[scooper321]

Originally Posted by alslsb

That guy is a total idiot. I have 3264 contacts plus lots of apps on my Pearl. Great phone and PDA

3000, huh? Awesome. And great to hear!

Re: the sales guy. He's just misinformed. He did at least look up the voice dialing capabilities of the BB's, so he learned something from my sales call! He'll know the answer for the next guy...

[scooper321]

Originally Posted by greggebhardt

I do not know how long you have been around wireless and the people who sell it but if you are as knowledgeble as you seem to be, you should know better than expecting the sales people to know alot about what they sell.

Actually, I'm in sales, too. So that's why I do expect sales people to know a little about what they are selling. But I also know sales people are a diverse bunch and all kinds of people sell. Maybe he was a WM-fanatic, or maybe it was his first day on the job. Either way, I knew he was mistaken as soon as he said you couldn't voice dial w/o tags. But it did bring up the question for me about how long it takes to "find" a contact using Voice Dialing.

(And no, I don't think it saves the contacts on the SIM card. I am just trying to find the limits of the hardware. Really, a contact's data doesn't take up that much space. I mean, how many bytes REALLY for a name, and a few number/address/email fields? Not many...)

Thanks for all the *constructive* responses on here. You folks with over 1k contacts have emboldened me to try it out. That's the only way I'll know for sure, I know. I'll be doing that in the next week or so and will let you all know...

[dynot]

Originally Posted by scooper321

What are the good things/bad things about your phone/PDA?

Would you buy this again? Why or why not?

Unlike most people here I think my Pearl is a POS. One major flaw it has is that it doesn't implement bluetooth very well. Chances are that it won't work if you're trying to use some peripheral equipment through BT. At least in my case, it won't work with my car kit and I think that is a very basic use. Furthermore, the folks at BB neither acknowledge that there is anything wrong nor have they made any attempt at fixing it.

Remember one thing when asking people's opinion on a board like this: the majority will answer they love it which is normal since if they're fans of of the BB you'd expect them to frequent these forums.

On the other hand, if BT is not important to you then it may suit your needs.

Would I buy it again? Not on our life I wouldn't. The BT flaw and the numerous software issues (there are plenty threads on them), limited 3rd party software availability, and RIM's arrogance about addressing their software issues are all the reasons I need to dump this door stop.

[jlb]

Your SIM card will be limited to the number of contacts....I don't remember the exact number....But as far as the BB it self (internal memory) it can hold way more than 400.....Plus you have the expandable memory option as well. I know people with upwards of 800 contacts in there BB and no problems at all....

[greggebhardt]

Originally Posted by scooper321

Actually, I'm in sales, too. So that's why I do expect sales people to know a little about what they are selling. But I also know sales people are a diverse bunch and all kinds of people sell. Maybe he was a WM-fanatic, or maybe it was his first day on the job. Either way, I knew he was mistaken as soon as he said you couldn't voice dial w/o tags. But it did bring up the question for me about how long it takes to "find" a contact using Voice Dialing.

(And no, I don't think it saves the contacts on the SIM card. I am just trying to find the limits of the hardware. Really, a contact's data doesn't take up that much space. I mean, how many bytes REALLY for a name, and a few number/address/email fields? Not many...)

Thanks for all the *constructive* responses on here. You folks with over 1k contacts have emboldened me to try it out. That's the only way I'll know for sure, I know. I'll be doing that in the next week or so and will let you all know...

I am sorry but I have found very few salespeople who knew alot about Blackberry. I have been using RIM devices way before they were even know by most people and have heard salespeople say the wildest things.

I am not sure if it is a lack of training or high turnover but even the most simple of questions are answered incorrectly. Some are lucky to get out the door with their device set up correctly and will wait days for activation which never happens!

[archer6]

As of today I have exactly 4,232 contacts in Outlook, which represents 8 years of history for each of them in the form of: calendar, tasks, notes for each, which I sync with my BlackBerry's. Currently I'm using an 8310 & 8820 my two favorite models, one is a backup in my briefcase in case of some unexpected problem / lost device / etc. As I travel for work and my tech combo, consists of a ThinkPad & BlackBerry. The fast rate at which the BB syncs with Outlook is simply amazing, especially as compared to some of my other devices of the past and present like my new Moto Q Global (would never use that for anything important) which I'm not bashing just reporting my less than great experience with. IE: it takes over 10 minutes to sync my contacts with the Q. Whereas the BB will sync the same contacts is less than 2 minutes.

In addition my favorite (work) app on the BB is the "Search" app. It is extremely accurate and so incredibly fast that it's fun just to watch how fast it finds precisely what I want. Now you know just another reason why I'm completely hooked on the BlackBerry Platform. All this & more capabilities, plus world class reliability!

[BBJunkie]

Wirelessly posted (SAMSUNG-SGH-I607/I607FG1 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 320x240))

The sales guys is wrong......I currently have over 420 contacts on my unit......pretty sad to hear of this type of lack of information from an AT and T employee......hope someone from the business is on this thread who can address....

[JSanders]

Originally Posted by dynot

Unlike most people here I think my Pearl is a POS. One major flaw it has is that it doesn't implement bluetooth very well. Chances are that it won't work if you're trying to use some peripheral equipment through BT. At least in my case, it won't work with my car kit and I think that is a very basic use. Furthermore, the folks at BB neither acknowledge that there is anything wrong nor have they made any attempt at fixing it.

Remember one thing when asking people's opinion on a board like this: the majority will answer they love it which is normal since if they're fans of of the BB you'd expect them to frequent these forums.

On the other hand, if BT is not important to you then it may suit your needs.

Would I buy it again? Not on our life I wouldn't. The BT flaw and the numerous software issues (there are plenty threads on them), limited 3rd party software availability, and RIM's arrogance about addressing their software issues are all the reasons I need to dump this door stop.

Why do you use the device if you don't like it?

Your post is thread-crapping, simply put, and against the rules of this forum. This thread has nothing to do with whether you like your pearl or are a fan-boy or not. The OP is asking for opinions of "Powers users of Curve", hence the title (and 8300 section) of this thread.

[dynot]

Originally Posted by JSanders

The OP is asking for opinions of "Powers users of Curve", hence the title (and 8300 section) of this thread.

The OP also referred to the Pearl and asked specifically about our opinions. I'm sorry if negative comments are not welcomed but I was under the impression that members can freely express their opinions.

I have to use it because that's what my company provides their employees.

[Fkmegently]

As a former Treo user I'd have to admit I preferred it's sync capabilities, calendar and alarms. (I'm a Mac user)
That said the Curve has been such an enjoyable tool so far that I'm pretty sold.
The push email feature was the most important to me so the BB seemed like a natural choice. I never like the form factor of the previous BB's but thought the Pearl was pretty cool and the size was very nice but I wasn't too sure about the keyboard. I really like qwerty.
When I went to look at the Pearl I saw the Curve and after a couple more trips to the store to fondle (and a lot of online research here among other places) it, I took the plunge. I went to a new carrier and new "system" with the BB.
I'll probably never have as many contacts as you my entire life. I'm mainly a non business type user and appreciate the multi-media more than I expected. I just wish I could use an 8gb card since I've filled my 4gb already. Maybe I need to buy another 4gb card. ;)
The internal memory thing still confuses me (whether there is enough) but I've read that it's enough for most...
The marked size and weight difference from the Treo is among my favorite trade offs.

[vinmontRD]

Originally Posted by BBJunkie

Wirelessly posted (SAMSUNG-SGH-I607/I607FG1 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 320x240))

The sales guys is wrong......I currently have over 420 contacts on my unit......pretty sad to hear of this type of lack of information from an AT and T employee......hope someone from the business is on this thread who can address....

I just checked -- I've got 437 contacts in my Blackberry and Outlook, most with home and business address, multiple phone numbers and multiple email addresses. Very quick, and the only delay I ever experience is when I've updated/added/dropped several in Outlook and then sync -- Voice Dialing then needs to rescan once before I can use it again -- takes perhaps 15 seconds this first time. Aside from that, the 437 contacts feel as if I've barely scratched the surface in terms of what it can hold. There's no delay using the address book or doing searches. Voice Dialing gets the right name just about every time -- it's very rare that it asks me if I said 3 different names and I then cancel the request -- the vast majority of the time it's right on the first attempt, and almost always right by the second attempt if the first is wrong. Most of these are cases where it asks if I was looking for the mobile number -- at which point I might say, "No" -- and it then asks for the same name, seeing if I was looking for the work or home number.

On another note, re: knowledgeable salespeople:

This is a sore point with me, but I can understand the source of the problem. First - before any knowledgeable, proud, self-motivated sales people feel offended - I'm not saying "all" by any means - I know, and give my business to - a couple of very knowledgeable and trustworthy sales people who make a point of staying up to date. However...

The vast majority of salespeople that I run into in mobile phone stores (corporate or otherwise) are young, and the majority of these have no technical training. Some of them like the subject matter enough to do some homework and come up to speed themselves, but for many, it seems that the sole objectives are to move as much product and sign as many new contracts as possible. Sadly, for a large number of these folks, product knowledge is secondary to other sales skills. It seems that they learn "the job" rather than the subject in general -- for these folks, the ONLY objective seems to be to work the comp system and get paid.

I saw this in CompUSA before most of their retail stores where shut down. I saw it in Computer City before that. I see it in Circuit City and Best Buy. In general, it seems that the retail sales folks who work in stores like these do not necessarily need to be very knowledgeable about the products they sell in order to do a passable job for their employers. Part of the reason this kind of sales person succeeds is that the customers typically know even less than the salespeople, so a confident salesperson with a bit of knowledge can generally impress and influence a technology-ignorant customer who is looking for advice.

I used to cringe at what I heard in stores like CompUSA, and often felt obligated to jump into the conversation to correct some massive misinformation being offered to a customer. The corporate mobile phone stores seem to have better informed salespeople in general, but the average personnel I come across in a typical mall kiosk make me shake my head in dismay.

A big part of the problem is that people, in general, will do what they are incented to do - period. If there is no incentive to become knowledgeable about cellular technology or the phone they are selling, the only salespeople who will take the time to learn will be those with a personal interest, or those with an overriding sense of personal pride. I know these people exist - but I believe they are a vanishing minority.

[pinhead]

Originally Posted by scooper321

I was at the ATT store today, looking at BB Pearl and Curve. The sales guy came up and so I asked him how many contacts you could store in a BB. I said I had about 4000 in my Treo 650 (Verizon). He stammered and said you could only have about 400 in the BB's.

Now, the Pearl is a PDA, right? Not a standard feature phone. So I would think the BB's are only limited by the available memory. Am I correct? Can I expect to store a huge Outlook database into a BB?

Disclaimer: This guy also said BB's didn't have "non-tagged" voice dialing and that you would need a voice tag with each entry. He was dead wrong on this, so I'm skeptical on how much he really knows about PDA's and SmartPhones and BB's.

So I want to hear from "power" BB users. That is, people who live in their BB's with hundreds, if not thousands of contacts. Do you regularly search through (one-handed) these? Do you use your calendars for daily planning? Do you keeps tasks and alarms there? Do you also get lots of emails, web use and PC sync (wired sync to Outlook)?

How responsive is your phone (how fast is the user interface)?

Are you close to maxing out memory?

What are the good things/bad things about your phone/PDA?

Would you buy this again? Why or why not?


Please don't flame here - be constructive with your comments: good or bad.

Thanks,

I didn't read all of the posts in this thread so I'm not sure if your question has been answered already. However, I can answer it.

The sales person you spoke to is wrong. I know people who have Pearls with a few thousand contacts stored. They will fit on the Curve as well with no problem. Mine has about 500 right now and it is as responsive as ever.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely. Sure, I have trouble deciding whether I prefer my E61i or the Curve, but that is because they are both excellent and always get the job done.

[scooper321]

Originally Posted by pinhead

I didn't read all of the posts in this thread so I'm not sure if your question has been answered already. However, I can answer it.

The sales person you spoke to is wrong. I know people who have Pearls with a few thousand contacts stored. They will fit on the Curve as well with no problem. Mine has about 500 right now and it is as responsive as ever.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely. Sure, I have trouble deciding whether I prefer my E61i or the Curve, but that is because they are both excellent and always get the job done.

Yeah, actually I did get the Pearl and I've been using it for almost 2 weeks now. I have about 6800 contacts in there, along with plenty of calendar items (my life!), tasks and emails and memos. Even have a few custom profiles and ring tones in there. And it's working great. All the complaining of other folks about the Smartype being difficult is crazy, too. It's pretty easy - the keys are still in qwerty format, so they are easy to find. The Pearl has the one thing that you can never change in a PDA phone: it's small. Size does matter. I think it's a keeper!

Thanks for all the comments from everyone!

[holden]

Originally Posted by monkeypaw

A work associate has about 3,000 contacts on his 8830, including addresses, and I've never heard him mention any problems with the contacts. Although searching for a name gives a lot of matches for a given search, unless it's a very unique name.

One of our upper managers has over 6k. He merges card scan into his address book.

H.