Please bare with me for I am new to the PDA world and trying to decide on what PDA to purchase. Cingular is currently my provider and i want to switch from the Razor to a PDA. Right now I am trying to decide between a blackberry ( not sure on a model) vs. Treo. Can anyone help me on pros/cons of both?

Pros
Blackberry: instant email, stable
Treo: multimedia, games

Cons
Blackberry: slow initiall bootup
Treo: External antenna

thats the basics.

I can tell you this from my experience of supporting them.... I replaced about 10 times more Treo's than I do BB's. They do both have their advantages, but the BB is definately more stable.

Now, I am not sure how the Treo 700 will stack up. We use 650's right now are are getting ready to move to the 700.

But if your over here in th uk then neither of the treo 700s work as ther both cdma and wer all gsm here.

I think if your like me tho youl go through a lot of either of these as neither have been rugedised enough for ending up in sand. Saying that my palm pda survived but my Bb didnt.

I have several friends/ co-workers with Treos (both 650 and 700w). They are constantly trying to tell me how superior their device is to mine. At least when they are not busy fixing some glitch or another.

If you like bulletproof instant e-mail and reasonable internet browsing on a virtually crash-proof device, go BB.

lots of bells and whistles on the treos (multimedia, cameras etc.), but everyone I know with one (8 people) has issues keeping it all running correctly.

JMO

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I have had both devices. I have to say I do prefer the blackberry. I like the push feature of the email. Buttons are also better postitioned. In my opinion.

This is probably not the best forum for impartial BB v. Treo questions . . .

but everyone here can offer good sides to the Bb and everyone on a Plam forum could offer the good sides on a palm, then thers a kind of balance.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7100/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Here is my perspective. If you need reliable, efficient communication, go BB. This is enhanced if you and people you are working with are each on the road and they have BB's.

I've used wince and pocketpc devices and had trouble, though I have not used the newest versions. I have had coworkers who have used palm, and ditto for them. By comparison, my BB has been trouble-free. I don't want to belabor the point, but I have never had the BB lock up on me and then clear its memory on a soft reset, which I had happen with my pocketpc.

On which BB to choose, that is a personal thing. I use 7100 because I like the smaller form factor. The larger screen on the wide-boddies is tempting me, though.

I think HuwSy in Post #2 and tmj in post #5 nailed it.

Another Cingular user here. I have had 3 Treo 600s and one 650. All had some sort of hardware/software issues and eneded up being replaced under warranty. Finally just got tired of all the crap and went tha BB 8700. One of the best moves I ever made. The BB is rock solid and dependable, the Treo were not.

On the pro-Treo side (playing devil's advocate here)....I still carry my old Dell Axim to read ebooks and play mp3's when I'm on a plane. I also occaisionally carry pdf and ms word documents on it for quick reference when I'm on the road, or put a document on it to read later while I'm on the road. (You can put a lot on a 1GB SD card. But searching a large pdf document on the device is slower than slow.) I assume the windows mobile versions of palm devices have similar functionality, but hopefully better than what it is on my old Axim.....But, the BB is more than the device. It is a service. A complete system. And it does what it does better than anything else I know. Given a choice, I'd go with a BB and find ways to do without my Axim.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7100i/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/103)

My buddies with treos reboot at least once a day. They also have problems with their touchscreens.

If you want more of a toy with a camera and mp3 player, go with a treo. If email is very important, the BB is the way to go.