Well here is my feedback so far..
Like the phone design over all but..
1. keypad is too cramped like a jar of olives.
2. I was very used to all the shortcuts on 7290 like (D, L, K, O, T) and almost all of them do not work the way I want. it will be a big sigh to say ok ok .
3. 4.1 hanheld software has complete redign on the roller so all the items have been misplaced and it is costing me loss of productivity because I will have to find them.

4. on 7290 and all older version you hit the C key on the home screen and it will compose the message. in 8700 it will only compose if you are in messages.
5. Cingular's webclient will definately drive me away because T-Mo's BIS is much better. Atleast you can manage your all other email accounts. The C/S rep told me that in order to access the yahoo account i will have to pay some $$'s to yahoo and have them enable and then you will be able to access.
On T-Mo is it free.
6. 7290 keyboard is much better to you fingers and even to your eyes.
7. I am sure people move from 71xx seried to this will be really happy because of the all 35 keys. 7200 series users may not be that excited.
8. Definately it is much faster that older models. but I am not playing any Texas Hold'em
In a nutshell, I will try this for 2 weeks and may send this back to Cingular. I would have handled this if they had BIS upgraded. WebClient is old thing complaints all the times about the storage space.
Right now I am fooling the BIS system that i will explain in next

I have had my 8700c since about 1pm, and it is the first Blackberry I have purchased for myself. I have used others but none of them ever grabbed my attention until this one came along. I have been using it for a few hours so far and I don't have any complaints. My last device was a Treo 650 which was great when it wasn't rebooting, but the 8700 so far is blowing it away. The keyboard is much more comfortable, and I like it a lot better than the keyboard on the 7290 which just seemed too spaced out. The clarity of the screen is astounding, the back light is great, and it's been relatively painless to set up e-mail via BIS with Cingular. It is also much lighter than the Treo and the previous Blackberries without feeling like cheap plastic which is nice. Pairing my bluetooth headset with the 8700 was so easy a monkey could have figured it out.

My only complaint is that it seems like actually configuring the device to my liking is taking a lot longer than it did with the Treo, but I used PalmOS for so long it is like second nature. I have been reading these forums for the past three weeks so I would be prepared when my 8700c arrived, and so far it has addressed most of my questions so I just wanted to say thank you guys for making this transition easy for me.

Rebuttal...

1> It's certainly smaller than the 7290
2> You probably forgot.. to activate the shorcuts you need to go into phone options and turn off dial from home
3> This happens.. software changes and presumably it's better but I change handsets so often that it seems normal to have to learn each one.
4> true
5> Agree Cingular should adopt the TMO method. The C/S rep was proably referring to Yahoo! activating there POP3 access (fee$$$)
6>I'm undecided but you may be right
7> [subjective]
8>Speed seems a tick faster in most applications but I will have to give it the Texas Hold'em bench test!

And rcg, i change devices so often that you could see 7 device on ebay from me for sale.
I know pretty much all around the settings and I did do the 'Do not dial from home screen' otherwise I would not have been able to hit M and go to messages. But still like memoPad used to be D but now you will have to be in Apps in order to use that shortcut.

I am not syaing that this device is bad. It is a perfect device and it works fine. it will take me time to get used to this. The only reason I moved to this was because of the speakerphone.

I have not tried the phone app because my plan does not include voice plan. Ohh I guess I will shutup because people are in party mood.

With all due repect guys/gals, you have had it ONLY for 5 HRS hardly seems like enough time to make accurate claims. I have also purchased one myself for a replacement to the 7100G.

In the defense of CW's BIS, I would not pay for Yahoo's full e-mail service bc GMAIL(beta) version is free... you would have to be invited to join from an existing member. They offer POP fowarding for free. That is who I use. With that said, I would hate to burst anyone's bubbles but if you think that you must pay for YAHOO to get POP e-mail then you're RIGHT but it's that way with TMO. If anyone tells you otherwise they are lying and need to be smacked. If you can't perform POP3 with YAHOO w/CW then you can't do it with TMO either.

If you need e-mail service and you don't don't want to pay for the POP3 service then let me know, I can invite you for free.... I would give it at least a week before you make judgement. There are learning curveswith all phones, not just the BB's.

Truly, you're not giving it a chance.
Yes, keyboard is more cramped than 7290 and takes some getting used to. I've had the 8700 twelve days and I'm up to about ninety percent comfort level.
But absent keyboard, the 8700 is lighter, better lit, far faster with internet and solid.
Plus most of the 7290 shortcuts do work with the 8700.

Most are still there.
W=Web
N=BlackBerry Messenger (Use to be E)
U=Calculator
T=Task
P=Phone
K=Keyboard Lock
Etc...

Not sure who needs to be smacked but with TMO you get something similar to BES with Yahoo, FREE! No need for POP3 because it is realtime.

I also have a lot of Gmail invites for those who are looking for a free but reliable e-mail provider that is blackberry friendly.

I have also had great success in setting up my personal domain e-mail accounts with Cingular's BIS. It's really not all that bad, and a lot easier to manipulate than trying to set up multiple IMAP accounts with Versamail on a Treo.

Well, after about 10 hrs of use I figured out that there is another theme that will support all the shortcuts so I am using that for now. Keyboard is still a narrow one. Did any one had any success in installing yahoo I'm on 8700?

i think if you hit "a" it will take you adresses/compose

try and let me know....dont have mine yet.

Also the theme messes some people up, try any other theme than "cingular" and all of your beloved shortcuts will work...go back to your 7290 a.k.a. Dinosaur

yah, I am using non-Cingular theme and all the short cuts are fine and I could see a greater use of this BB. Overall it is nice but I am trying to get it unlocked and take it while I travel. so Far Cingular is ery rude on this. they will not even talk about it untill 90 days after the contract