I have been using a T719 for two weeks now--first week at home in the US, second week on a business trip in Europe. Overall, this is a terrific mobile--the positives outweigh the shortcomings for me, at least.

First the Pros: The size is fantastic. As a previous RAZR user, I wanted something small that I could slip into a back pocket. To get a quad-band phone and a Blackberry in one small clamshell is fantastic. The screen is bright and high-contrast, the audio is very good both in the earpiece and in the speakerphone, and I am told by those I call that I the microphone does a good job.

I have read criticism of the outside screen. People gripe that it has a monochrome display. This is not exactly true. In fact, the time/day/date information is monochrome, making it readable without bringing up the backlight. It's a huge improvement over systems that require a button click to illuminate the display. This monochrome info, however, overlays a color LCD beneath. When illuminated by a button click or opening the phone, it is quite bright and gives a 3D effect to the info display.

The keys are quite usable for text entry--significantly bigger, and better laid out than on the Pearl, with a nice tactile click when depressed. Driving the device with the arrow keys is easy and effective. The Pearl's trackball is very cool, but not necessary--neither is the traditional Blackberry scroll wheel.

I was happy to learn the Blackerry Connect provides the same services as any RIM-built Blackberry device. Naturally, it does e-mail and, when paired with a Blackberry Enterprise Server, will sync contacts and calendar info with the PC.

The Cons:
Battery life is short. I'm getting a full day's use out of it (phone and e-mail), but you are unlikely to have it last two days. Rememeber to charge it every night.

The SureType Speedy Word predictive text option takes some getting used to. As you type, it works to guess the words, getting them right about 70% of the time in my experience. Remember, this isn't a full QWERTY keyboard. The SureType keyboard assigns two letters to each key, laid out in QWERTY fashion. I'll be honest, I've turned it off and just used the tried-and-true triple-tap method. It's just faster for me. And where the heck is the apostrophe???

If you want a Blackberry, want it small, and prefer a clamshell to a candybar phone, this is it. I was on my way to buy the Pearl (8100), but the issues with the trackball rejecting calls with even minor movement, as well as the relatively smaller keyboard changed my mind.

After two weeks of use, under extreme road warrior conditions on two continents, I can recommend the T719.