I bought the 8700c today at Cingular. The screen is beautiful. I like the speakerphone. It feels better as a phone as it is narrower but the typing is a little more awkward than on the 7290 but it's a good tradeoff I think.

The web browser is much faster but not real fast. A big improvement though.

I should add that it opens PDF files as it comes out of the box.

I just connected my Motorola 850 Bluetooth headset. It connected quickly and is much louder than it was on my 7290. Bluetooth seems much improved.

I've been surfing with the web browser and it is fast enough for mobile web sites.

CNN, Google and the International Herald Tribune all work great. I can comfortably read long articles.

The 8700c is really a mobile office. It's a wonderful tool. I found the web browser on the 7290 so slow that I only used it if I was trapped waiting to take off. The 8700c I can comfortably hold in one hand and go from on page to the next with a short wait in between pages. RIM really improved its product with this model in my opinion.