[MiamiBerry]

Trevolly,
How is the build quality of the 8300? The 8800 side rails are a nightmare; the 8700 "squeaked" less than the 8800, but still made noises. The Pearl's battery door did not latch fully flush, and the metalic plastic found around the phone peels after a while of use.
Are we talking about a decent and solid blackberry here?
Thanks!

[trevolly]

The build is better than the Pearl - The side rails are a soft, rubbery texture which carries aound the top and bottom of the handset. The voice command, volume buttons and the camera button are slightly larger and more rectangulat in shape than the Pearls (which are more rounded ) There is not that awful "hole" on the top of the 8300 like there is on the pearl (between the battery door and the phone casing.

With the Pearl I can slide the battery door off without pushing down the latch, I cant do that with the 8300 (although the latch is in exactly the same position as the Pearls) The difference is when you remove the batt door, the silver latch is more prominent so I suppose it gets a better grip on the batt door.

There doesnt seem to be any squeeking or creaking and I'm giving the handset a good squeeze all over. The trackball itself is diff to the pearl though. The Pearls trackball is harder, what I mean is when I spin the trackball on the 8300 it slightly depresses although not enough to make a selection, where the Pearls does not.

Hope this help all, anything else just shout,

[MiamiBerry]

Awesome, thanks Trevolly, looks like the 8300 might be a winner! Can't wait to get my hands on it. Blackberries are the best, I have had 4 models (7100, 8700, Pearl and 8800, in that order) since may of last year, and ever since the 7100, things have gone downhill for me in terms of build quality. There is no question about it that software wise, Blackberries are the most solid devices out there when compared to Windows Mobile or Symbian. Now if RIM can do the same in ensuring that the physical aspects of their devices are also rock solid, there will be no reason for anyone to look for alternatives out there.

[TayeDrummer]

Well it looks like RIM have made a device that competes, feature-wise, with my Treo650 from two or three years ago <sound of one hand clapping>. Of course the Treo had one small flaw...it was the most fragile device ever made and I ended up cracking three screens in three weeks before jumping to the Blackberry 7250 which has worked flawlessly ever since.

Looking at the online pix, I'm leaning toward the 8800 over the 8300 to replace my 7250 but is there any news if either phone will be sold/supported by Bell Mobility in |+|Canada?

[secrecyguy]

If anyone wants to see the size comparison between the 8100 and 8300, it's available here.

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...-pictures.html

[CarBob]

Originally Posted by TayeDrummer

Well it looks like RIM have made a device that competes, feature-wise, with my Treo650 from two or three years ago <sound of one hand clapping>. Of course the Treo had one small flaw...it was the most fragile device ever made and I ended up cracking three screens in three weeks before jumping to the Blackberry 7250 which has worked flawlessly ever since.

Looking at the online pix, I'm leaning toward the 8800 over the 8300 to replace my 7250 but is there any news if either phone will be sold/supported by Bell Mobility in |+|Canada?

Hey TayeDrummer,

RIM and BELL MOBILITY sent out a Press Release dated April 25, 2007 to announce the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone. "It is the first CDMA BlackBerry smartphone to deliver the high-speed mobile connectivity of CDMA in CANADA and NORTH AMERICA, combined with international voice and data roaming on GSM/GPRS networks outside of North America."

Go to::
BlackBerry - BlackBerry Press Releases for more details.

It is "expected to be available from BELL MOBILITY in summer, 2007."

Hope this helps,

CarBob

[jgoldenb]

the 8800 is getting way too much love. i was ready to trade my 8700 in for tghe 8800 on launch day, but as soon as i got my hands on it, i knew it was a step back for blackberry. any heavy user that types a lot should wait for the 8300.

[eros18]

Exactly what i'm doing. Ive held onto my 8700c long enough. Looking forward to the 8300.