I realize that it's all a personal preference, however I respect many of your inputs and opinions. About 4 months ago I crushed my 8700 and had to get a brand new one. Fortunately I was able to pay the upgrade price. I was excited about the 8800 mainly for 3 reasons. It's slimmer, stills has a qwerty, and I liked the idea of having the voice command for dialing. I'm in the car driving around the state daily, and the voice command seemed to be a safer way to dial. I've had my 8800 for a few days now, and I do like the slimness, getting used to the keyboard although the 8700 worked for me. I am using the convenience key for the voice command. I figured this will be the safest way while driving, just press the side key and enter the command. Two issues I'm having is that i accidently press that key all the time which is a pain, and I don't find it that reliable. Don't get me wrong, I think the 8800 is great,but media card, a little better speaker, speed etc. may not convince me to keep it, especially since I had to pay the full price. I need a BB for work, and I am hooked, I don't have to compose long emails often, but the full keyboard is the way for me. Any suggestions??

In my review few days ago I also voiced the concern of how easily that key is pressed accidentally. It's so easy that I switched it to none. Just make voice dialing as the first icon on your Zen screen, it won't be much harder though. I think you won't regret keeping it.

I push my convenience key all the time as well. typically when I remove it from my pocket. I ended up re-mapping the key to open Profiles instead. I didn't want to end up calling someone by mistake. I have my BT headset to initiate the voice dialing. No need to have the convenience key to do that also. No plans to go back to a 8700. I am really enjoying this device.

I also set the side key for voice dialing and have to admit that I have hit it a couple of times when putting my device in the leather holster.

I have now removed it from the side key and put it in icon in the lower left hand corner of my home screen so I can now find it with the roller ball without even looking.

I does not matter that much to me as I used the new 655 Blackberry BT headset and you can access the voice dialer from the headset without touching the button.

I did turn up the voice recognition sensitivity a notch or two and it is finding the right number near every time. People got to realise that you have got to speak exactly what is listed in the phone book entry, if not it will never find it.

On my 2nd full day of using the 8800 and can not imagine giving it up. In fact when the eBay price drops some, I want a spare!

THanks Greg, yeh my Plantronics 640 seems to be working well with the voice command too. I will give the 8800 another week, my guess is I will keep it

My first impression of this phone in my hands is that it feels and looks like cheap plastics. My 8700 feels sturdy enough that I can smash it with a baseball bat and it will still be in one piece.

How differently we all perceive the world around us as I feel the exact opposite. My 8700 was, to me, loose and squeeky from the parts that did not fit well. The whole keyboard moved when typing. The 8800 is tight and of excellent build quality in comparison, to me. Noa part loose and I could not ask for better fit and finish!

Anyone know what the "file size" limit is on this thing? I keep trying to put some mp3 files on the phone but everything is "over the file size"

Desktop Manager will show you when you're in the split-screen (desktop/handheld) file browser. I think mine said about 2.5mb for the max file size -- no microSD card installed though, just the built-in memory (which has about 24mb free).

Were you trying to transfer to a memory card or built-in memory?

I am very happy with my 8800, especially compared to my 8700. The list of improvments and other pluses is very long.
1) It has a great phone, the best BB phone so far.
2) It has a great keyboard, so much better than the 8700
3) The Trackball reduces the number of clicks to get things done.
4) Build quality is great with no creaks.
5) Battery life is fantastic
6) Multitasking is faster
7) Syncs faster with Outlook
8) More memory capacity
9) Great speakerphone
10) BT pairs up quickly, uses less battery.

No single device is nirvana to all. Give the 8800 a fair shot and make a decision you can live with for the duration, Gator.

What has everyone's expereience been with respect to the key sizes and the typing? I have big fingers and the keys on the 8700 were a little too close for me. That is why I ended up going with the 7130 as there was spacing in between the keys.

I had the very same concerns when I was purchasing my 8800. After about an hour of use I became accustomed to the keys and I do not find them to be a problem. Obviously the bigger your fingers the more likely you'll have an issue.

PS - I've got a Moto Q as a backup and the keys there aren't half bad (not as good as BB) but they miss many keystrokes when you type faster. The BB really shines when compared on the usability level (and lags badly when compared on the level of # of apps available for the device).

That is good to hear. The keys on the 8800 seem to be closer to each other than the 8700, but they are also shaped differently. I have heard that the shape will help with the typing. I am going to go to a cingular store in a couple of days to try out the keyboard for myself.

I went from a 7520 to a 8700c and was also concerned about the size of the buttons, as I have bigger than average hands/fingers. But, I found that the keys on the 8700c are pretty easy for me to type with. I make a mistake here and there but it's not really an issue. I was alittle concerned about the keys on the 8800c, as I can see they are closer together with no space inbetween them. I may check it out one day and see how it feels. Right now I am doing pretty good with my 8700c, but I am always keeping in mind of my next BlackBerry incase my current one breaks. I know I donot want the sure-type keyboard.

-MB1

My 8700 keyboard is so frustrating that I feel like smashing it with a baseball bat!....

My 8800 keyboard is so great that it's restored my faith in RIMs' willingness to listen to the customer and make the appropriate improvements.

Cheers....

How is the 8800 different from the 8700? It sounds like in your opinion the 8800 keyboard is much better. What are the differentiating factors that you see?

First of all this is of course, just my personal opinion, based on my experience. That said, I use my BlackBerry constantly every day. I travel constantly in my line of work and I process around 60 - 80 emails per day on the BB. I find the key shape, spacing, and travel all very important regarding the "typing experience" and the speed at which I can operate at.

My 8700c has keys that are complex in shape. One must look closely to notice this. The orientation of each key is vertical, and top surface of the keys are smaller than the bottom due to each key being tapered from top to bottom. Then to further reduce the ease of use, each key is chamfered on the inside edge, the edge that faces the center of the keyboard. So one must look at the keyboard and truly focus on using fingertips on the keys. In addition, since the keys are chamfered, that tends to make your finger "roll" into the key next to the one you are choosing to activate. It makes typing on the keyboard slow, frustrating and fraught with typos. These keys appear to have been built this way as part of the "styling element" of this model.

I also have a BB 7130c which while smaller, has conventional keys. Much like a laptop, that are designed for ease of use and speed. Not to add to the style of the device. They are rectangular, and horizontally oriented, flat on top, and not tapered at all. As a result thay are as large on the top surface as on the bottom. When one places a finger on the key, it is stable and the tactile sensation is like a normal keyboard. This is a keyboard that I can type very quickly on.

The 8800 also has conventional keys. They are close together, again much like keys on a laptop. They are conventional in shape and a true pleasure to use. The reports you may have seen here being critical because the keyboard is "softer" is nothing more than a slight reduction in the mount of effort required to depress the key, as compared to the effort required for the 8700. In no way is this keyboard "mushy" or vague. It's simply different in a positive way. I was immediately comfortable and "used to this keyboard" after about 20 minutes of use. This is the finest qwerty keyboard I've every used. And I came from all qwerty keyboards on my prior Treo's, a Moto-@ and Blackjack. The input speed or typing speed I can easily maintain on this keyboard is conservatively 30-50% higher that the best qwertys of the past.

Therefore I find the 8800 a truly fine BlackBerry. It's fast, stable, reliable, and very well built. This is the first of four BlackBerry's that I have that has no creaks and can be gripped without causing any noise. The battery door which has historically loose fitting on many models, fits perfectly snug on the 8800.

The phone is the best, the keyboard is the best and the overall usefulness is the best of any BlackBerry I have used to date. I could not be more satisfied.

Cheers.

Archer, I agree with you. The 8800 is a great device....for ALL those reasons and not to mentins the screen resolution and the voice dailing.

i HAVE to agree with you - i actually have the 7290 and just today upgraded to the 8800 and already dont like it...i swear by the 7290 which i have thrown across a room or dropped running out of my car and there are NO scratches no damages, it is invincible.!
Plus you can buy colored housings for it and not for any other phone i've seen


the 8700 and 8800 dont seem as sturdy the plastic seems cheap

Archer, thanks. That is very helpful and insightful. I had tried to 8700 keyboard and it really was difficult. The 7130 keyboard and the Pearl have worked out very well for me. But, I will try the 8800 given the improvements in the keyboard.

You are Welcome.
Glad you found the information helpful.

I find that in my case it's nice to have the 8800 as my main BB & then a SureType BB for weekends. I'm still trying to decide which of my SureType BB's I like best, the Pearl or 7130c.

The more I use a BB the more I find myself changing the way I communicate with friends in a positive way. This change has also occurred because so many of my friends have replaced there phones with 7130's or Pearls. So now we stay in touch more through email or pin messages, when its nothing other than an exchange of info. Then of course we still have the phone to use as needed.

I believe the single smartest move RIM has made in current times is to move into the consumer space with the Pearl.

Cheers