.......like the title, suggests, my first impressions I wrote about last week are coming true to many.

I believe the 8800 criticisms were too harsh, the fact is that there is nothing wrong with the 8800, except for the squeeky sides, and the keyboard is no worse than the Curve.

So who's switching back?

I have not purchased the 8300, however was thinking that the 8800 really isn't that bad. If they could just permanently fix those damn side rails. The whole squeaking issue really ruins the perception of the 8800 being a high end business device.

If I did switch back it would be to the 8700 not the 8800. I think that most the people who will switch back are T-Mo users!

The 8300 is a good device and will make many very happy.

The 8800 is OK too

8800 still feels like a brick to me, and the curve is just fine. like greg says, if i had to go back it'd be to the 8700 over the 8800 or 8100.

Personally I could never go back to a trackwheel device. I dislike the 8800 keyboard, but did not drink the 8300 Kool-Aid either.

Maybe when T-Mobile comes out with the 9320 with 5.1mp camera, WiFi, HSDPA, IR and a microwave oven.

I hope thats a joke. The 8800 is a brick but the 8700 is not?

I too was confused about that statement.....

Where does this venom come from? I'm very pleased with the move from an 8800 to an 8300, myself. The difference in size is just enough to make it perfectly comfortable in my hand, the build quality seems better to me... I don't understand why anyone with an 8800 and a chip on his shoulder would begrudge a new 8300 owner for any reason.

IMHO.

Stac.

I agree. I can't imagine where this is coming from... So far my 8300 has proved to be the nicest Blackberry produced to date. It just works as it should, which is what I want from a phone/email device.

The 8700 is nice, and with the new software, great, but it is kinda fat and doesn't look as nice as the 8800, which I have recieved many complimentary comments about.

Also, the trackwheel is a thing of the past, so I don't want to remain attached to something I won't be able to use in future Berrys.

I say I made the biggest leap on this one of anyone. I switched from T-Mobile (5 year customer) to AT&T finally. I just got sick and tired of T-Mobile's "new direction" they're going.. everything good is gone... they're no longer a relevant player in the US Market (and internally they all know it - notice less ads, less new devices, less competitive rate plane... let's face it, they're coming to reality that they can't compete with the big boys)... don't get me wrong, I'm a former EMPLOYEE of TMO, so I even hung on longer than I should, but hey, gotta do what's best for me.

I went out and snatched up a couple 8300's... and love them, even though I could type fast on the 8100 I would get so pissed when i tried to type words it didn't know (one thing I noticed was when I'd drink I'd try to type and I'd mess up and it made me wanna throw the thing)... the new 8300 is a lush's best friend...not only can you type easier when intoxicated, but you can spell check it when done!

But in all seriousness, from an unbiased source, the reception I have experienced on AT&T thus far is superior to T-Mobile. I live in a downtown high-rise and I couldn't use my t-mobile phone in the elevators (yeah shoulda been a deal killer) whereas the new AT&T phone has full bars!!!

What is nice is that there are so many choices now. If you are a Cing/AT&T customer, you have several BB devices to choose from, not including devices like the 8700 which is still a great device.

They are ALL good to the users who prefer them!

People really do make me laugh.

I think that the original poster is reffering to posts that highlight problems people have had with the 8300. (personally I have had none, thats why I came to Blackberry - v reliable!)

When will people understand that when a product is selling on such a large scale and volume that unfortunalty there will be some faulty items!!

Working in a mobile phone retailer I can honestly say hand on my heart that not one manafacturer is any better than the other! (besides Blackberry, for 5 blackberries to be returned in the 4 years I've worked there isnt bad at all, two of them with a cracked screen!, which btw Blackberry just replaced)

Electrical items do go wrong!! I bought a £2000 samsung lcd tv for it to go wrong in the 1st 4 hours. Unfortunatly its the world of mass production!!

Enjoy your 8300's - I am!!

I like the Curve, will wait til the 30 days are up and go trade in for a newer one

Calendar issue is bugging me though.

I myself am currently using the Tmo's 8800 and find it great. Gone is the squeeky side rails from AT&T's 8800 although they are identical. There have been a lot of threads popping up on the quality issues of the 8300 as well as crashes and what nots. But you all have to keep in mind that people generally post when they have problems and issues. Especially when a brand new products just launched there will be issues. But if you consider how many 8300s have already been sold compared to the numbers of issues that people on this board have brought up, we're talking about a very tiny percentage.

I learned that no matter what device and what bleeding edge technology it has, there will always and I can say that with 100% certainty, that there will be issues and some will complain.

I just received my Curve late Friday, and using it over the weekend I must say I love it, no real problems. I switched from a Pearl which I also really liked, but I never felt comfortable with the sure type.

Like others have said, now there is a BB for just about every taste.

I really like my Curve...and pretty much everything about it. It's my first BBerry and I'm glad I jumped ship from Palm. But...from day one, the lightness of the device has kind of bothered me, since I come from a history of much heavier phones. I guess I kind of like a "brick".

I got a chance to very briefly mess with the 8800 that belonged to an AT&T sales rep yesterday...and although I didn't squeeze it to check the siderail squeak issue...I have to admit I liked the feel of it a little better than my Curve. It fits my hand well (as does the Curve), I like the weight, and the look is very attractive...but the Curve is a good looking device too, although more subtle.

I don't know...I have another 11-days to figure out what I really want. But...I will probably stay with the Curve.

I switched from the 8800 to the Curve and I don't have any problems.

I understand the basic human need to rationalize one's decisions and look to others for approval - but, honestly, to actively denounce one device over the other seems counterproductive.

I'm one of those guys that is a phone whore - and I've had an 8700, 7130, Pearl, 8800 and now a Curve (8300) and despite the lack of a GPS in the Curve, I'm really quite happy with what RIM has done with it. The 8700 was something of a learning platform for me... the 7130 disappointing... the Pearl was a breath of fresh air but flawed to me because it lacked a QWERTY and 320x240 screen and some processing horsepower... the 8800 was a solid, fast performer but I had a problem with the weight and size not being optimal (no camera either)... and the Curve provided me with the perfect fit to my hand that I have been craving along with the QWERTY and screen I wanted.

My next Blackberry will be a Curve sized device with Camera, GPS and 3G... whenever that model shows up, I can update my device list.

I had been waiting for an iPhone, but I've really soured on it because Apple is already engineering v2.0 to correct the flaws in the device they haven't even put on the street yet. To me, spending $700 beans on a 1.0 device that has issues (no user replaceable battery is a real oversight) isn't in the cards, especially given that the Curve is such a do-it-all device in it's own right.

So, I guess we all now have a blackberry for every taste, and for right now, the Curve sates my desires... to each his own berry I say!

Cheers!
Stac

i would probably said the same thing if I was unfortunate enough to buy an 8800 and then have the 8300 released a few short weeks later. just sour grapes.

You get a standing ovation and an AMEN from me on this comment!

Guess I found another friend

I'd like to officially state that the best Blackberry is always the one that's in my pocket.

Being a BES Admin for the 5000+ user company I can say I have had every single BlackBerry released, all the way back to the 850

I am not a holster-type IT guy; I like a device that fits well in my pocket. When I tried the 8800 I was using a Pearl. The size alone killed it for me. The only redeeming quality for me on the 8800 was the GPS. When I stopped to think about how often I would actually use the GPS, I decided to give it to somoene else in my company. The 8800 was just too damn big to go in a pocket. Other than that, it performed like any other 8xxx series device. The keyboard was a bit too cramped as well, but it was do-able.

I received the 8300 day after launch and I am pretty impressed. As I said before, the thing that matters most to ME is the ability for it to fit comfortably in my pocket. The 8300 is on the borderline. It fits, but its still a smidge too big. But the new features like full screen video, spell check, 3.5MM headset/headphone jack, and better camera make me try a little harder to make it work.

I still may go back to the Pearl for its size (I have no problems with SureType), but the 8300 definitely works for me as well.

Hope this helps,
Greg

I have the Curve and the 8800, and I like the both of them! Both are great devices, the Curve just feels great in the hand, and yea it's got the camera and some other bells and whistles that the 8800 doesn't! But it depends on preference at this point, especially with at&t offering so many devices to choose from now! While the 8800 is a great device, squeaks are annoying for something that is in your hands throughout the day, I heard they fixed them by the way. And the Curve, especially early units, will have some issues too (mine did). I returned the first Curve I got yesterday for a new one, and so far so good! If I had to pick, I'd say the Curves form factor wins me over! Really fits like a glove

I'll second that! The 8800 owners that detract from the 8300 are just mad that a newer model came out so soon after they paid so much for an 8800. Luckily- I was still within the 30 day exchange period and now have a flawless Curve to pocket.!!!

I just bought a 8300 and I am really impressed! It's not a problem for me, but the only problem I could see with the 8300 is that the keyboard keys are much smaller than previous BBs, and people with massive fingers might fat-finger a bunch of stuff. Otherwise, it's gorgeous and leagues better than the 8800 for my needs.

I really like my 8300 Curve and have no problems with it...I do miss my Pearl and I still have it..I'll just switch back and forth

actually, now that I'm a curve owner, the 8800 looks even worse than when I had it. And I didn't have a problem with my 8800.

I've had every QWERTY BB since the 6230, and I despise the 8800 the most. The 8300 is perfect for me. I'm not saying the 8800 isn't good, it just isn't for me.

Eddie.

Like I said in a previous post - I am coming from an 8700 to the Curve that I picked up on Saturday and I may very well be in love.

I don't care what version you have, it's what your doing with it that matters at the end of the day.

Well Welcome to the Forum! But on here people (myself included) are pretty into what Version of a Blackberry there using! You'll see over time!

This title is hilarous, you make it sound like every Curve owner was bad mouthing the 8800.

You showed them!!!

I bought two Curves, loved them both dearly. They were the perfect fit for me. The keyboard was wonderful. The form factor was exactly what I was looking for. And, the overall device experience (once I purged all of the preloaded AT&T crud) was really quite good. (Save for the camera, which seemed a little blurry... almost to the extent that it wasn't truly 2Mp, and was perhaps upscaling a lower quality image.)

Regrettably, I didn't have nearly as much luck as some others with getting them to properly do things on T-Mobile's network. Yes, they are unsupported at present... however others seemed to have better luck getting certain WAP settings sent OTA and could launch a browser. I couldn't. Opera Mini works a treat, but doesn't support OTA installs... it just hands the URL off to the BlackBerry Browser, which politely barfs - and then crashes with an uncaught exception.

I love my 8700, but can't intuitively use it any more because I've been spoiled by the trackball. The trackwheel now feels alien to me in a strange sense.

So, wanting to gradually ease myself back to a QWERTY device, I purchased an 8800 from T-Mobile in a retail store. (And got raped... $469 on a 2 year extension is way steep, given that I bought a Curve for $449 with no contract.) [The retail store was the only in this area to have one.]

The device is seriously a brick. It feels insanely solid. But, after a mere 12 hours of usage, the side rails are already starting to squeak. The trackball is very crisp, but the side convenience button is not. It feels almost like it is stuck and gives no feedback. I threw a skin on it, and that made me stop noticing the rails squeaking.

However... the one thing I can't look past is the keyboard. It really could use a serious amount of improvement. I could practically type blindly on my 8700 and 8100, and so too on the 8300. On this one, I was constantly making mistakes. It doesn't feel like a BlackBerry keyboard to me. It just feels strange.

Therefore, I've decided to return it and get a newer 8100. My current 8100 is scratched to all hell.

The 8800 is a great device and as most have confirmed, it is solid, has a good weight, and the GPS is a nice addition. But, it's just not for me.

I guess the moral of the story here (at least from my point of view) -- having the latest and greatest isn't always a smooth experience.

No switching for me. I couldn't be happier with the 8300.

I have an 8830 and the 8300 and I just love the 8300. Ain't no turning back for me. I'm also very happy with at&t's service. They actually have better service in my house than Verizon did.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

Old or new the BB is an awesome product. It has come a long way from its paging days and continues to evolve to meet the demands of an ever increasing user base. I went from the 8703 to the 8100 and now to the 8800. For me the 8300 is a combo of the 8100 and 8700. For every need there is a BB. It is an individual preference which device will be the right "fit."

Interesting point Gregg. Can you comment on why you'd prefer to 8700 model? I'm looking at all the devices myself.

Also, separately, does anyone one of a good after market company that can modify the housing of a blackberry with a better quality casing? I'm looking for something metallic and strong. The plastic feel of the blackberry device really does detract from its appeal. Something resembling the earlier palm models or perhaps the iPod video casing. Ideally I'd want a vertu-inspired blackberry. That's the goal.

If not, any ideas how to manufacture one and whether there is an identifiable market for it? Given the steep price and abundant uses for a blackberry devices you would think that they could design something of significantly higher quality.

I've seen it stated many times that the 8300 keyboard is better than the 8800 keyboard, and with that many people saying it there isn't much chance it's a coincidence. I tried out an 8800 at a store and the keyboard was horrid, just terrible. That fact alone has been the single knock I have against the 8800 and the only thing stopping me from getting one. Sure I want the 8300's camera and MP3 support and definately the 3.5mm jack... but in the end the one with the better keyboard will get my purchase. With any luck that will be the 8300 sometime in the near future.