Pearl (8100) for Sprint/Verizon on 5/7/07
 

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BlackBerry Pearl for Verizon/Sprint and 83xx for T-Mobile on May 7 (phone Arena)

So you going to upgrade from your 8703? I need to upgrade my 7130 but would really like a full keyboard.

Hopefully it won't be silver, like the new 8830 that is being released.

I wonder how much it will be to buy out of contract on Sprint. I just switched over to the Motorola Q and I hate it! I can't wait to switch back to BlackBerry. Just not sure if I'll go the 8703 route or 8100.

Depends on what you want. If your not interested in multimedia and want a no nonsense business phone then get the 8703. If you want the features of the Q without having to deal with crappy Win mobile, then get the Pearl

I had the 8700 previously with Cingular and loved it. The keyboard was by far the best and easiest to type on. I use mine mainly for phone, email (personal and corporate), and calendar. I am intrigued by the size of the Pearl and the trackball, but not 100% certain on the suretype keyboard. I've played around with it some, and it's difficult (not nearly as easy as typing on the 8700). But i'm fairly nimble and adaptable with these things. I might be able to get used to the Suretype keyboard enough to use it for emails. What have your experiences been?

Some BB love for Verizon and Sprint???

hahahah

I came to the 8703e from a 7130 (suretype). The full keyboard is nice, but I must say after some time with suretype you can type pretty darn fast. The Pearls smaller form factor for me and camera is pulling me in that direction, while the bigger screen and full keyboard pulls me the other way. (and the silver pics of the 8830 aren't helping) All in all it is good to have choices instead of being stuck with only one option.

I would go with the 8830 once it hits Verizon (buy an unlocked version if possible), but I hate the keyboard on it. I think it's harder to type on the 8800 keyboard than it is on the Pearl.

Hopefully, the memory leak issue will be resolved before Sprint receives their batch of Pearls.

What's the memory leak issue?

Hopefully the Sprint and verizon pearl's have somewhat 'bumped' specs compared to the older GSM models. GPS support (like the Sprint 8700) would be nice.

Take a look over at the 8100 forum. The Pearl suffers from a memory leak where it doesn't release system memory after it's been used and the result is a loss of data, like emails, messages, and phone logs. I had a Pearl for awhile and suffered the issue out of the box. Not a huge thing, but an annoyance nonetheless.

I agree 100%, GPS would be nice, indeed. I wonder if the Pearl's too small to house a GPS receiver? Only time will tell, I guess, but here's to hoping!

I started off with a 7130e and I loved it, went with the 8703e and like it as well, just a little wider than what i'm used to. I'll wait to see what the reviews are like for this version of the Pearl before I decide. I know it will be black though since it's with Sprint and they're BB's are or have been black.

If that article is true...

1 month and counting!

so, does thsi mean Nextel might get a new BB since sprint is? i think thier network is close to the same...

Probably not. iden is a dead market. I imagine the only reason Sprint is even keeping it is for their existing customers.
Think about it, if it CDMA is a big customer base in the US and it is still treated by RIM as a second class citizen. Why on earth would they even bother with the dying iden system.

Not necessary, the new 8800 series for Verizon will be silver. Verizon's previous BB have always been black. I for one hate silver phones and if the Pearl is silver as well, then I will not get it.

What will Sprint do to replace the dc radio feature? it is to big and too many rely on it as a means of communication to get rid of, I don't think q chat is up yet and if nxtl does not release a bb they will lose many loyal customers to cing and vrzn. iden is only mostly dead but they cannot replace it or get rid of it. I Think
also look at boost mobile, they have grown much larger...

Please correct me if i am wrong.