I'm thinking about making the move. Your opinion counts.........What do you think, good, bad.................

Thanks

Personally,I tried a 7100 series BB (the 7105t) and while I loved the form factor,I absolutely hated the SureType,and was elated to get the 8700 and go back to a QWERTY device.Its a matter of preference and adjusting,but as they say,its hard to teach an old dog new tricks !

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8700g: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Same here.. No thanks on SureType! QWERTY all the way!

QWERTY keyboard (vs) smaller size. All but one of my users has a QWERTY model (the other had a 7100g). He was insistant about the smaller size. He sends about 20-30 emails a day using SureType and doesn't complain. No one else (including me) wanted to tough suretype with a 10 foot pole.

BBJunkie- Let me weigh in on this since I picked up the 7130 this week. Let me start by saying I love the 8700 and the QWERTY keyboard. The screen is awesome, and I don't mind the size. To me, a perfect fit for what I do. The 7130 has a sleeker look to it, not as wide, smaller screen, SureType(which I thought may be a deal breaker). I bought the 7130 knowing that I would return it, but I'm not sure now. I have been using the 7130 about a week now, and it is starting to grow on me. The SureType, I thought, would make me run from this device. It hasn't, it is actually pretty neat and pretty dead on accurate. I have switched back and forth this week between both devices and I do enjoy the 7130 as much as the 8700. The majority of the week has been with the 7130. I am happy with both, and will make a decision soon on which one will be my primary. You can't go wrong with either, and don't let the SureType sway your decision....it is your personal preference. Good luck.

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8700: BlackBerry7130/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I too have both the 8700 and the 7130. I have been using the 7130 for a couple days now. I love the smaller size reminds me of my former T610. I may end up keeping it to replace my "going out phone" razr. I do miss my 8700 but I am getting the hang of the suretype. I miss the shortcuts of the 8700 the most. Find myself using the trackwheel much more and have to watch my typing.I cannot stand the holster that comes with it and would love to have one like the 8700. Wonder why RIM does not make one for it.

One other item I wish RIM would put on the 8700 is the rubberized convenience and escape buttons much easier to grip and press. And the placement of the side convenience key on the 7130 is much better than the 8700. I feel the 8700's is too high and takes two hands to hold and press. Where as the 7130 is lower and easier to access.

I currently have an 8700, just got rid of a 7100, and had full QUERTY BB's for three years before that.

SureType takes time to get used to, time to learn the words not in its dictionary that you use regularly, and FAITH that it will work. An Exec I know uses it, and he sends emails with it constantly. In fact, his emails are now more readable since SureType is almost a spell checker of sorts!

On a completely different issue, search the forums for Audio problems with the 7100 and 7105. I personally experienced it, and of course it didn't get bad enough to get rid of the 7100 I had until 15 months after I purchased it - 3 months too late to insist on a Warranty repair or replacement.

I'd give the 7130 at least a few months in the field before moving to it and then ask users how it sounds. Other than that, I loved the form factor and SureType of the 7100 and if money weren't an issue, would get a 7130 today!


J

Jerry, you make a valid point. I did notice the voice quality is not as great as it is with the 8700 when NOT using a external headset. When using my Bluetooth headset it seems equal. I wonder if upgrading the 7130 to the newer OS would help? My 8700 is using Telus, and the 7130 has the stock Cingular OS, 4.1.0.321.

From what it sounds like, the OS can make a difference in terms of audio quality. When the 8700c first came out from cingular, people were still saying that it was low and distorted, but when the T-Mo OS came around and folks upgraded, there was a clear buzz about how much better it was. I personally just installed the 8707v OS on my 8700g, and it seems like everything improved from network speed to sound quality (a little less distorted). Cheers!