Thinking of getting 8830

[pmma]

I'm thinking of making the jump from a Verizon Treo 700p to the 8830. Before I do, I have a couple of questions... I've searched for answers, but haven't seen anything conclusive...

1. How is the phone audio quality on the 8830? I'm reading posts where people are complaining of an echo and that the mic is too sensitive. A sensitive mic (no noise canceling) was my biggest complaint about the 8703. Can anyone comment? How is the audio quality on the receivers end of the conversation?

2. If using BIS, will email sync both ways? My company does not run a BES, but does give us access to the server through OWA. If I use the BIS, will device changes such as "read," "delete," etc. migrate back to the server so my laptop shows the same thing as my 8830?

3. Battery life. Can anyone comment on batter life compared to the Treo 700p? I'm a 4,000 minute a month user, so I'm on the phone a lot. I need a battery that will make it a day... knowing I'm on the phone quite a bit.

Thanks.

[JSanders]

1. It's all opinion. I've read both negative and positive feedback on the 8830. I have the 8800, same basic model and have great mic and speaker volume, as well as good BT earpiece volume.
2. BIS email will NOT sync. You can reconcile deletes with some BIS setups. But if you send an email from your BB to person A, it will not appear magically in your Outlook Sent box on your desktop. You need BES for full mail sync. The new 2.3 BIS is supporting read receipts, but I haven't used it yet to comment.
3. Can't compare. I know "most" heavy phone users require topping off the battery during the day. I do that. I never have a problem.

[Mad Max]

No echo on my 8830, just low ringer volume and battery life could be better. Other than that I think it's a solid phone. Coming off a Treo 700w any phone is going to be great!

[someonexh]

I don't have an echo per se, but just yesterday my wife was telling me that my blackberry picks up every single sound. When she talks to me on the phone she can hear everything around me and it's loud. I really do love the phone to death though, the call clarity is just amazingly crisp. This is the first phone I have ever had where I had to actually turn down the speaker so it's not so damn loud in my ear (not speakerphone .. regular ear peice).

As far as battery is concerned, it is better than my old Q as well. It could still use some improvement, but the way I see it, I use it 10x more than I ever did my Q and it still lasts the whole day.