I have recently purchased the 8800 for my Cingular service and following are the issues I am having with the device. I wonder if there is something wrong with the phone or perhaps it is something that I might be doing.

- The "phone" cuts in and out while on a call even when there are all five bars on the signal strength. Everyone once in the while (perhaps <10% of my calls) are without the intermittent clicking where I don't have to ask someone to repeat what they might have said. This is very bothersome especially considering the calls that do cut in and out and the ones that dont are all made from the same location (within my apartment)

- There is a very noticeable echo on about 70% - 80% of all calls. This could very well be addressed with a setting which I might be overlooking.

- The ambient light sensor works intermittently. Many times I am outdoors during daytime and the screen brightness fails to adjust making it rather difficult to read the screen.

Hoping that it was the device itself I went back to the Cingular store and obtained a second unit. These three problems are also present with my second unit. If any of you have experienced these problems and have found a fix I would absolutely love to hear from you and how I might be able to address these problems.

Thanks in advance.

As a long time Cingular customer I can say these issues are not normal. Perhaps the Cingular store you are dealing with got a few bad phones from the same batch.

I would take it back, and ask if they have received another shipment, as I know they usually get them frequently. My dealer has been getting about 5 - 8800 models per shipment.

At this point it's just a matter of getting a new phone that works properly, RIM has very good quality control, however these are mass produced like most other products so I would try again, and you will probably get a good one.

In the event you should get another bad phone, I would go to another Cingular store and have them replace it.

I'm sure if you are patient (not easy) and perservere, you will get it done and it will be behind you for good.

Cheers.

I had the same issue on my 8700 and it was determined that i did not have the updated SIM chip for my phone. Once I got the new SIM chip (3G) all was resolved.

I'm guessing the SIM didn't fix display issues though... ;)

I've had calling issues with other phones (not the 8800 though) and they were primarily related to the towers. From my office on T-Mo I used to have full bars coverage and drop the call.

What I'd try doing is making a lot of calls from a location farther away from your house. See if you get the same echo and dropped calls. My guess is that it's probably your tower.

As for the backlight, that seems to fluctuate somewhat for me as to whether it's perfectly set. You can always go to full bright by tapping the power button once.

I just picked up one from Cingular store and Q, E R U O P KEYS ARE not working so I can not use to dial too because 2,3 keys are dead.
anyone having same issues.

I got the 8800 yesterday - from Cingular in NY.

I m having terrible call quality issues, where I place calls (with full bar strength) and people cant hear anything - its totally cutting in and out throughout the call.

Im at a loss about what it can be other than a poor phone..

Ditto for me here in Michigan. I'm also having bluetooth issues where it's unstable, one time it connects, the next time it says it connects, shows the blue blinking light, but did not in fact connect. Have to take the battery out to reset the 8800, only to have it happen again later. very weird and very unblackberry like. Reminds me of all the Treos i've tried in the past. In my experience, the 8100 and 8800 have been very buggy.

I switched from an 8700c and have only had better service/call quality. Make sure they upgraded your SIM chip. No other problems like the ones above.

All of this is really strange and I would get your phone back to have it replaced. Mine has worked without flaw, better than my 8700

Rather than be concerned with what if ? or I wonder what's wrong ? Who cares ? you are entitled to a new one. No problem.

I would take it back to the store as soon as possible and ask for a replacement.

Remember just because there is a problem does not indicate that these are bad phones. What is does indicate is that like any other mass produced product, it's possible to simply get a bad one. That's why every product comes with a comprehensive warranty. Because we are so spoiled these days with the failure rate so incredibly low we still must remember that it's possible to get a bad one.

I'm quite confident that they will be happy to give you new one and you will have all this behind you.

As a possible way to eliminate the chances of getting a phone from the same batch, I would go to a different store. So long as you bought from a corporate store, you can exchange it at any Cingular corporate location.