Hello all. i'd be very grateful if some of you guys could help me decide between the 8310 Curve and the 8800. I'm in the UK, and will be switching from a Qtek 9100 to either of these BBs, but remain unsure which would suit my needs best.

I need it for personal hotmail use, work emails, and sat-nav. Not fussed about the absence of a camera on the 8800, and i've tried the keyboard too, which I didnt have a problem with.

I've read that the 8800 has a GPS antenna, but that it takes up to 5 mins to activate, and that the 8310 doesnt have one, and therefore needs to run off a data feed to give the satnav. What are the pros/cons of each approach?

I've read that the 8800 doesnt have a camera, which i'm not too bothered about, but in terms of future-proofing my selection (i'll be on an 18mth contract) surely it makes sense to get the latest BB model?

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

Both BB are great. I would go with the 8310 if I were you. Thats my own opinion.

Having built in GPS means you only have to carry one device. However, I am not that thrilled with using a PDA, including a BB, as a primary GPS navigation device. The screen is much too small, you need telenav or something similar to talk to you as you drive (too dangerous to keep looking at the screen while driving IMHO).

Keep in mind that you will need the unlimited data plan to get the full use from the BB, including GPS, as maps are constantly downloaded, not stored on the device or SD card.

Always a safe bet to go without a camera too, depending upon your employer's rule concerning such.

Thanks Dubdub. Yes, I agree I'd need a voice-based satnav, and that reminds me - i think i read that the Curve doesnt have an in-car fitting?

I would be getting an unlimited data plan, so no issue there. Do you mean that the Curve then needs an additional clip-on device to use satnav, but that the inbuilt GPS antenna on the 8800 is all thats needed?

Regarding the camera, I run my own company so that isnt a restriction.

The 8310 does have a built in GPS and antenna. It wouldn't be considered built in if you had to carry something else around. My 8310 works fine in the car, on the street or in the woods. You can pay for subscription based services, but I like Nav4All with turn by turn, best of all it is free.

pilot1, are you sure about that? Here in the UK, the models we get definitely dont have an inbuilt GPS antenna.

Also, the 8800 is marketed here as more of a business phone than the Curve. Other than the camera/video functions on the Curve, why is it considered more of a consumer phone?

A GPS can not work with out antenna. Othe antenna is inside the phone in the upper right corner. It is even printed on mine "GPS" I have several GPS Programs installed on my phone and some show a chart of where the Sats are in realtion to your postion, this data matches other stand alone GPS's that I have and you can not get that by the trianglation method. The trianglation maping will only get you at best 500 meters to you location and is not fast enough for turn by turn directions. I have heard that some service providers deactivate the GPS so you won't run up their data plans. Maybe this is the issue. The 8300 and the 8320 do not have GPS the 8310 and the do have built in GPS. this is confirmed on the Blackberry website. The 8300 and the 8320 wil work with GPS, but you have to carry a bluetooth GPS and it will work the same way. So all are GPS capable, just the 8310 and 8330 have it al in one package. Hope this helps.