Hello All!

I had posted here before the unfortunate demise of the original board and the crash; really glad to see it's back up and better than ever! Keep up the great work, all involved!!

Anyway, I have a dilemma and I wanted your opinions on the matter. I will be getting a BB very soon and I'm debating either getting the 7290 or waiting for the forthcoming 7100g; I'm on Cingular, if you hadn't guessed. I've used the 7230 and loved it, but returned it because I wanted Bluetooth and really wanted OS 4 so I could use things like instant messaging without having to cough up extra for a service/functionality that I think should be included with the BB. I've played around with a "fake" 7100t at T-Mobile but never really had a chance to use the real thing. My impressions of the 7100t were that the size was great, screen seemed very nice and the feature list was impressive. However, I miss the QWERTY keyboard and I'm a little sketchy on the whole predictive text input and worry that the best thing about the BB devices, in a hardware sense, (the QWERTY keyboard) is gone and input on the device would be hindered. Ergo, I thought it wise to stick with the 7290 even though it has fewer features and a bit more awkward shape/size, though the jury is still out.

I'm someone that will be using the device for all communications/organizing: phone, email, SMS, web, PIM and faxing if possible. I'm out and about a lot but not a road warrior so I don't think that I'd really need BES, per se, but it might be nice to mess around with something like Mailstreet to see what the hype is all about. Device size isn't too important cuz anything over the size of a typical Moto flip phone is all in the same category, IMHO. I'm a gadget fiend and love cool new toys but I've learned my lesson a lot in the past by being on the "bleeding edge" of technology and now prefer to take a stab at something if it's pretty stable and relibale, which I know the 7290 is and hope the 7100g will be after learning some lessons from the 7100t.

What do you think? Would you wait for the 7100g or just grab the 7290 and not look back? For those with the 7100t, do you find that "learning" how to type is worth it or does it take away from a major part of the Blackberry's convenience? Do you think either device "paints you in a corner" by not being expandable or able to take on certain tasks? Any idea how long until the 7100g graces Cingular shelves? ANything the 7100 does better than the 7290 and vice versa?

I'd really appreciate any and all input from this great forum! Thanks, in advance!!

bmills

Getting ready to trade in my truck for a boat here in rainy SoCal!!

They keypad on the 7100t was definitely an issue for me and I ended up getting a 7290. Feature-wise, the 7100's main advantages are the speakerphone (if that's a plus for you -- it's not for me) and a better screen. However, I should point out that the 7290 has a really good screen. It's just not as sharp as the 7100. It is much better than the 7230. The dual-brightness backlight is great on the 7290 and I rarely use the higher setting.

This may not be an issue for the 7100g, depending on what theme Cingular ends up using, but the 7100t had some serious lag with the T-Mobile theme. I found switching it to the default theme helped a bit.

YMMV of course. Do the T-Mobile stores not have any working 7100t's to try out?

I was very, very, very skeptical about the keyboard. I was worried it was too small and that my well trained blackberry thumbs would not learn a new trick......

But after 2 months with a 7100t, I can honestly say that if it is slower to type with the new keyboard, it's so small I can't tell. I receive about 120+ emails a day and send 30-50, mostly with the 7100t. It is truly scary how it figures out and learns what you want to type. The AI and logic is way better than before!

My other reservation was not being able to talk on the phone, while looking up information on my BB. But with Bluetooth I am a multi-tasking fool!

Nothing wrong with the 7290, but they are different beasts....

Let me know if you have any other questions.. and if your in NJ, you can try mine out.

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like the 7100 deserves a serious look, albeit with less than a full keyboard. Maybe I'll see if know anyone with a working 7100 and give it a shot; I just can't stand store sales people telling me "it works great...you'll type faster than on the regular keyboard!!" Yeah right...

Anyway, I guess I'll hold off for a bit until I can get my hands on the 7100g when it comes out and try the keyboard. Thanks, again!

bmills