Comments on: BlackBerry 8800: Initial Thoughts

By: Is The BlackBerry 8800 A “Bit Of A Dud”? | RIMarkable | The official, unofficial BlackBerry Weblog

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:47:49 +0000

[...] I didn’t particularly care for the BlackBerry 8800. Om Malik wasn’t that impressed. Numerous other BlackBerry 8800 reviewers have the same sentiment. Could it be that RIM has released their first BlackBerry dud? [...]

By: Om Malik Not That Big On The BlackBerry 8800 | RIMarkable | The official, unofficial BlackBerry Weblog

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 22:55:51 +0000

[...] know how Om Malik feels. I wasn’t all that impressed with the BlackBerry 8800 either when I took a look at it last [...]

By: dayjayvw

dayjayvw — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:49:23 +0000

As a Verizon 7130 user, longtime nextel/sprint BB user, I’d never leave the 7130 unless the 8800 had the camera and expandable memory. Not having the gps is lousy, but a bluetooth puk solves that issue. Not really sure what all the hoopla is with the 8800 if it’s only gps. Is there an upgraded full querty pearl in Verizons future or will they continue to let tmobile and cingular be first to market with everything…

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:54:51 +0000

I don’t think referring someone to a Q is necessarily bad advice. I’ve been using a Q since last summer. From a consumer (not business) standpoint, I’d say all around it’s not too shabby.. at least for me. It just depends on what you need it for personally. I’ve found the voice quality to be nothing short of excellent (although this may be more due to being on VZW). I’ve probably had 2 dropped calls in the nine months I’ve been using it, and not one system crash. Yes, the battery life leaves a lot to be desired, which is very annoying. And (again, from a consumer standpoint) if you want push e-mail, you’re more or less sh*t out of luck. I’ve really come to enjoy the camera and video capabilties of the Q, though, despite its limitations. For me, the Pearl isn’t enough to get me to jump ship. A full-QWERTY with Pearl capabilites? Not you’re talking! But even then, I’m spoiled with VZW’s EVDO… so if it’s not on VZW, it would have to be 3G. If RIM was able to get something like this on the market — bye bye Q.

By: Robb Dunewood

Robb Dunewood — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:07:08 +0000

Believe it or not the BlackBerry Pearl doesn’t win every head to head evaluation with some of these other devices. I know that it is hard for us BlackBerry Addicts to fathom, but, not all smartphones not named BlackBerry are horrible.

By: J

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 02:33:01 +0000

you’re right on half the story…

the 8800 is NOT a huge upgrade to the 8700…

but suggesting that someone go to a blackjack or Q instead? that’s horrible advice… unless you enjoy swapping batteries, dropping calls, and sitting anxiously waiting for your device to crash… again…

for instance, in cingular’s lineup, the 8700 is the best overall device, hands down… only a few users will find that it doesn’t meet their needs (ie those requiring out of box complete microsoft support)… so, if you don’t want an 8800 that’s fine, but get an 8700…

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:35:25 +0000

Ouch, that hurt Mr. Dunewood! Well, I can’t agree with your thoughts more though (I hope Rim heard that.) As a Consumer and not a business user, I feel as if the 8800 isn’t as much of an upgrade, as it is a new look. The blackberry 8800 and the blackberry 8700s question regardinng whether or not to upgrade, reminds me of the problems people were facing when the sidekick 3 was released (let me explain.) When the sidekick 3 came out, it didn’t have much more going for it to be considered a whole another device, compared to the kick 2 – it had “EDGE” (or what Tmo considered Edge,) bluetooth, expandable memory, a better cam, and a music player. Yet, that was pretty much it nothing truly ground breaking, and if you really look at a comparison, the only new editions was bluetooth, expand. mem., music player and Edge but that was it! I hope that this is making sense and people are seeing the comparison here. If not, maybe reading below might help to clarify.

Now with the 8800, it has a new casing, media player, expand. mem. and GPS – that’s it. No camera, no wifi, nothing that would really make the consumer market jump for joy. Yet, if you were to compare the sidekick 3 with the blackberry 8800 and which device has had a better “Upgrade” so to speak, it would have to be the sidekick 3! As rediculous as it might sound to some, remember this is from a consumer’s perspective and NOT a business user’s. The sidekick 3 had more added features than did the 8800 and for less or of equal value depending on how you look at it.

I would have to say the same as Mr. Dunewood, that for the same amount or lesser value, you can get a smart phone with a camera and more glits and glam than what a 8800 would cost and have available to you. I sure hope that Rim is now going to consider these facts and elements when deciding on a newer model. Perhaps in the future, Rim will implement a long awaited qwerty with a camera and some much deserved wifi. Until than, I will be perfectly content with my 8700 thank you very much.