[bogey]

new here. thinking of changing from my existing berry to the 7100G. My main question relates to battery life. The device will be on virtually all day receiving emails, cell calls will be made a few times a day. what is the battery life really like on the device? how does it compare with a typical cell.

havent held the device yet - is it pocketable, will it be easy to carry around on days i dont need it for email but just for cell use?

lastly, how is Cingular in NY in particular - have verizon now and works well.

oh, lastly, if i travel to South Africa do i need to do anything to enable the device to be used there?
Really appreciate any help - particularly with regard to the battery question - thanks all

[neutral]

Mine is only two days old, and so far has made it both days after being fully charged the night before.

I probably had about an hour of talktime each day, and lots of emails/sms during the day.

Maybe someone who has had theirs longer will have a different story, but I'm happy with it so far.

[elazarus]

I find that I make it through the day but barely....My BB 7230 got 5 times the amount of battery life.

E

[lgardner]

I have had the 7100g for 2 weeks now; I can comfortably count on 1.5 to 2.0 days with one charge (I have tried to run it down 3 times to condition the battery). This is with heavy data and minimal to moderate voice use. This is about half of what I achieved with the 7230 with heavy data use and almost no voice (I used a separate phone).

Re: international roaming. Since the 7100 is quadri-band it will work anywhere cingular has a roaming agreement (and there is GSM service) without any action on your part. I used the 7230 in Tanzania last year with good GSM reception (probably on the 900 band), but not data since they don't support GPRS.

[NJBlackBerry]

Re: International Roaming. Cingular is the only carrier that does publish where they have International BlackBerry (data) roaming agreements. Makes it tough to do planning. If anyone can find and publish the Cingular internationl data roaming agreements (NOT THE GSM ROAMING AGREEMENTS), that would be great.

[bogey]

thanks. seems like with using th ephone mayb 30 mins a day and getting a lot of emails i should make it through the day. anyone disagree? anyone getting better life?

[lgardner]

I think you will get two days of use with that pattern without any difficulty. It has been suggested in this forum that you should run down the battery three times or so to maximize its use.

[lgardner]

I spent a productive aftenoon researching the question of international data. On the ATT international roaming site is a page that leads you to world connect which lists cost per minute from every country with which they have a roaming agreement. Clicking on the country, reveals whether or not they have a data agreement, with whom and using what frequency. Since the 7100g has 900 and 1800 that is not a problem EXCEPT in Japan, where they have now gone to 2100; no longer use GSM and do not offer a rental device for data!

[bogey]

thanks for the info. 2 days is fine for me as I have a travel charger (guessing the regular travel charger works for the 7100g). Now ijust have to decide if i want to make the change. I do a lot of emailing on my berry and a bit worried about the smaller screen adn the typing.

[mobilehavoc]

http://www.blackberryforums.com/view...amp;highlight=

Not sure if I just have high expectations...

What are your backlight brightness set to?? I'm sure that is the biggest drain on the 7100 series...

I've usually had mine at 90-100% but I changed it to 75 and going to see how it goes after a full charge tonight.

Unfortunately, I have to say I'm dissapointed with the battery life at this time, I just hope it improves.

[lgardner]

Backlight set at 70; time out at 30 seconds.

[barjohn]

I get two day of use with back light set to 90 and time out to 45sec and Bluetooth always on.

[mbn]

I've had the 7100g for a little over a week- I'm on my third batter drain cycle. Screen is at 60, which is very readable, even with a screen protector on it.

IMO Bluetooth seems to be the biggest battery drain (definitely was on my 7290) with web use and phone right behind it, with email using the least (at 60 screen). My 7280 would last for a week, my 7290 for about 3-4 days and it seems the 7100g is no more than 2 days, so you be the judge of whether the battery life is an impediment to buying. For me, the 7100g is a better phone than any of the 72xx devices, hands down. No comparison and I didn't think I would use the speakerphone as much as I do, but it is a useful feature and people on the other end tell me the quality is great.

I'm on cingular in NYC and the coverage is better than it has ever been in the past, and improving, although it is expensive as compared to t-mobile (I wouldn't recommend it in NYC- everyone I know who uses it for voice and/or data complains about it). I used to have AT&T a few years ago and went to Verizon for a few years when I was just using voice. Cingular is not currently rock solid like Verizon is on voice, but it definitely seems that it is improving over the last 6 months, and it's totally adequate for my needs. By the end of 2005 when all the towers from AT&T wireless are supposed to be contributing to a single 'Cingular' network, I think it will be as good as Verizon in NYC, and much better outside of the city.

Also, If you plan on 'pocketing' the 7100g, get a screen protector. It fits in the front pocket of my jeans. I'm using a holster, but I can see how this thing can get dinged and scratched more easily than the 72x series. Go to www.screenguardz.com or search for screen protector in this forum and you should be able to find a list of vendors...