Consumer Reports smartphone ratings: 8830 is #19 of 20

[dtdt]

I subscribe to CR, but somehow the newest issue rating cell phones has hit the stands, and I don't have my copy yet!!! From what I remember, out of 20 smartphones ranked, the 8830 was #19, the Pearl was #12, and I think the 8800 was #10, or could have been the Curve. I'll post the actual rankings list when I get my mag.

Service wise, in a poll of most major US cities, almost unanimously Verizon was #1. On the other end of those polls, almost unanimously Sprint was ranked in last place.

The 8830 was ranked Moderate on Ease of Use...so it's safe to say that the ratings are for the "masses" who don't want to spend the time to learn a better device.

They also ranked the Sprint Treo 755p #2. Ouch. I know several people with this device, and a few of them loathe it. Same issues of freezing up.

Oh well, they're just ratings by CR...

[akosnitzky]

Not Good! : -(

[rta53]

Not Good! : -(

I think you've got to keep in mind that most Blackberry users care more about the push technology and instant email than the latest bells and whistles that come with typical mobile phones. My boss has tried a Treo and some other Windows Mobile based phone (can't remember what it was, doesn't matter, it was junk) He had them for about a week before they were back in the box to be returned. He wanted his BB back.

[tom10167]

lol @<hidden> the 8800 being higher
lolololol @<hidden> the Pearl being higher

[teamcrn]

Yeah i think some people care alot more about more freedom with there device. Its like a car that does a bunch of things ok versus a care that does one thing excellent.

[jsntrenkler]

Hmm, regardless of what the polls say, I am very happy with my 8830. And I love Verizon's service!!!

[rta53]

Hmm, regardless of what the polls say, I am very happy with my 8830. And I love Verizon's service!!!

And isn't that what really matters(y)

[dtdt]

Hmm, regardless of what the polls say, I am very happy with my 8830. And I love Verizon's service!!!

Yes, I totally agree!

Usually, I regard CR's reporting highly; in this case, it's true that the "masses" want all the bells and whistles, and without having to invest much time to learn how to operate it. I suppose if we all wanted to dumb-it-down, we'd opt for a Pearl or a Moto Q9...

I am also very happy with my 8830. We'll get our cameras in the next year or two, along with many other new features I'm sure. Built in tazer? Breathalizer? Voice recognition to replace the qwerty pad? Dare to dream.

[mrjerome]

I subscribe to CR, but somehow the newest issue rating cell phones has hit the stands, and I don't have my copy yet!!! From what I remember, out of 20 smartphones ranked, the 8830 was #19, the Pearl was #12, and I think the 8800 was #10, or could have been the Curve. I'll post the actual rankings list when I get my mag.

Service wise, in a poll of most major US cities, almost unanimously Verizon was #1. On the other end of those polls, almost unanimously Sprint was ranked in last place.

The 8830 was ranked Moderate on Ease of Use...so it's safe to say that the ratings are for the "masses" who don't want to spend the time to learn a better device.

They also ranked the Sprint Treo 755p #2. Ouch. I know several people with this device, and a few of them loathe it. Same issues of freezing up.

Oh well, they're just ratings by CR...

They are crazy if they think the Treo 755p is a better phone. I just talked a hospital staff into going with the BB 8830 over the Treo 755p. Side by side the 8830 IS OVERALL better!

[Salmosalar]

A Palm Treo 650 has been my lifeline for about 3 years. I just swapped it for a Blackberry 8830 because it has GPS, push e-mail and international capabilities, and I don't need to take pictures with my telephone, but I am about to send it back. Sprint is my carrier. I like the e-mail, but I am completely unhappy with the look of the web pages. I have spent many hours trying to get it to show me Yahoo in an intelligible fashion with little success. I was surprised to see that the 8830 lacks a lot of the refinements such as good looking graphics and web pages and the ability to work with spreadsheets and read .pdf files (without paying $99+ more for an add-on) that are on my Palm. Can someone recommend a good solution to this problem or is it endemic with a Blackberry? I have tried a couple of add-on programs which help a bit but not a lot. Maybe I have something set up wrong?

[kirwoodd]

Hmm, regardless of what the polls say, I am very happy with my 8830. And I love Verizon's service!!!


SSHHH!!!
Don't SAY that!!!
The Verizon haters will tar and feather you!!!

Of course, I agree, I love my 8830, and Verizon has been very good to me.
Guess I should get ready for the tar....
:?

Salmosalar, can't help you with the PDF viewer, but have your tried the Opera browser? I find that it renders pages nicely and with the zoom in and zoom out feature, I am diggin' it.

[rjansen3]

Its too bad that consumer reports is one of the most bias and slanted ratings sources out there. They write their reveiws for the highest bidder. I work for a compnay that sells tv's and appliances and furniture, and the worst thing is when people come in with their copies of consumer reports because they think they know everything. "I will only buy a panasonic tv becuase they get high ratings in consumer reports" Well, too bad Panasonic makes terrible horrid pieces of crap they call tvs. What? Did the iPhone get number one? LOL

[Ashg]

I have some friends who swear by Consumer Reports. I swear at those people.

Before grad school took over my life, I worked for a mid-major hardware review site and then tried to start my own. One thing I learned about reviews is that they need as much objective data as possible, with some subjective information added for color. CR seems to have that formula backwards, but people eat it up anyway.

I am a firm believer in YMMV. Review sites and review magazines, be they excellent or just money-making attempts, only give part of the picture. The most important aspect is how a device works for you personally. Then again, with the crowd that comes here I'm preaching to the choir on this subject. :)

[SheepDog]

I have had more phones in the last several years than I can begin to name. BB's and windows mobiles and even palm. I always come back to BB!

and I happen to love my 8830 and actually am quite satisfied with Sprint so far. My service has been better than just ok. ATT was my absolute world followed my worldcom and Nextel.

[rjansen3]

I have had more phones in the last several years than I can begin to name. BB's and windows mobiles and even palm. I always come back to BB!

and I happen to love my 8830 and actually am quite satisfied with Sprint so far. My service has been better than just ok. ATT was my absolute world followed my worldcom and Nextel.

I had Nextel for 3 years and adored the Direct Connect functionality. The internet was slow, but I was willing to deal with that. I bought a 7100i and had it for a month. My gf shortly thereafter got a 8830 on Verizon. Needless to say, I have to have the best of the best, so I picked up the 8830 on Sprint. Regardless of what people say, I love my Sprint service.

[dtdt]

Well, here goes... I'm just going to list the ratings from 1-20, and include the phone and overall score (scale of 0-100), because there are too many other details on the chart to include here. For the BB phones, I will include as much detail as is given.

1) (ouch!) Apple iPhone 8GB (AT&T) ---> 64
2) Palm Treo 755p (Sprint Nextel) ---> 63
3) Samsung Blackjack (AT&T) ---> 62
4) T-Mobile Wing ---> 62
5) Motorola MOTO Q music 9m (Verizon) ---> 61
6) Palm Treo 680 (AT&T) ---> 61
*7) BlackBerry Curve (AT&T) ---> 61
8) Cingular 3125 Smartphone (AT&T) ---> 60
9) Palm Treo 700p (Sprint Nextel) ---> 60
10) HTC Touch (Unlocked; T-Mobile) ---> 59
11) Palm Treo 700wx (Sprint Nextel) ---> 59
*12) BlackBerry Pearl (T-Mobile) ---> 59
13) T-Mobile Dash ---> 58
*14) BlackBerry 8800 (AT&T) ---> 58
15) Nokia N95 (Unlocked; AT&T) ---> 57
16) T-Mobile Sidekick iD ---> 57
17) Palm Centro (Sprint Nextel) ---> 57
18) LG Prada KE850 (Unlocked; AT&T) ---> 55
*19) BlackBerry 8830 (Verizon) ---> 55
20) Motorola Q (Verizon) ---> 51

GUIDE TO THE RATINGS:

For all phones: OVERALL SCORE is based mainly on voice quality, ease of use, and talk time; sensitivity was also considered. Scores are rounded; models are all listed in precise order. LISTENING reflects what we heard; TALKING, what was heard on the other end of the call. Tests were conducted in noisy and quiet settings using live phone calls on the carriers noted. EASE OF USE mainly considers display and keypad readability, step-saving functions, hands-free capabilities, and text messaging. TALK TIME is an average to the nearest quarter-hour from tests with strong and weak network signals; time may vary with data applications. SENSITIVITY reflects voice quality when receiving a weak signal. Scores apply only within each carrier group, not between carriers. The rating scale ranges from Excellent > Very Good > Good > Fair > Poor.


PERFORMANCE NOTES FOR BB MODELS:

7) BlackBerry Curve:
Listening = Fair; Talking = Good; Ease of use = Good; Talk time = 6.25 hrs; Messaging and InSync (sic) = Good; Sensitivity = Very Good


12) BlackBerry Pearl:
L = Good; T = Good; EOU = Good; TT = 5.25 hrs; M&S = Good; S = Very Good


14) BlackBerry 8800:
L = Fair; T = Good; EOU = Good; TT = 7.25 hrs; M&S = Good; S = Very Good


19) BlackBerry 8830:
L = Good; T = Good; EOU = Good; TT = 4.5 hrs; M&S = Good; S = Good

"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"


OTHER PERF. NOTES:

1) Apple iPhone 8GB:
L = Fair; T = Good; EOU = Very Good; TT = 8.25 hrs; M&S = Very Good; S = Very Good

2) Palm Treo 755p:
L = Good; T = Good; EOU = Very Good; TT = 4.75 hrs; M&S = Excellent; S = Good

3) Samsung Blackjack:
L = G; T = VG; EOU = VG; TT = 5.25 hrs; M&S = G; S = VG

4) T-Mobile Wing:
L = F; T = G; EOU = G; TT = 7.75 hrs; M&S = VG; S = VG

5) Motorola MOTO Q:
L = G; T = VG; EOU = VG; TT = 3.5 hrs; M&S = VG; S = VG

6) Palm Treo 680:
L = F; T = G; EOU = VG; TT = 4 hrs; M&S = E; S = VG

9) Palm Treo 700p:
L = G; T = VG; EOU = VG; TT = 3.75 hrs; M&S = E; S = G


There is only one brief mention of push capability in the entire article, under the Operating Systems section: "Blackberry: One of the simplest phones for e-mail, offering easy setup of e-mail accounts, especially from T-Mobile. Push capability automatically sends e-mail to the phone so you don't have to check it manually."

Enjoy.

[rjansen3]

So we are supposed to believe that Apple iPhone is so great even though it lacks basic features that 2 year old phones have? Wow! I remember when I bought my first color screen phone, the LG 5350, and even that had internal GPS! So yes, CR, iPhone is AMAZING! Not really....

[SheepDog]

just goes to show that CR is not as smart as they think they are! I had treos and they fall apart! I had a blackjack and it wouldnt do email for crap! I had a centro even for 1 day and it is the biggest POS ever made by man!

[dtdt]

The feedback here on CR is opening my eyes to the fact that they are just one source of reviews. I've owned several products which they have ranked both very high and very low, and half of the time I've disagreed with them. My Fischer & Paykel washer and dryer are the best, most energy efficient units I've ever owned, doing perfect laundering every time, and they rated them as mediocre, too...

iPhone, uJane....

[rjansen3]

I have a Fischer Paykel washer too! Love it!:razz:

[arazu]

The fact that the iPhone is #1 tells me this is geared toward the people who think "Ooo shiny, must buy". That may be fine for some people but those of us who NEED to stay connected require more.

A general contractor working for me got an iPhone a while ago. He was showing me all the neat features like the touch interface and media capabilities. Then he went on to tell me all the places he can't get coverage (ATT is the worst here). While we were talking his boss called. His end of the conversation was along the lines of "What!? I didn't get that. You sent it when? Crap! I'm on my way." Then he raced off. The next time I saw him he had his 8830 back. I guess keeping your job is better than being able to download the latest Black Eyed Peas song.

I can't see why Sprint is last. I have NO dropped calls and can get a signal anywhere others can and more. My sister is with VZ and that seems to be the only carrier that has equal or possibly better reception. On the other hand she was furious when I told her what VZ had disabled on her phone.

Sure some websites may look lousy but they work. I can't look at Flash or stream video. In fact there are tons of frilly things I can't do. But, I do have this brand new invention called a laptop. I know, you may not have heard of them yet but they are really cool.

[androw@thestorycompanies.]

Shouldn't the ratings for coverage be the same for Sprint and Verizon? Don't they use the same towers so shouldn't their coverage be exactly the same?

[bcreekski]

Hmm, regardless of what the polls say, I am very happy with my 8830. And I love Verizon's service!!!

I will join the chorus. The 8830 and Verizon works fine for me. The Verizon support at the store near me has been perfect.

[TBOLTRAM]

As the article shows that stereo is not working the review is rather old as it is referring to the original OS from the May 07 timeframe. As we all know there have been two upgrade to the OS since then. Maybe CR downgraded the 8830 due to some of it's features being turned off by VZW such as MMS and GPS.

I was amused that both at&t and Sprint got rather low marks for their networks.

Another thing to consider is that CR very seldom tests office type electronic equipment such as high volume b/w or color laser printers. For example, CR tests consumer grade inkjets and cheap b/w laser printers only. I view both the iPhone and Pearl as being more consumer directed than the 8830 as they have built in cameras. Perhaps this is in line with their philosophy and influences their results.

Just my 11 cents allowing for inflation.

[ApacheIndian]

I agree wholehearedly. I am ECSTATIC with my VZW 8830.

My viz-a-viz at work recently jumped on the iPhone bandwagon and it seems that he and I are involved in an impromtu pissing contest of sorts with our respective smartphones. He'll mock me when I can't get a web page to display correctly -- I'll scorn him because half the time in the building we're in he won't have signal.

I agree that I think the iPhone is just an expensive toy for the teeny-bopper iPod hoi polloi. I truly believe that for the tech-savvy, the BB is unbeatable. But I need some objective reasons to shut my buddy up. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[teamcrn]

Most people dont need there email instantly and thats the major selling point of the blackberry. Otherwise the internet on the blackberry is not good and the media options are below average. For me my blackberry does email the best thats all i use it for my ipod touch does the rest. So you can see why someone who doesnt get 100 emails a day and wants 1 device would pick a iphone.

[SheepDog]

Yea. Tell him he is ugly too!

[daphne]

I think CR's reviews should be taken with a huge grain of salt in most areas, just like reviews at PCMag, PCWorld, CNET, etc.

Last year CR did reviews of security software -- anti-virus and anti-spyware. Everyone in the industry thought their reviews and ratings were way off base and their methodology was terrible.

[omkhar]

PERFORMANCE NOTES FOR BB MODELS:

7) BlackBerry Curve:
Listening = Fair; Talking = Good; Ease of use = Good; Talk time = 6.25 hrs; Messaging and InSync (sic) = Good; Sensitivity = Very Good


12) BlackBerry Pearl:
L = Good; T = Good; EOU = Good; TT = 5.25 hrs; M&S = Good; S = Very Good


14) BlackBerry 8800:
L = Fair; T = Good; EOU = Good; TT = 7.25 hrs; M&S = Good; S = Very Good


19) BlackBerry 8830:
L = Good; T = Good; EOU = Good; TT = 4.5 hrs; M&S = Good; S = Good

"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"


OTHER PERF. NOTES:

1) Apple iPhone 8GB:
L = Fair; T = Good; EOU = Very Good; TT = 8.25 hrs; M&S = Very Good; S = Very Good




How does the iPhone get a Very Good for messenging and the BlackBerry devices only get a "good" - has CR tried typing an email on the blasted touch screen??

[AnthroMatt]

Any "survey" that doesn't consider the 8800 and 8830 as the same device (they are after all, basically the same...one is for GSM use, the other CDMA) is not worth crap.

[Reelgator]

I have owned the Treo (2) and the Q, have been a smartphone user since the Kyro 7135 days.

Hands down the 8830 is the BEST smartphone I have ever owned.

And Alltel is the best carrier I have had to date, and with them so far 7 years.

[AndrewAZ]

Owned 4-5 700p's and 2 755p's (kept crapping out).. Any poll that rates a treo better than any phone shouldnt be taken seriously... Consumer reports has a history of being biased in electronics along with car ratings, 5 years ago CR was a good place to go for reviews and ratings but not anymore.

Heck the recent cell phone provider review by CR rated sprint dead last stating the most dropped calls yet every study done has put sprint as the network with the least dropped calls and the largest network coverage.. We all know T mobil is the worst...

[mriff]

I love my 8830. My only wish is that they get the ringtone volume fixed. My wife has an 8820 and her's is loud and clear.