[TheRFGuy]

Got my TMO 8700 for a few days now and the rumors and comments are right, the 8700 does feel a little cheap comparing to my 7290. The quality of built is simply not there. However feels significantly faster overall and with Edge, downloading attachments and opening emails seems much better on the 8700 than 7290.

The battery life is not as good as the 7290. I get about 60-100 emails a day (work) and send about 20, and occassionally checking the news and weather, I am down to 60-70% by 6pm with a full charge to start the day. On the 7290, I am normally down to 80%.

The 8700 feels much smaller to carry and use. The only problem I have is the sym key is located where the CAP key used to be on the 7290 and as a result, everytime when I want to CAP a letter, I ended up hitting the SYM buttom instead. It does take some getting used to but not that bad.

As for the color, I personally prefer the TMO dark blue over Cingular's grew. Looks good with the silver trim along the side of the screen. The speaker is loud and great of conference calls.

One last comment is that I can turn the coverage light on or off. That's really helpful at night because it is very bright and if I leave it on at night, I found myself staring at it and not able to sleep. RIM clearly has put some thought into the smaller details. Nice job!

Overall, the 8700 is an improvement of the 7290 and other BB in my opinion. However I guess to keep the cost down, RIM may have opted to use lower quality plastic or materials to make the 8700 and it shows unfortunately.

[painpour]

Originally Posted by TheRFGuy

Got my TMO 8700 for a few days now and the rumors and comments are right, the 8700 does feel a little cheap comparing to my 7290. The quality of built is simply not there. However feels significantly faster overall and with Edge, downloading attachments and opening emails seems much better on the 8700 than 7290.

The battery life is not as good as the 7290. I get about 60-100 emails a day (work) and send about 20, and occassionally checking the news and weather, I am down to 60-70% by 6pm with a full charge to start the day. On the 7290, I am normally down to 80%.

The 8700 feels much smaller to carry and use. The only problem I have is the sym key is located where the CAP key used to be on the 7290 and as a result, everytime when I want to CAP a letter, I ended up hitting the SYM buttom instead. It does take some getting used to but not that bad.


.


As for the color, I personally prefer the TMO dark blue over Cingular's grew. Looks good with the silver trim along the side of the screen. The speaker is loud and great of conference calls.

One last comment is that I can turn the coverage light on or off. That's really helpful at night because it is very bright and if I leave it on at night, I found myself staring at it and not able to sleep. RIM clearly has put some thought into the smaller details. Nice job!

Overall, the 8700 is an improvement of the 7290 and other BB in my opinion. However I guess to keep the cost down, RIM may have opted to use lower quality plastic or materials to make the 8700 and it shows unfortunately.

Thanks for the review!!! I'm getting one as soon as it comes out

[SMorganPhoto]

Pocket Day is going to kill my battery

[ntjones]

Thats too bad about the build quality. I have a 7100 now, and that thing is damn rugged! I was riding my bike the other, and the phone fell out of my pocket the other day, and bounced about 3 times on the pavement. A couple of scratches, but that's it. When I turned around to go get it, I really expected it to be in several pieces!

I'll still be first in line for the TMO 8700, tho. I just won't expect it to last as long! ;)

[Seattle18]

Originally Posted by ntjones

Thats too bad about the build quality. I have a 7100 now, and that thing is damn rugged! I was riding my bike the other, and the phone fell out of my pocket the other day, and bounced about 3 times on the pavement. A couple of scratches, but that's it. When I turned around to go get it, I really expected it to be in several pieces!

I'll still be first in line for the TMO 8700, tho. I just won't expect it to last as long! ;)

I've dropped BOTH of my 8700c's and aside from minor cosmetic scratches, no problems. It may appear less rugged on the outside, due to it's shell, but the interior build is every bit as drop-resistant.

[ntjones]

Cool, thats good to hear!

[Skrilla™]

How about some pics?

[ollywompus]

Anyone got a guess (or confirmation) on pricing when T-mo releases? Looking for a BB device, but if this thing is too $$ will proabably just pick up a 7105t (though I'll miss the EDGE).

Thanks,

-olly

[HeadOffice]

?????

[dtx]

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8700r: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/107)

I went from a 7280 to a 8700r, and I agree mostly. Feels cheaper, but it isn't, they tried to make it smaller and lighter. As for the battery, mine drops quickly, but when it gets to 30% it stays there for days. Takes a day and a half to drop to 30, and 3 more days to die. EDGE is amazing, and the Intel chip is great. I'd never go back to a 72xx or a 7100. No way, no how.

[Jase88]

To CAP a letter, just hold it a bit longer...that should help you with the SYM key issue...