I love my 7290, except for the buzzing it inflicts on nearby speakers. It is especially prounounced in my car, and has actually stopped me from listing to my iPod through my car's audio system.

As I understood it they were going to fix this in the newer hardware platform. This would be enough of a change to drive me to buy a newer device.

Can anyone chime in on this?

All I can say is every single GSM phone I have ever seen -- every single one -- affects speakers like that, so if it could have been done I bet they would have done it by now. I could be wrong, but if it's fixable then I think it would have been taken care of a long time ago. I think it's more likely the speakers' fault for not being well shielded, because it seems to happen more when I'm around cheap speakers than nice ones.

i keep my bb7290 beside my radio alarm clock and yes i am very familaiar with this buzzing, now doing the same thing with a 8700 is not the same its about 3 times quiater, but still a little noticable.

Yes I have to agree with Mike, the buzzing is definatly less noticable

This is very encouraging. This buzzing is the single reason I refuse to use a GSM data device. I miss not being able to swap phones on the weekend by swapping the chip out.

It is not just with cheap speakers, but with just about every office phone and Polycom speakerphone I am around. I find it ironic that a business device like the Blackberry (as well as any other data device like the Treo or MPX220) is generally a nuisance in the office.

I cannot count the number of times I have (in the past) had to turn off my GSM Blackberry or Treo or put it on the floor in the corner of the conference room. Never mind the thought of actually using it during a meeting (rude, I know).

Yes thats a good point, but usually aslong as the device isnt RIGHT next to the speaker couple inches away I never have much of an issue...

yea the only time i notice it a little is when the bb is like 2 inches away from my speaker

Ones that actually utilize the 850MHz band seem to be the worst. I have an unlocked 7290 which is, of course, a quad band device. T-Mobile doesn't use 850 in our area. Cingular does. A T-mobile SIM in this 7290 only causes buzzing if it's right next to a speaker. The same device with a Cingular SIM causes buzzing at 3-6 feet. YMMV depending on frequencies carriers actually utilize in your area.

Well got my 8700c.

Walking through Target tonight looking for an alarm clock. Got some very loud and irritating GSM buzz off the speakers on the clock/radios.

We will see when I get back to work tomorrow the impact is has on our Lucent phones and Polycom conference phones.

I love this phone, but if I cannot use it in my workplace without annoying the people I work with/for, then it is gone.

I swear, the genius that came us with the exact frequency configuration used by GSM devices should be woken up each morning by a b1tch-slap-o-matic.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Not a very good day at work today. While using my Plantronics wired headset on my Lucent phone I got major buzzing. It could be heard be me and the party on the other end. This was with my 8700 on my hip or three feet away on a shelf. I didn't get a chance to test with a Polycom, but this is very disappointing so far. I really like this device, but I cannot afford to be embarrassed every time this happens.

With the 8700 the buzzing is faster and more annoying due to the EDGE speed. tmobile does not buzz near as bad a cingular.

My experience so far is that this is the single worst device I have ever had (I have had a lot of GSM devices) with respects to this issue.

Three calls today (calls on my office phone), all of which got comments from the party on the other line asking what that noise was.

I about one day away from putting this thing back in the box and taking it back.

Yea that why I want to get it unlocked and use tmobile. It does not do this near as bad or loud. must be the 850 band or something.

I also started noticing that my 8700 is much worse than tmobile 7100. Is there anything I can do other than keeping it far from speakers? Could this be treated as a defective 8700? Thanks!

General consensus I have read is that it is the 850 band that does it.

Well, I never took mine back. I currently have the 8700c and the new Treo 700w. The 8700c is going to stay and the 700w is going back.

Every time I try a new "smart" phone I get reminded of why I like Blackberry. The more they try to stuff into a phone, the less reliable it becomes and the less capable the device get overall. They do more stuff, but they don't do what I need as well as a Blackberry.

I am thinking once Verizon gets the 8700, I will switch to that. No GSM buzz, small enough form-factor that I can tolerate using the phone 24x7 (weekends). I couldn't handle the 7250 on Verizon every weekend (and don't like the 7130e).

For now, I am just more mindful of buzz-reduction.

1. I don't use my work Plantronics wired headset (attaches to my Lucent desk phone). It picks up the buzz (or has buzz) worse than anything I have heard.

2. I don't have computer speakers in my office.

3. I turn off my 8700c radio if I am in a conference room on a call with a customer.

4. I try to stay calm when I hear the buzz the rest of the time.

I still think that every time someone endures this buzz, someone on the GSM design team should endure an electric shock to their privates.

LOL! Glad to know that I am not alone. This morning my alarm radio picked up the "buzz" and it was louder than the alarm itself!

I get that buzz too, but only when my 8700 is within a few inches of the phone and it seems only when it is sending or receiving a message or data of some sort. If it is idle, I don't get the buzz. I also say it is much less than my 7290.