details:
Text: 162
2D Shapes: 167
3D Shapes: 140
Fill Rate: 75
Animation: 476


JBenchmark 2: 50
Details:
Image Manipulation: 47
Text: 115
Sprites: 18
3D Transform: 59
User Interface: 58


I then turned wireless back on.

Radio On Results:

JBenchmark 1: 1001
Details:
Text: 159
2D Shapes: 166
3D Shapes: 133
Fill Rate: 69
Animation: 474


JBenchmark 2: 48
Details:
Image Manipulation: 38
Text: 115
Sprites: 18
3D Transform: 55
User Interface: 57

So the bottom line for me is no appreciable difference between wireless off and on.

I have been a hard core 7250 user (BES) for 1 1/2 years. Here is a short summary of my likes/dislikes on the new 8703.

The screen is fabulous! Much better in daylight/sunlight than the 7130 which I promptly sent back after a short trial because of this issue alone. The screen is incredibly crisp and has very good contrast. The only downside is that many times I would use the 7250 in normal ambient light without the backlight. That obviously changes with the 8703. I was also very used to manually turning on the backlight on the 7250 when it warranted. I'm not sure I like the autolight, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I find the overall speed is noticeably quicker than the 7250, especially when viewing and navigating emails and task switching with the alt/esc keys. It just feel 'snappier' than the 7250.

I love the extra convenience buttons.

I've only used about 8 hours so far, but it feels like it will be harder on battery life than the 7250. Due to heavy daily use, I had a 7250 extended battery. I'm not aware of one for the 8703, so I'm sure I'll struggle a bit with power on a heavy day.

The rings and sounds are much more vivid and bright than on the 7250. I always wanted the 7250 to ring louder. This is louder, but maybe only 20% or so. I probably wish it still had more volume so I didn't feel like I have to always run it at 100%.

Call volume in the earpiece is also louder, but again not so loud that I turned it down from the max. Maybe it is just my hearing getting worse as I get older. The speaker phone works great. Several test calls indicated that the call quality on both ends was more than adequate.

The keyboard is definitely tighter in the horizontal direction with both slightly smaller keys and tighter spacing. The difference though is that the keys are almost square making them appear and feel more defined. This makes the keyboard very useful, even for my large fingers. It will only take a day or two to get used to it.
One thing I have noticed is that there is a small bump or raised area on both sides of the shell or casing right below both the alt key on the left and the enter key on the right. It is placed about right where those keys were on the 7250. Today I have mistaken that bump for those keys many times. This is only a minor irritant though.

I have still yet to find a theme I like, even after downloading a couple from Blackberry. Hopefully someone will find or create a good solid corporate looking theme that is not over the top.

I haven't had a chance to try the bluetooth yet.

Overall I give it a solid A-. This is definitely a keeper!

[NYVZ]

Works great so far. Speed is not an issue, and the browser is very fast. I have been using an 8700g for the past 2 months, and the browser is much faster.

They have changed the keyboard by rounding the edges of some of the keys. I think it make it a little easier, but no significant improvement.

[tjewell73]

Originally Posted by Smith_RS

Can someone tell me:

1. Can you download ringtones for the 8703 thru Get It Now / vtext.com ?

2. Can you download polyphonic MIDI files from random sites on the web (not Verizon) and have it work? I mean it worked with the 7250 but only with simple MIDI's that were not polyphonic at all.

Thanks.

I would also like to know how to load mp3 ringtones...

[hcheun]

Originally Posted by BB Junkie

Welcome to the world of qualcomm chipset.

I should of posted here but here is the link to the post i did in the rumor section

http://www.blackberryforums.com/rumo...tml#post322852

If you guys want to read more about the qualcomm chipset, and the type of processor the 8703e may have just go there

more in depth on what the MSM6500 can do

[ina-nyminute]

Originally Posted by rudyo

Here are my results from JBenchmark. I turned the radio off, did a fresh reboot and ran JBenchmark.

Radio Off Results:

JBenchmark 1: 1020
Details:
Text: 162
2D Shapes: 167
3D Shapes: 140
Fill Rate: 75
Animation: 476


JBenchmark 2: 50
Details:
Image Manipulation: 47
Text: 115
Sprites: 18
3D Transform: 59
User Interface: 58


I then turned wireless back on.

Radio On Results:

JBenchmark 1: 1001
Details:
Text: 159
2D Shapes: 166
3D Shapes: 133
Fill Rate: 69
Animation: 474


JBenchmark 2: 48
Details:
Image Manipulation: 38
Text: 115
Sprites: 18
3D Transform: 55
User Interface: 57

So the bottom line for me is no appreciable difference between wireless off and on.

I have been a hard core 7250 user (BES) for 1 1/2 years. Here is a short summary of my likes/dislikes on the new 8703.

The screen is fabulous! Much better in daylight/sunlight than the 7130 which I promptly sent back after a short trial because of this issue alone. The screen is incredibly crisp and has very good contrast. The only downside is that many times I would use the 7250 in normal ambient light without the backlight. That obviously changes with the 8703. I was also very used to manually turning on the backlight on the 7250 when it warranted. I'm not sure I like the autolight, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I find the overall speed is noticeably quicker than the 7250, especially when viewing and navigating emails and task switching with the alt/esc keys. It just feel 'snappier' than the 7250.

I love the extra convenience buttons.

I've only used about 8 hours so far, but it feels like it will be harder on battery life than the 7250. Due to heavy daily use, I had a 7250 extended battery. I'm not aware of one for the 8703, so I'm sure I'll struggle a bit with power on a heavy day.

The rings and sounds are much more vivid and bright than on the 7250. I always wanted the 7250 to ring louder. This is louder, but maybe only 20% or so. I probably wish it still had more volume so I didn't feel like I have to always run it at 100%.

Call volume in the earpiece is also louder, but again not so loud that I turned it down from the max. Maybe it is just my hearing getting worse as I get older. The speaker phone works great. Several test calls indicated that the call quality on both ends was more than adequate.

The keyboard is definitely tighter in the horizontal direction with both slightly smaller keys and tighter spacing. The difference though is that the keys are almost square making them appear and feel more defined. This makes the keyboard very useful, even for my large fingers. It will only take a day or two to get used to it.
One thing I have noticed is that there is a small bump or raised area on both sides of the shell or casing right below both the alt key on the left and the enter key on the right. It is placed about right where those keys were on the 7250. Today I have mistaken that bump for those keys many times. This is only a minor irritant though.

I have still yet to find a theme I like, even after downloading a couple from Blackberry. Hopefully someone will find or create a good solid corporate looking theme that is not over the top.

I haven't had a chance to try the bluetooth yet.

Overall I give it a solid A-. This is definitely a keeper!

Wow! You touched on some of the things that where my concern:
screen use in direct sunlight, ( I also owned the 7130e and the screen in sunlight was a problem for me)
-The ringer volume on the 7250 is a problem,I'm used to Nextel type of loud, the 7250 is the opposite, I'm glad to see the 8700 is better,plus the "Send & End" keys where great on the 7130.
What about ruggedness, I often drop my 7250 on the ground (i'm always in too much of a rush), I'm not suggesting you drop your unit, but does it seem tough? I think the screen on the 8700 is more fragile, soo that's a big concern for me, so far I'm still happy w/ my 7250, but your review has me thinking. Thanks

[tjewell73]

Ok, I bought the $ 44.00 unlimited data plan and verizon is saying in need to buy the $ 15.00 tether plan in order to use my laptop to surf the internet. There has to be a way to use the unlimited data plan with the laptop to surf the internet...

Please help I pay them enough money as it is

[InPocket]

Originally Posted by itsj

inpocket, i am also a former owner of the xv6700, how does the 8703e compare speed wise to the xv6700. cause that crap box would hang all the time

There is NO comparison!
1. No need to "hack" the bberry to get it to work
2. Dialing is sooo much better
3. Speakerphone...omg
4. Email is tricky because it all goes to the same mailbox, but im getting used to it
5. Browsing is different, its not PIE which is not a bad thing
6. It takes getting used too, but it doesnt take long
7. No more freezes!!!!!

[rudyo]

Originally Posted by ina-nyminute

Wow! You touched on some of the things that where my concern:
screen use in direct sunlight, ( I also owned the 7130 and the screen in sunlight was a problem for me)
What about ruggedness, I often drop my 7250 on the ground (i'm always in too much of a rush), I'm not suggesting you drop your unit, but does it seem tough? I think the screen on the 8700 is more fragile, soo that's a big concern for me, so far I'm still happy w/ my 7250, but your review has me thinking. Thanks

I'll play with it tomorrow some more in the daylight outside, but I don't think sunlight is an issue.
On durability I totally understand your concern. I also have dropped, flipped and launched my 7250 dozens of time with no ill effects (always unintentional!) The 8703 seems to be made from the same type of case as the 7130. I don't think it will be as durable as the 7250, but maybe time will prove me wrong. I'm not saying it is fragile, maybe just not as 'rugged' as the 7250.

Maybe some of the long term 7130 users can chime in....

[packetknife]

Originally Posted by rudyo

I don't think it will be as durable as the 7250, but maybe time will prove me wrong. I'm not saying it is fragile, maybe just not as 'rugged' as the 7250.

Maybe some of the long term 7130 users can chime in....

The 7130e has been a durability nightmare for me. The case itself is not as tightly sealed and in some environments I've worked in I get more grime in the battery case than I'd like to see. The keys clearly get gunked up too.

It has taken spills as well as any other BB I've had and keeps functioning though. So casing aside I can't complain about the usability after environmental or gravity issues.

-Pk

[tjewell73]

Originally Posted by EagleTG

I've had mine for about 8 hours now as well. So far, I have no complaints about speed.

A quick comment on my prior post of the JBenchmark results. To be fair, I will re-run the Benchmark without the wireless enabled. After I ran it and posted the results, I wondered if the wireless functionality might have been taking some horsepower in the background. I will re-run after this post.

I administer our BES server at work, and have experience with 6750, 7750, 7250, and 7130e (and the T-Mo and Nextel 7100's).

My previous phone was a Samsung i730 (with the recent Windows Mobile 5 upgrade).

This device "feels" faster than the other models I've used, especially faster than the 7130e. And also MUCH MUCH faster than the i730 in general menu response and navigation. Then again, the i730 was dog slow. I haven't expereinced (or noticed?) any lag in the menus, interfaces, or in anything I've been doing. I'm extremely pleased with the speed.

The screen is incredible, and on-par with the Samsung i730 I came from. I think the keyboard is phenomenal, but anything is better than the i730. I personally like the 8703e keyboard more than the 7250 and 7750 keyboards I've used. The keys on the 8703e are a little closer together as far as I can tell, but they feel bigger in a way.

@cdd543: Browser speed seems OK to me. mobile.blackberry.com was a little slow, but I think it was on their end. Then again, I didn't really notice much problem on the 7130e either. I'm usually in EVDO territory, so maybe that's part of why it feels so nice? Either way, it's definitely on-par with the i730 that I had.

I downloaded the Overlord-Icon theme from mobile.blackberry.com, and MAN it's nice... Very very nice, but then again, I'm a geek.

Some stupid little things I've noticed. I like the fact that the escape key clicks, makes for a much nicer tactile feedback. I also like the added shortcut key on the left edge. So far I love the auto-screen brightness (based on how bright the surroundings are).

Obviously, the 8703e has all of the tweaks that make the BlackBerry awesome. It was tough seeing all of the BlackBerries we were deploying, and how slick they worked... Comparing that to my Samsung i730 and how unstable, unreliable, and generally clunky it was (it doesn't even have a factory NumLock) makes the 8703e feel even nicer. So maybe I'm a bit jaded having used the i730 for the last two years.

As whsbuss mentioned, BBMessenger was not included. Was simple to install, and seems to work fine.

I've already dropped it once because of the dang "launcher" plastic belt holster. I've ordered a better belt clip/case. It can't get here soon enough... Heheh.

All-in-all, I'm extremely pleased with this guy. Then again, compared to the i730 I had, anything would be nice.

Where did you order your clip/case from?

[AlanM]

Originally Posted by EagleTG

I've had mine for about 8 hours now as well. So far, I have no complaints about speed.

A quick comment on my prior post of the JBenchmark results. To be fair, I will re-run the Benchmark without the wireless enabled. After I ran it and posted the results, I wondered if the wireless functionality might have been taking some horsepower in the background. I will re-run after this post.

I administer our BES server at work, and have experience with 6750, 7750, 7250, and 7130e (and the T-Mo and Nextel 7100's).

My previous phone was a Samsung i730 (with the recent Windows Mobile 5 upgrade).

This device "feels" faster than the other models I've used, especially faster than the 7130e. And also MUCH MUCH faster than the i730 in general menu response and navigation. Then again, the i730 was dog slow. I haven't expereinced (or noticed?) any lag in the menus, interfaces, or in anything I've been doing. I'm extremely pleased with the speed.

The screen is incredible, and on-par with the Samsung i730 I came from. I think the keyboard is phenomenal, but anything is better than the i730. I personally like the 8703e keyboard more than the 7250 and 7750 keyboards I've used. The keys on the 8703e are a little closer together as far as I can tell, but they feel bigger in a way.

@cdd543: Browser speed seems OK to me. mobile.blackberry.com was a little slow, but I think it was on their end. Then again, I didn't really notice much problem on the 7130e either. I'm usually in EVDO territory, so maybe that's part of why it feels so nice? Either way, it's definitely on-par with the i730 that I had.

I downloaded the Overlord-Icon theme from mobile.blackberry.com, and MAN it's nice... Very very nice, but then again, I'm a geek.

Some stupid little things I've noticed. I like the fact that the escape key clicks, makes for a much nicer tactile feedback. I also like the added shortcut key on the left edge. So far I love the auto-screen brightness (based on how bright the surroundings are).

Obviously, the 8703e has all of the tweaks that make the BlackBerry awesome. It was tough seeing all of the BlackBerries we were deploying, and how slick they worked... Comparing that to my Samsung i730 and how unstable, unreliable, and generally clunky it was (it doesn't even have a factory NumLock) makes the 8703e feel even nicer. So maybe I'm a bit jaded having used the i730 for the last two years.

As whsbuss mentioned, BBMessenger was not included. Was simple to install, and seems to work fine.

I've already dropped it once because of the dang "launcher" plastic belt holster. I've ordered a better belt clip/case. It can't get here soon enough... Heheh.

All-in-all, I'm extremely pleased with this guy. Then again, compared to the i730 I had, anything would be nice.

I also administer a BES environment (4 with about 1200 BBs) and have worked on just about every model there is. I've been demoing the 8703 about 5 weeks now. Benchmarks may tell a different story, but it's quite fast. Browsing and downloading from mobile.blackberry.com the 8703 was considerably faster than my 7100t. We are primarily a T-Mo shop, with some nextel and other carriers thrown in. I have not tested it side by side with the T-Mo 8700, but I'll try later today. Main issue we have with T-Mo is lousy coverage. Most places here where I work the T-Mo BBs have little to no coverage and travel loations aren't much better. We are hopefully switching to Verizon for coverage issues and the EVDO. I've used the 8703 tethered to my laptop and it works well even in the 1X areas. EVDO is coming soon.

One thing to get used to with any 8700 is the moving of the ALT key. It's moved up slightly and it can get confused with the NUM key. Three fingered salute is also a little harder on the 8700s (T-Mos needed that a lot).


Alan