[mark.hogan]

My 7290 took a swim last night during a full scale excercise while putting a floater on the lake.
Its eating batteries now, so I guess its time to upgrade or replace. So is the 8700 any better then the 7290?
Is it as rugged?
and most important...will my backup restore into an 8700 so i have all my stuff?

[tsac]

I had a 7290 and found it a good solid durable unit. I dropped the thing many times and had no problems. Upgraded to an 8700c and was suprised to find all my records were replaced. the only thing not replaced was the notepad files i save from email. Fortunatly it was limited and i was able to retype the notes i had such frequent flier numbers. Otherwise i like the new 8700. If you use cingular you may notice the Edge network is not as good on voice as the GPRS, at lease thats my feeling

[tsac]

another thought, i dont think it will be as rugged as the 7290

[JSucher]

i love the 8700c, and I have one to sell as well. Nothing bad to say about it. It's my favorite phone so far.

[Adam79]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/107)

I have both and can say that while the 8700 has EDGE and the nicer screen, among other things but as far as I'm concerned the quality of construction isn't anywhere hear the same. The top of this one creaks like mad, the battery cover needed shimming and I can see light at the lower seams from the keyboard. The 7290 feels sturdy - not nearly as fragile IMHO.

[antisepsisDC]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

I may be wrong, but I believe whether the device uses EDGE or GPRS, phone uses the same GSM network. Data services are an overlay of the voice network.

[rjw3000]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

I had both and I find the 8700g quite an improvement over the 7290 I had. Brighter and better screen, EDGE, faster processor, more memory. And I liked my 7290 a lot, but I wouldn't go back.

[flash24]

8700 hands down

[Aroc]

8700 hands down. I have both. The 8700 is much better. I even like the keyboard on the 8700 better.

You can restore all your PIM data onto the 8700 using a "selective" restore. I believe this is the "Advanced" button under BAckup/REstore on Desktop Manager. You don't want to do a full restore and you don't want the old service books to be restored. You'll want new ones of the 8700.

Generally people that have problems with restores aren't doing selective restores and end up restoring more than they should.

Not sure if you can backup and restore programs. I always just reinstall those. It was never worth my time to test it.

[Chinasaur]

The 8700g is cheaply made and feels cheap. The 7290 wins on construction and quality of feel. The keyboard on the 7290 is lightyears ahead of the 8700g. The 8700g is faster and more capable than the 7290.

I'd say upgrade, but you should go try the 8700 keyboard and see if you can stand it. Was a big adjustment for me to use a keyboard that shimmies around and lacks the keypress feel of the 7290.

Luck.

[antisepsisDC]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Yea. The keyboard is different, but I'm not sure it's necessarily worse. I've gotten used to it and like it just fine ... Now.

[RDC]

No EDGE on 7290 from TMOBILE.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by Chinasaur

The 8700g is cheaply made and feels cheap.

I see that all of the time, but I have no idea if they really do break more often than older BB's. It feels more fragile, but is it really? If you say yes, ho9w do you know?

[takeshi]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Lots of people say that. I've dropped my 8700c numerous times on concrete and it still works perfectly. Yes, the case is more scratched up than a 7290 would have been but to equate how the 8700 feels in your hand to how durable the device will be is dubious reasoning (there are really very few products you can evaluate that way).

If your top concern is how the device feels, then get another 7290. I'd highly recommend moving to the 8700 unless you physically can't use the keyboard or something. And definitely get a screen protector. I know the idea is foreing if you're coming from a 7290, 7230 or similar form factor device but the lens on the 8700's isn't recessed and can easily get scratched.

[Chinasaur]

I didn't say it had a high incidence of breaking. I said it "felt cheap and was cheaply made". I never inferred, nor insinuated, that they "break". That was read into/assumed into what I wrote. It may last the average user a long time, who knows. I'm not talking about durability. I'm talking about quality construction. Two different, though related, things.

For a device I use ALL day, EVERY day, I prefer my purchases to FEEL like quality. The 8700 neither looks, nor IS, quality gear. Granted, both the 7290 and 8700 are plastic houssings, but anyone who has used both will attest that the 7290 is the better made device.

That said, the screen on the 8700 is better. EDGE, of course, is better than GPRS. Call quality and RF on the 8700 is superior to the 7290.

A buyer needs to know their requirements. If you need a good keyboard because you type more than you talk, and don't necessariy need EDGE or a higher resolution screen, then the 7290 might fit better. For myself, I'm bringing my 7290 out of retirement to use as a business phone. Also been considering switching back to it for my main line since I type 90% of the time.