is it better than treo or ppc

-jason

just the phone portion...

ok here's my .02 cents : i bought a new BB8700c when i first signed up with cingular ..... after a month of use i kinda wondered about the treo 650 with a camera , mp3 player , and all those apps that are available for me to get . soo , with that said , i bought a treo 650 and i usedit for a week .... damn , what a mistake that was , talk about shut offs , resets , and the phone just generally getting stuck !!! for me at least , the treo was the most unreliable phone / PDA i ever used . just my experience .

My problems with the Treos were simple: the phone rebooted at various times, during calls, when they were incoming, whenever. Now that was the late, unloved Palm OS.

The Treo phone sucks. Dropped calls all over the place. I thought it was Cingular but my 8700c is solid. The only thing about it that sucks is that the ambient mike is way sensitive. I have to use a wired earpiece in the car, or any car for that matter as it picks up road noise something fierce. I have a pretty smooth car and everybody complains if I don't have the headset on. I often use it as a speakerphone a la Nextel and very few people can tell that I'm on a speakerphone. Pound for pound, the 8700c smokes the Treo. I also had similar reboots and problems with the Treo. Nice idea and all but that thing was a brick. I don't miss the camera at all. Really, who needs pictures with such shitty resolution?. I have a Canon mini that's smaller than the Treo anyway.

Just my humble opinion.

totally agree with you .... i really wanted to like the treo because it does feel good in the hand i must admit .... although the camera isn't the best , i did like being able to snap and send a picture through the phone instantly , but like we both stated .... random reboots and horrible overall phone experience made the treo unreliable and basically unusable by comparison .

I've never used a Treo or PPC for any extended period of time, but I have used an 8700c for several months now and I can tell you the phone sucks. The mic is too sensative to background noise, and the earpiece volume is too low. It's fine if you're indoors, but once you get outside, fuggetaboudit.

Others agree with my experience, some disagree, and a third group says to use a bluetooth headset all the time to make up for the poor phone.

For me, I'm back to carrying two devices.

I have had the Treo, a T-Mobile PPC phone, an HP PPC Phone, a Razr and now an 8700c. I don't think the technology is there today to bring the best of everything to one device. Each device had it's strong points and weak points. While I am trilled with my 8700c, I am a little bit disappointed with the phone. All else considered, I think the 8700c is the best device I have owned yet. I would give the phone portion an 8.0 and the rest of the device a 9.5. I would rate the rest of the device as a 10 but the case needs to be carbon fiber before I will do that.

i love my 8700c but i can honorably agree with some points you made , however , trust me on this , the treo 650 with cingular makes the voice through a BB 8700c earpiece seem like a Placido Domingo Concert from the front row ! lol

I traded in a Treo 650 for the 8700c and never regretted it. It's a far superior device all around.

1. I really enjoy this board because of the speedy responces I get. I must say thank you to the membors who make this forum really great

2. I ask the question because I a) know I am fed up with windows OS b) tired of phone calls freezing and resetting and c) I cant hear ANYONE through the earpiece - and im tired of it all.

I have asked alot of "stupid" questions about the basics of the phone because I dived into the convergence after always lugging around a palm T5 and an LG something - and the experience so far has been mediocre (sorry for the spelling).

Im nervous about the blackberry - even with knowing that I would use the PIM and email, text, mms, browser, and IM capabilites - but I NEED a decent phone with it.

All in all, I dont want to feel like I blew 500+ (like i did with the XV6700 - without renewing a contract) to end up with an "on the go email system". I like the idea of joining 2 devices - since my pockets arent that large.

Ok, end rant... but im still drooling for the 8707v even though im in NJ... and with Verizon...

Thanks again everyone!

Well when you pick up a new device, make sure to take advantage of the carrier's buyer's remorse policy. You should be able to feel out a device within a week or so, and you should be able to return it if you are not comfortable with it.

I spent a lot of time doing research on the Blackberry before I went out and ordered my 8700c, and most of my problems with it are due to the carrier (Cingular) and not the device. None of that, however, will replace actually using the phone for a little while.

I guess it depends upon what you will use the BB for. It is a great email device. Probably the #1 reason to get one. Other functions such as PIM and phone are adequate.

I had 3 Treo 600s and a 650. All worthless paperweights. Switched tot he 8700 and lad i did. Its almost bullet proof.

I hated the Treo 650 and love the 8700c. My only gripe is that I can't browse or PIN while on a voice call. Is it just me, or is the way it is for everyone? Please advise. AIM - LASMN

You can only use one service at a time with all of the converged devices. You can either be on a phone call and not get any data, or be in the middle of getting data and not get a phone call.

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I second this!!!

If you don't use the phone often or "professionally"the 8700 is fine, but if you need an audio "workhorse" keep a spot on your bat-utility-belt open, for a "real phone" with some noise cancelling and audio quality.
Tough to beat my ole' trusty i-730
Just my opinion, but many share the same view-the 8700 sux as a phone
Give it a try though,to draw your own conclusions...
Ymmv

My 8700g gets way better reception than the T-Mobile MDA (when it could get reception, there is a big problem with this device, it takes sometimes over 15 minutes to regain signal once its lost), my 8700g even gets better reception than a T-Mobile RAZR. In my house the reception was very spotty with both the MDA and RAZR, wth the 8700 I always have a usable connection. Sound quality is great as well.

The BB (8700 or 7100) is easier to dial with one hand, and I find it has a better speakerphone than the Treo 600/650. I think everyone has problems with Bluetooth, especially with some of the built-in (factory) car systems.

Honestly my Treo kicked ass in some area's EXCEPT for email and not crashing (which is did a couple times a day). I've ALMOST considered getting another one from Verizon a couple times but I just keep telling myself no... I want a Q anyways. MY bb on a scale of 1-10 I'd give it a 6/7 because i'm on my third 8700g

honestly, coming from a htc ppc where the phone was horrible, I assume anything is better.

I never used a treo, but imho I feel like the touchscreen is 50% the problem (the freezing), the actual ppc is the other 50%. Even with an ear piece it wasn't good..

I don't mind wearing a wired headset all the time, in fact I perfer it. Do your calls ever freeze because the BB can't handle it?

You don't mention the Moto Q but it is really an awesome phone, loud earpiece and loud speakerphone. Good noise cancellation so it is usable as a phone in the car wihtout a headset (just like a real phone). In two weeks of use since I replace the first unit it has not crashed or locked up once. In two weeks it has only dropped a call once and that is in a known very weak signal area. It has a camera, music player, video, EV-DO, Mini-SD and a lot of other bells and whistles. However, it currently lacks push email except from Goodlink. So if you need your mail sooner than every 15 minutes it may not work for you. If every 15 minutes is soon enough to spend your life looking at email you will be fine (you can alswasy SMS if you need instant messages). When the upgrade comes out you will have instant email via MS or I suspect BB Connect will become available.

My testing show no comparison between my 8700 and the Q, with the Q winning hands down in the phone department.

The Moto Q does look like a great device. With MSFP for Wm5.0 and MS Exchange Server 2003 SP2, this will be killer (when and if MSFP is released for the Q). At least as far as corporate email is concerned (we'll need MSFP or goodlink). Assuming the service comes with some sort of Carrier push email (VersaMail or XTND Connect, etc) this would be comparable to BIS2.0 using Gmail filters to forward (no pop delay).