I have had two balckberrys and love them. My only complaint (and it is a big one) is that I have tremendous trouble hearing my phone calls when I use them.

My original BB was a 7230. I had trouble hearing on that phone and was convinced by t-mobile to upgrade to a 7290. Once again I have the same problem.

My contract is now over and I love the BB platform but I don't want to deal with another phone if I have trouble hearing.

I'm considering the 8700 or 8100.

Please tell me that BB has improved the volume levels on these phones. Any help would be appreciated.

Wirelessly posted (8700c: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Borrow one to try it out. 8700's are everywhere now. Mine is great and with BT even better.

Hi, I JUST purchased my first Blackberry, an 8700g, last Thursday and I can tell you that the phone application is excellent. Calls are loud and crystal clear - so far much better than the T-Mobile MDA I've been using. Since it's my first BB I can't help in your comparison to the 7230/7290, but I'm sure others will advise.

I was debating whether to go for the Pearl or the 8700. The keyboard on the 8700 won me over, as well as the larger screen. I didn't like the 'plasticky' feel of the Pearl, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure it's got great call quality too.

Good luck!

My first and only experience has been the 8700c. I can honestly tell you I haven't second guessed my purchase at anytime.

I have both a 7105t and the new Pearl. Call quallity and volume are outstanding on both.