new here, need some advice

[Pointblanksta]

Hey guys, my name is Ben and i am new to the forum. Currently I have a Nextel i730. I am seriously contemplating updating to a Blackberry 7520 in the coming months. I know this phone is capable of a lot, but what exactly does it do? My buddy has shown me his, and I am familiar with the web browsing services, as well as the direct connect (for this model), and the planner. Basically what i need to know is would you guys recommend this phone for a college student? Also what other programs can you run off of the blackberry that would be beneficial to the user. Thanks in advance for any information!

[stonent]

The point is e-mail. If you need e-mail while on the go, get it. If you just want to run apps, you may be better off with a iPAQ or something.

[Jase88]

Welcome to the forum!

All of your questions and more have been answered in previous threads--I would therefore recommend a search. Also, Mark Rejhon's excellent FAQ at the top of this forum should answer many questions....

In my opinion, the 7520 is excellent for a college student. Providing of course that the service and cost of the device falls within your budget.

[rcbjr]

Well, I would suggest you read through the FAQ sticky thread at the top of the Forum page. That will give you a lot of information about the capabilities for the Blackberries. As to whether or not it would be good for you, that depends on what you want to do with it. The BB is a good communication tool, reliable and secure, but it is not a playtoy that has a lot of extraneous features.

Hope this helps.
Rcbjr

[nb_mitch]

It's not a play toy :( Now I am bummed, that is the only reason I bought it ;)

First and foremost, it isn't a phone, it is a Blackberry with some phone capability. As such it's primary use you didn't even mention, email. Secondly, you can sync up a BB with your outlook for calendar, tasks, contacts and last you can run many apps, including PDA types of apps.

Personally, I use mine for email about 75% of the time, I use it as a phone about 10% and IM about 10% and 5% browsing the net. Browsing on the 8700 is feasible, because of the EDGE, but I don't think it was feasible on a non-EDGE device as my 7290 was.

[rcbjr]

It's not a play toy :( Now I am bummed, that is the only reason I bought it ;)

First and foremost, it isn't a phone, it is a Blackberry with some phone capability. As such it's primary use you didn't even mention, email. Secondly, you can sync up a BB with your outlook for calendar, tasks, contacts and last you can run many apps, including PDA types of apps.

Personally, I use mine for email about 75% of the time, I use it as a phone about 10% and IM about 10% and 5% browsing the net. Browsing on the 8700 is feasible, because of the EDGE, but I don't think it was feasible on a non-EDGE device as my 7290 was.

---

To me, the 8700 is a communication tool. I use the phone function, the email function and the browser function, all for communication. The phone is as good as any phone I have ever had, better as it's the first with a speakerphone capability. It is my only personal phone, no landline at home. Emai is great. And I use IM to communicate with my son in Taji, Iraq whenever we can hook up. And lastly, I use the browser to communicate with everyone here on BBForums. That's a communication tool.

Rcbjr

[Pointblanksta]

thanks guys this did help

for me it would probably be used as a resource tool, for finding things on the internet without having to go to my dorm. The second thing that makes it so handy is the walkie-talkie capability (i have to get nextel, my ENTIRE family has them so it only makes sense). The email and sync features would also come in handy too. I think I will take a trip to my local nextel dealer tomorrow and check out their prices.

[nb_mitch]

---To me, the 8700 is a communication tool. I use the phone function, the email function and the browser function, all for communication. The phone is as good as any phone I have ever had

I can buy that, I too agree the phone is much better than my 7290, how good I don't know, but so far I haven't had anyone complain about not hearing me and I have not had a dropped call, I just don't use it much as a phone, as this month I have only used 200 minutes total of a 450 plan. In the last 6 months I have accumulated 1600 rollover minutes.

Maybe my problem is I don't have any friends to talk it, it aint the "phone" after all ;)

[rcbjr]

I can buy that, I too agree the phone is much better than my 7290, how good I don't know, but so far I haven't had anyone complain about not hearing me and I have not had a dropped call, I just don't use it much as a phone, as this month I have only used 200 minutes total of a 450 plan. In the last 6 months I have accumulated 1600 rollover minutes.

Maybe my problem is I don't have any friends to talk it, it aint the "phone" after all ;)

---

I don't even use that much. I am not much of a "gabber". Business communication is done with the company equipment, and we're using more and more teleconferencing and net meetings. After several hours a day with a landline handset stuck in my ear, I don't much feel like gabbing. Exchange hellos, get the point of the call handled and get off the phone.

Again, just my two cents
Rcbjr

[Pointblanksta]

thanks again for the advice i read the FAQ thread and learned alot, so today i went out and bought the 7520 with the unlimited internet service. i am now going to go download some apps for my bb and try this thing out. Once again thanks guys