I have a Verizon 7130e and considering a Motorola Q or 8703e. What advantages does the Q or the 8703e have over my 7130e?

- Slimmer, lighter, device
- larger display
- full QWERTY keypad
- camera for photo/video
- expandable memory
- Windows Mobile 5.0 gives a more broad spectrum of applications out of the box; most notably: Media Player, Pocket Word, Excel and Powerpoint
- much better Web Browsing experience (in my experience I've found the Q's browser to display more pages, have a better display for the pages, load faster, scroll more smoothly ... the browser's the one thing that blew me away with the Q)
- Bell Mobility's Q ships with both standard and extended batteries (I don't know if other carriers are doing this as well)
- it's available in a choice of silver or black (I beleive Bell Mobility has exclusivity on the black Q for now)

- larger display
- full QWERTY keypad
- auto-dimming screen back-lighting adjusts the screen to optimal brightness based on ambiant lighting conditions

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8703e (VZW): BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

The previous poster's comments notwithstanding, I think you'll find that the BlackBerry platform is far more stable than WM5, the hardware is more durable, battery life (with the standard battery on both) is better, and tethering performance is significantly faster.

The BlackBerry's not perfect, but if you need something you can rely on day after day, week after week without having to reboot, the BlackBerry is the way to go.

The answer to which handheld is better is relative since it depends completely on your preferences and the purpose it will serve. Higher end specs don’t necessarily mean a device is better suited to every purpose.

Blackberry 8700

Pros
-superior OS reliability
-superior push email
-superior phone (esp. speaker)
-nearly indestructible build (see YouTube “blackberry destruction” link below)
-excellent enthusiast sites and support forums online
-good PIM with quick entry calendar
-good browser, best wap support of the 3
-excellent OS keyboard shortcuts
-excellent OS hold key for capital letter feature
-some excellent software titles available (see link below)
-excellent support

Cons
-no memory card slot and limited system memory
-limited multimedia support (photos and OTA only)
-limited microsoft office document support (3rd party solution only)
-limited GPS support (OTA only)
-limited software availability
-limited ereader support due to memory


MotoQ

Pros
-attractive slim form factor
-good out of box multimedia support
-good out of box GPS support (Software or OTA)
-microsoft office mobile built into OS (no outlook notes support though?)
-numerous enthusiast sites online
-gigantic software library available online
-excellent ereader support
-decent phone
-impressive browser
-good support

Cons
-fragile build (I’d rather not drop it)
-miserable activesync software
-annoying OS instability
-ongoing risk of reboot and data loss
-ongoing software version compatibility issues
-microsoft, hmmm.... nuff said eh?


Palm Treo

Pros
-excellent PIM with quick entry calendar
-excellent hotsync application
-excellent out of box GPS support (software or OTA)
-good out of box multimedia support
-good office document editor
-gigantic software library available online
-good ereader support
-ok browser

Cons
-crappy phone
-maddening OS instability
-small and oddly square screen dimensions
-serious risk of reboot and data loss
-horrible support and frustrating corporate policies/issues


I have had all three devices and in the end chose blackberry for its reliability and quick entry PIM functionality. I really like the Q but hate ActiveSync, the lack of a quick entry method on the pocket Outlook calendar, not having notes support, and having to worry about OS issues. I also like the blackberry keyboard better finding it more sturdy feeling.

I hope this helps.

Links
YouTube Blackberry Destruction Video
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Mark Rejhon’s Killer Software Link
http://www.blackberryforums.com/afte...es-thread.html

you notice "stablity" alot with BB, but the reason WM5 has any stablity issues is that often people load tons of 3rd party software on it, BB has very very few 3rd party software compared to pocketpcs, I rarely ever have to restart my pocketpc (maybe once a month) not that big an issue for the ability to be able to have tons of software

I disagree with the previous poster 100%. Windows Mobile has never been a particularly stable OS in comparison to BlackBerry OS. It took me an hour with my Q, fresh out of the box, with no third party apps, before I had it locked up and had to pop the battery to reset. With my BlackBerry it really only locks up like that when I am messing about with new third party applications (of which there are many).

Windows Mobile is, at the end of the day, a Windows Operating system which means:
1) lots of unecessary background apps and services are usually running
2) frequent reboots are normal

But without "tons" of 3rd party software on it, it isn't any more useful than a BlackBerry. And my experience with WM5 devices does not parallel yours; when I was using my Axim X51v regularly as my primary PDA, I was resetting it a couple of times a week. I don't have a lot of 3rd party software on it, either. It would randomly fail to connect to my wireless access point, and a soft reset was the only fix.

My business relies in great part on reliable email and a decent phone, so the BB is the best choice for me . . .

This has been my experience and matches the user feedback that I have received from my customers.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that that statement is correct.

One of the major issues with Windows Mobile is that applications remain running once they are launched unless they are manually shut down; it's a very dirty OS memory-wise. If one does not, periodically, launch the task manager to kill unwanted apps then the battery life and general performance of the unit are degraded quite badly.

I didn't try tethering with the Q so I cannot comment here.

Out of the box the Q will do more but the BlackBerry does what it does much better.

Moterola is not well known for the durabilty of there prducts.
It's like carying a piece of glass with you you drop a razr it breaks you drop a Q it breaks. Windows mobile is Just asking for problems Windows of any kind is a security risk with so many code exploits

I fortunately replaced my WM5 PPC-6700 with the 8703e and it was the best thing for me. The lack of stability, black-hole text messages, random preference resetting (the backlight timer had a mind of its own), OS freezes, poor batt life, etc was too much. I took my 3rd party software off (which yes, slowed it down even more) and it still was unstable. I dont need a camera (the WM5 one was horrible anyway), I need reliability and the BB wins hands down no contest. WM5 offers lots of features, but if they don't work they are useless to me.

I'll add that this hasn't been my experience either. I've run WM5 devices with no third part apps and still had to restart quite often. Third party apps to increase the likelihood of issues but eliminating them entirely did not eliminiate the problems I kept running in to. Obviously, YMMV. If it works for you, that's great.

I have had all 3 devices over the past 4 weeks.......and in the end kept the 8703E.

I prefer the BBerry over the Moto Q......without a doubt.

Not only does the Q have to be re-booted often, my company uses a GOODLINK server to push the mail to my Q, and it was so intrusive, i couldnt use many of the features of the phone.

the BBerry in my opinion is far better at office email, calendar and so on, whereas the Q is a nice (big)phone with alot of features....

8703 0ver the 7130 because i hated the 2 letters per key...

My non-technical opinion !

i bought the Q the day it was released and tried SO HARD to like it, but, in all truth, it was the worst phone i'd ever used. so i ditched it and went back to my 7250. I just bought an 8703 yesterday-- great phone.

i'll never switch away from bb again...

I just switched back to a BB yesterday I went to Verizon and got the 8703e because I couldn't stand my Q with NO 3rd party apps anymore. Oh and did I mention it was my 4th one? yeah the thing sucks a pretty much everything. Web browsing the BB wins
Email BB wins
Stability BB wins
Durability BB wins
I think Motorola really F'd up with this one and I feel sorry for all the suckers that ran out and got one especially those that think they aren't going to get shut down for streaming things. i know a guy that had a 700 bill because he was streaming slingbox to his Q and got caught!
BTW I've had a 7130e tmo8700 and now the 8703e so obviously i've figured out to trust the blackberry and that convergence isn't everything!

Thanks for all the feedback on the BB vs. the Q. I was tempted by the Q's form factor and looks, but these posts confirmed my gut feel about the reliability of BB once again.

Mac Users: what combination of address book, mail, and calendaring do you use to sync to the Mac? Or don't you try?

as far as syncing, i have an account with mailstreet so i am constantly in sync with my entourage.

pretty darn slick, if you ask me!

I understand that there is a new software update to fix some of the many problems with the Q. I was able to get my hands on a Q about a week before VZW officially launched them. The Q is very sexy looking, but the stability was terrible, and so was the push email.

I returned my Q the day that they were released, and went back to my 7250. Now w/ the 8703e, the screen is just as nice as the Q.

WOW there are some people who have just hit the NAIL on the HEAD. I have returned my Treo 700wx for the 8703e and what a dream machine. Never have I owned a device that just plain works all day every day without the need to waste a lot of time fiddling with. The Microsoft ActiveSync is like a ball and chain that sunk the Treo for me. The BB Intellisync software is a dream, I can sync all day all night maryann!