Got my 8700r 3 days ago. I've had a ton of Berry devices ... 957, 6750 (I think that's what it was called?), 7730 (on O2), 7290 and now the 8700r.
I liked both the 7730 and 7290 very much. The screen on the 7290 was better than the 7730, I always liked the larger screen of the 77xx series but got used to the 7290 factor eventually. The keyboards on the 77xx/72xx were perfect ... i can type pretty quickly
OK onto the 8700r. Device looks very slick. The black has a RAZR v3 black / iPOD Nano cool black factor (I have a v3 silver). It will definitely get looks for a while until the whole world has it (again). Form factor is great, even a little small in the sense it gets lots in my jacket pocket, earlier models "filled it up".
Keyboard is taking a little getting used to. The "hard" keys hurt a bit to type. I can't type more than 80% of my old speed. But it is getting better. The biggest issue is the num key (which is actually a caps key?) is no longer on the zero, so for the first day every capital was a 0 and lots of backspacing
Screen is unbelievable. The auto backlight off actually blanks the screen. This takes getting used to...but apparently extends the battery. I don't use it as a phone so not sure about any of the phone features.
I don't browse much but EDGE browsing is definitely faster. YAHOO IM is cool! Small changes in email app are a nice touch (eg to: list).
Best of all devide is rock solid as always...even as brand new as it is
My office hasn't installed BES 4.0 yet so can't check BT synching. That will be nice!
Now I desparately need a little stand that will hold the 8870 when it's plugged into the USB. I had it for 7290 but not available yet for 8870. Anyone????
Mick
8700r day 3 
