It seems like as time goes by, more and more not so stellar reviews of the BlackBerry 8800 hit the blogosphere. Matt Loney from ZDNet.UK recently posted that the BlackBerry 8800 is a “bit of a dud”.
I know someone that works in a Cingular store and they told me that the BlackBerry Pearl saw higher than usual returns for a BlackBerry when it first came out but it was mostly because new consumer BlackBerry users didn’t want to pay the extra BlackBerry fees. He says however, that the BlackBerry 8800 returns dwarf that of the BlackBerry Pearl and the most common reason is, “I liked my 8700 better.”
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?
I think that it will really depend on your definition of dud. If we base our definition on sales, then no, the BlackBerry 8800 won’t be a dud. It will sell very well because the 8800, if you can get passed the keyboard, is better than older model BlackBerrys that came out before the 8700.
The 8800 as an email device that you can make phone calls from, 90% of what most BlackBerry users use BlackBerrys for, is quite good. Removable memory is kind of cool, but, most BlackBerry users won’t buy an 8800 because of the media player or the GPS or make their decision to go with the 8800 over some other non-BlackBerry device because of these features.
If you base you definition of dud on a new device that does not much more than the previous version with new features that actually aren’t all that great, the BlackBerry 8800 might fit the bill.
The prosumers didn’t want this device — it will sell to business for the suits who need a new BB. Prosumers didn’t want a Pearlified 8700 with no camera. This device was more over-hyped than an episode of LOST and it’s no wonder why people are keeping their 8700s. I told myself the only way that I would upgrade from my 8700 is if RIM met my requirements, which were a camera, a memory card slot, GPS and WiFi if it’s an option. If I bought the 8800 it would be settling for a stop gap device.
Justelise you nailed it. I decided to pass on the 8800 for the same reasons.
The BlackBerry 7130g on Rogers came out last year, and then 6 months later the Pearl came out. The 7130g was the EDGE/Intel Xscale upgrade of the 7100g, but it didn’t have OS 4.2 on it. It also didn’t have a camera.
You could say that the 7130g was a dud, as well. But it’s still being sold to the suits who cannot have a camera, but want a bar phone rather than an 8700.
I suspect, 6 months from now (or sooner) that the new device with the camera and wifi will be out and available for sale, just like what they did with the Pearl.
I wouldn’t call it a dud.
Agreed justelise & BBB.
No company is perfect though. I think RIM will learn from its mistakes and also better time it’s releases.
e.g. 8100 (cam), 8800 (gps, no cam), 8300 (gps, cam, wifi), 8820 (gps, wifi, no cam).
I think the timing and order can make quite a difference between what is considered “flop” and what is considered “genius”.
i just love mine. it’s the best device i’ve ever owned. and i’ve owned many. many.
a dud? because it doesn’t have some features yet? no camera, ok, personally, i don’t like phone cameras. no wifi. wifi would be nice, but next time. wifi is not the end all.
i guess the first blackberry was a dud too – black and white lcd, not even gprs….
I’m with Jim. Love mine and it’s the best phone I own. I already have wi-fi on my pda and you’re limited to the places you can receive a signal. So I didn’t care if this had it. Over the last three years I have had a camera phone. And during that time I only took 4 pictures. I don’t miss it at all on the 8800. If I want pictures that look good, I bring a camera. I get a lot of people who admire the looks of the 8800. I’d recommend it to anyone and I’m please with all I can do with it.
I’m with Phreqd on this one. Why is wifi so desired? EVDO speed seems adequate (from my Treo 700) and is available most everywhere. Please don’t start a BB vs. Treo war or Verizon vs. Cingular war here. That’s not my intent. I’m a BB fan but had not seen a viable alternative (for my particular needs) to the Treo until hearing of the 8800 due out on Verizon this spring. I’d be interested in comments from former Treo 700 users who have since tried the 8800..
I played around with the 8800 in the store today. Gotta say–at least from a hardware perspective–not impressed at all. I thought the keyboard was abysmal. I’m sure it’ll sell to the business user, which this is so obviouly aimed it. As a funny aside, though, my wife works for a big financial company, and they all just got brand new Cingular Blackberries….. 8700s!! I wonder how many companies looking to upgrade are more inclined to opt for the now-discounted 8700 instead of the 8800? One other thing: treoLover made an interesting point regarding WiFi: it really doesn’t mean much to VZW user w/ EVDO. I guess it means more to the person using EDGE. Anyway, my verdict? DUD!
One is constrained to point out that there a places of employment which prohibit cell phones that have cameras. While cameras seem to be the sine qua non for many phone consumers, some of us business types need a phone/pda combo sans the gizmos that have no real business uses (eg cameras, mp3 and eve gps all have minimal impact on a business phone — though the latter does have business uses it is not the decider for a phone for me and many other users but I NEED, for business reason, to be able to get to my cell PHONE at work and cannot have it prohibited for the toy camera.
I live in a country where CDMA Blackberries are the only available, so the only models we have here are 7250 & 7130e. Personally I use a 7250 and yesterday I had the opportunity to test a friend’s 8700 from Cingular. No matter that this model has better look and a beautiful color display, I felt it less strong than my 7250.
I have read that 8700 feels stronger than 8800, there fore after using a 7250, I can’t imagine how flimsy it is.
The trackball sux, period. Give me an 8700 with thumbwheel any day of the week. I might want a trackball if Atari Centipede ever makes a comeback … but otherwise they can keep it.