I am about to buy my first Blackberry and wanted to find out what some experienced bb users think. I have been leaning towards the Pearl but now finding out the it does not support mms and my picture sending/receiving will be a hassle going through email...im wondering if it is even worth it to have the camera at all and maybe I should go with the 8830. Any advice on which is the better phone through Sprint? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

They both are good devices, and both have their positive features. Me, I would go with the 8130, learn the SureType condensed keyboard, and enjoy. Picture sending through email is not a hassle.

thanks for your reply. I was reading about the picture/email thing in another thread and it just seemed like people were getting really frustrated with it. ive also heard that the volume on the 8130 is considerably lower than other bb's.

You take the picture, you scroll and click send to... select from address book. Send.

Not difficult at all.

Not difficult, however I get really frustrated when the carriers (mainly Sprint and Alltel) say "there's no MMS, but you can just send a picture via email. Same thing!" Well, on Alltel, at least, it's not the same thing. One of the great things about MMS is that you can send a pic or video to a phone. But if I try to send it to a phone via the @message.alltel.com address, Alltel's servers strip the pic or video out of the message.

My point is - I agree with the OP because sending pics via email is not a replacement for MMS. Why providers like Cingy and Verizon can manage to make it happen and Sprint and Alltel can't is beyond me. Actually, Alltel just put out its first smartphone with MMS - the HTC 6800 - so I assumed the Pearl, which comes out in a couple weeks, would have it too. No go, unfortunately.

Wirelessly posted (Verizon 8830: BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I own both models in my house. If pix are important then obviously the 8130. Otherwise, it comes down to whether you prefer the Qwerty keyboard (8830) or the Suretype (8130). Either way its a win win.

Thanks...I like the full keyboard but i also like the compact size of the pearl so im gonna go with that. I do want the camera so ill just deal without the mms. And if the curve ever comes to sprint then ill prob switch to that since it will have full keyboard and camera and hopefully mms.

8830 all day for me.... I like the qwerty much better.
But they are both great devices!

Who cares about picture mail.. The cameras suck anyways and when you send it to another 2 inch screen 90% of the time you have to tell people what the picture is.

Wow. It's amazing that MMS is used by millions of people every day if 90% of the time you have to follow up with a call to explain what the picture is. Priceless.

Here's some other food for thought. Although the 8830 has a full qwerty keyboard, the blue back lighting is horrible in certain low light conditions. The low volume is a problem but, since the .176 software update ( VZW ) It doesn't seem as bad.....at least for me. I have the 8830 and I really like it a lot.
I like the form factor of the 8130 but i am a heavy text and email user so the suretype interface is not for me.
If you're a Sprint customer then the choice is easy......8830 since it's black and the keyboard is extremely visable.

I love my Verizon 8830 ...

for what it's worth, i just acquired a Sprint 8830. I used to have the 7100i from Nextel. I love the 8830 compared to the 7100i. the full keyboard is a little easier to use just because you don't have to tell the suretype what you mean. however, the suretype for the blackberry's seems to be pretty good, i'm used to the T9 on my personal cell phone.

I can't speak on the 8130's behalf but the 8830 is very classy looking. the mixture of black and gloss black on the front and back and the 'chrome' on the sides makes it look very professional and expensive. it is very very thin, if i remember correctly it is slightly thinner than the pearl. a bit wider but you get the qwerty.

alright so why when i make my mind up do you guys have to come back and start making me question myself...not good!

I actually like the color of the pearl! I know some people have been saying its girly being called amethyst and all but it hardly looks purple...if you ask me it looks pretty sleek! But thats just my opinion...and well...i am a girl.

I want to try the perl when it comes to Alltel.

Knock on wood....a week from Thursday. I'm going to be the first one there when the store opens!

I am coming from a 7100 and looking at the 8830 thanks? did you find adjusting to the keyboard an issue? Is there any deals on service plans right now?

I had yhe 8130 for a week in Canada becuase it was 0$ and unlimited data for 15$ canadian, i tried deeling with the phone new keypad, after a week i went to 8830, man i love the 8830 , pearl is more media and 8830 is more bizznizz. 8130 camera is stunning ! best ever and i tried many cellphones , i mean gsm as well. Its all for your needs, if you need a camera grab it, if you text a lot and email like me then maybe qwerty is for you, I had trouble having to fix words all the time, and im much faster with qwerty. Also I do think the sound is beter on the 8830 TELUS , on the latest firmware

I was looking for deals on the US version.