Wow, nice rant and welcome to the forums.

Ok, I had a Verizon 8830 for about 18 months. I loved that phone, never had any issues with it. From what you describe, it sounds like carelessness with the device. I've never broken a battery cover putting it back on, I am sure others may have, but I would say they're in the minority.

The water damage indicator wouldn't lie. When odd things like that start to happen, it is likely due to moisture. You could've tried to reload the OS up upgrade it to see if that would've helped.

If you dropped any other phone, do you think it would have suffered any physical damage? You can get a new LCD screen if you would like. HorizonWirelessOnline.com - Horizon Wireless, The World’s Cellular Repair Center ß.

BlackBerry devices are not for everyone, maybe they're not for you. That's for you to decide. Well, regardless, I wish you well with your new phone.