Poor 8700 construction
 

Hello All,

Is it just me, or are these 8700c devices very poorly constructed? On mine:

- The keyboard moves up, down, and around as I type
- The unit "squeaks" when you press certain areas of the casing
- You can see light coming out from the sides when the backlight is on

Are these normal issues? Does RIM's QA just suck?

Yes the construction is poor. I switched to a 8700c and it's slightly tighter built than a 8700g from Tmo. I'm tempted to move to the Nokia E61 if it weren't for the bad reviews. I think I may switch to the Motorola Q or Samsung i310 when they become available with GSM.

A lot of people in many threads have had the same issue.

Ok. One of the things that drives me NUTS is that, if you push on certain areas (especially the bottom center of the device), you hear squeaking noises.

Hmmm, I don't seem to have this type of problem on my 8700g

Odd. Well, I will just use it until it gets worse, and then XBM it I guess.

my old 8700c would squeek, and rattle and what not. but I just got a new 8700c and it seems to be pretty quiet.

I've just noticed lately on mine that the keyboard was moving around a bit. Never thought about the back light issue so I checked that as well just now and on the left side of the unit near the bottom I can see the light shine through, but on the right side, everything is tight, no light leakage there.

I'm not entirely sure it's anything to worry about yet, but if it progressively gets worse, then I'll be contacting Rogers for a replacement under warranty.
Rene

some of you are whining for no reason. the 8700 is pretty tough build. there maybe have been some issues with the early models but its all good now. and how can it get worse over time. lol.

Other than the keyboard moving slightly which doesn't bother me, my 8700g is rock solid none of the other issues some other people have. I've dropped mine quite a few times and its still ticking no sqweaking or anything else at all

I have 8700g, so far, it seems pretty good and solid. My keyboard doesn't seem to move when I type and the battery cover also seems solid. I do notice, or it seems, that occasionally the track wheel gets a little 'stuck'. From what I am hearing on this board (and others) is that the quality or durability of these devices do seem to vary.

ps. that was a lot of 'seems' wasn't it :)

In my experience (having had 5, 2 of them refurbs), the 8700 suffers most from quality control issues, i.e. some of them are wonderful but they aren't all as good as they could/should be.
So if you get a good one (as I have at last), treat it with love. In my book that means protect the screen with Screen Patronus and don't use the OEM holster (the Launcher) for anything but pocketing. (I recommend with the clip removed.) Unlike the 7290, the 8700 doesn't like to be dropped; the odds of breakage are material.

(Sorry. Double post.)

Poor quality construction, like cracks and squeaks and dust behind the screen that scratches easily - sounds like a $5 toy - stops me from upgrading to the 8700 from my rock solid 7290. Last thing i need is an expensive device that's annoying to use. How did RIM manage to get so many simple things wrong in an otherwise very powerful design?

Dust behind the screen was an issue with some early models. I have never seen that.
The 8700 is a wonderful device. I had a 7290 and I would definitely not go back. But it's personal taste. There are trade-offs: the 7290 is indeed rock solid.

My 8700g is awesome. I am in the Army (Infantry at that) and my BB is with me all the time. It has been dropped and everything. The only way you can tell is if you look really close on the sides you can see tiny gashes in it. Other than that, things are awesome!

Don't get me wrong, I love my 8700r! I had a 7100r and I'll take the 8700 over the 7100 anyday! I have dropped mine a few times. Everything works great. You know how over time you get used to something then one day you seem to notice that the keyboard moves around a little and you think... "Hmm, did it always do that, or did it just start to do that?". When I saw this thread, I just thought I'd jump in with what I've witnessed.

Other than commenting on the topic (which does not make me a winer) I love this thing. Once you go BB, you never go back!
Rene

Guess it depends on the unit or batch. Mine was one of the ones shipped out during release week and it doesn't have any of these issues. The keyboard doesn't shift, the housing doesn't squeak or shift, and I don't have light leaking out the sides (not do I have screen dust issues).

Well, I keep my 8700 in a leather case and never notice anything of what is being discussed here with the exception of the keyboard moving a little when I type. The battery cover also isn't as tight to the outer case as I'd like, but haven't had a problem with it.

For short business trips this thing rocks. Miles ahead of any other smartphone I've tried.