Having both a Blackberry and a Series 60 phone (the Nokia N70) I have to say they both have their advantages and disadvantages. The E61 will be based on Series 60 so not too entirely different from my N70. What I'll say is that the Blackberry's PIM apps are much more flexible in most cases. The interfaces are different but both need no touchscreen; that's nice IMO. The email application on the BB is outstanding. The Email app on S60 is a little less sophisticated (but is can send attachments). One thing that I really enjoy in the S60 is the multimedia capabilities. Some BB users find this to be "not in the BB's interests" but I certainly do like having them. The web browser on the BB is very nice. I use Opera on my N70 and it is very nice too. I'm not sure if the 8700 or the E61 will be better or just different sides of the same coin, but for the time being, the over capabilities of the E61 does seem to give it a few advantages. But that's just my opinion.