[ImagineParadise]

My opinion? 8700 users or people who havent bought the 8100 (bc they are waiting for the 8800) will switch (from the 8700) or buy it as a replacment and find that the keyboard is nearly impossible to navigate let alone not being able to type anything faster than suretype. Seems to me that if the phone is that small with a full QWERTY keypad on it...well, its going to be a nightmare. I think people for the most part, if they are honest about it, will note that the 8800's keypad is very very small and hard to type on and if they are stuborn about it or have really really small fingers will like it and have no complaints. I cant see anyone praising(sp?) it though.

My fingers slip on my 8100's suretype keypad sometimes and push the wrong key/number. I can't imagine what it will be like with keys half the size.

[mortys11]

the 8800 is not the same size as the 8100

it has pretty much unchanged dimensions from the 8700.

[Greg8700G]

8700 all the way

[Steve]

7290
Size: 4.5 x 2.9 x 0.9 Inches
Weight: 4.9 ounces

8700
Size: 4.3 x 2.7 x .77 inches
Weight: 4.7 ounces

8100
Size: 4.2 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches
Weight: 3.1 ounces

8800
Size: 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches
Weight: ???

Steve

[takeshi]

Kinda pointless to debate IMO until the device is in my hands -- even with the dimensional specs. The 8800's keys wont be half the width of the 8100's. Are the 7100's twice the width of the 8700?

[ImagineParadise]

I dont think its pointless. Thats why I wrote up the thread. Do you think its pointless to talk about the 8800 when it's not even out yet?

We have the dementions and if you drew the squares on a piece of paper youd see, yes, it is a little bit wider than the 8100. But with a full QWERTY keypad it's still squished in too much. Has anyone played with a Q or treo? Its a pain to try and type on those things. AND those two are bigger than the 8800's dementions! I guess my fingers are too big.

[greggebhardt]

Originally Posted by ImagineParadise

I dont think its pointless. Thats why I wrote up the thread. Do you think its pointless to talk about the 8800 when it's not even out yet?

We have the dementions and if you drew the squares on a piece of paper youd see, yes, it is a little bit wider than the 8100. But with a full QWERTY keypad it's still squished in too much. Has anyone played with a Q or treo? Its a pain to try and type on those things. AND those two are bigger than the 8800's dementions! I guess my fingers are too big.

If you are not interesterd, do not buy it. I use the 8700 all day long with no problems and the 8800 is only slightly smaller than the 8700 so I can see a problem. The 8100 is too small, I got the record and returned mine in about 45 minutes! I never left T-Mo's parking lot and I returned mine what a POS.

[Stinsonddog]

I found the keys on the 8700 cramped compared to the 7280, and so losing another 10% of the width for the 8800 might really be cramped. Guess we will need to try it out.


I looked at the keyboard in the photos more closely. No space at all between letters. I am just not sure how useable that will be for anyone with fingers above average size.

[Steve]

Wirelessly posted (Cingular-Blue 7290: BlackBerry7290/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/101)

Maybe they'll just have to include Sure-Type, auto-text, or auto-corrector for these cramped key handhelds.

Steve

[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by Steve

Wirelessly posted (Cingular-Blue 7290: BlackBerry7290/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/101)

Maybe they'll just have to include Sure-Type, auto-text, or auto-corrector for these cramped key handhelds.

Steve

Would not be a bad idea IMO.

[paulbblc]

I'll be trying it out as soon as it's available, however my 8700 will be on my desk just in case I have issues with the keyboard. Fortunately I have little enough fingers to where the 8700 doesn't bother me at all, another 10% shouldn't be a problem.

[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by paulbblc

I'll be trying it out as soon as it's available, however my 8700 will be on my desk just in case I have issues with the keyboard. Fortunately I have little enough fingers to where the 8700 doesn't bother me at all, another 10% shouldn't be a problem.

Yes but can you imagine no space at all between the keys - I think that is a major shift.

[rjw3000]

Took me about two days to get used to the 8700 from the 7290 and at first the keys felt cramped and now I don't notice and can type on it as fast as the 7290. I figure the same thing will happen here with the 8800. I used my buddy's 7290 the other day and the keys felt really far apart after using the 8700 for awhile.

[Anthem]

If you look at the keyboard you will notice the keys on the left are raised slightly on the right side and slope down to the left and just the opposite with the keys on the right.

[paulbblc]

From all 4 of the pictures I've seen on these forums, all 4 appear to have any spacing between the keys. If you look at the pics again the one picture in the thread titled "more specs" appears to have the least bit of spacing and that's probably from being a really small pic, and it's blurry. The three pics from the thread titled"...and what do you.." you can see that all three of those versions have just as much spacing as the 8700, maybe a tad bit less.

All in all I'm not worried.

[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by paulbblc

From all 4 of the pictures I've seen on these forums, all 4 appear to have any spacing between the keys. If you look at the pics again the one picture in the thread titled "more specs" appears to have the least bit of spacing and that's probably from being a really small pic, and it's blurry. The three pics from the thread titled"...and what do you.." you can see that all three of those versions have just as much spacing as the 8700, maybe a tad bit less.

All in all I'm not worried.

I can't see how the keys are "just as much." Losing 10% of the width has to come from somewhere. Maybe its fine. BG says no suretype so bbSpell is a must.

[ImagineParadise]

all I have to say is good luck with the key spacing problem, which is a problem. Stinson brings up a good point, I sometimes miss spell some words and suretype is good at catching it. Smaller than the 8700. full keypad. I just dont see how your going to be able to type without making typos most of the time on a area so small.

I just finished playing with my fathers Q and the 8800 is going to be smaller than that. The Q's keypad spacing was very close and buttons were very tiny. I had to find a place on my thumb that didnt seem to put pressure on the surrounding keys to push the button that I wanted...also, I had to completly move my thumb from one hand to use my other thumb to type my phone number in.

[jibi]

Just another note, there are two different keyboard layouts as well for the 8800s.

without camera (inches): 4.49 x 2.60 x 0.55
with camera (inches): 4.17 x 2.36 x 0.61

The one with the camera dips the keyboard in a "smiling" manner, thus making it more narrow but just as functional. Keep in mind that this one is geared to be more 'consumer-friendly' thus splicing the best of both worlds - full QWERTY, narrow design.

0.13" is really not that much loss between the first 8800 release and the 8700, is it?

[paulbblc]

What does it matter really? I like the full qwety and that's what I'm sticking with. If the keys are too close together, I'll get used to it or bring back my 8700.

Why does it seem that people are out to change each others minds? You don't like full qwerty, good for you, we've heard your points. Move along.

[ImagineParadise]

Originally Posted by ImagineParadise

all I have to say is good luck with the key spacing problem, which is a problem. ......