PS. I miss voice reco as well going from my old i700, but have made do a couple of ways on the 7250.

First of all, get a ProClip that holds your BB nicely so you can see it in the car. Secondly, program you device to speed dial frequently accessed numbers so you can do a one touch dial.

I found it fairly easy to find a number in my address book just by typing the first couple of letters of the name and then one handing the device with the trackwheel to get the call option, then choosing the right number. I agree its not as easy as voice reco, but workable.

In terms of the backlight, look on the 3rd part application forum here and there is a group working on PocketDay that has a hack that can keep the backlight on. You can get the utility with some others for free, but I am waiting on PocketDay that will include it. PocketDay looks like Pocket Informant which I used on my PocketPC, which actually makes your calendar and task list much more usable.

I have had a number of phones/smartphones and can't see ever leaving BB. If you use email/SMS a alot you can't beat it. If you just do voice and want a PIM, get another device. Hang in there.