[Ompul]

My beloved 7730, which I used many years, died.

If has fallen down and someone stepped on it.

I like to replace it with another used model I will get via Ebay.

I don't need any modern features of typical actual phones.

I don't need the high resolution of 240px x 240px. If I could read a standard SMS of 160 characters without scrolling, I'm fine.
I don't need colors.
I don't need mails.

I will use it in Europe, so I need Triband or Quadband.

Just one question:
There's the 7290.

When I compare the features, I could only see, that the 7290 offers Bluetooth, which the 7730 does not.

Do you see any other relevant advantage of the 7290 compared to the 7730 or do you advise the 7730?

Or should I look for a 6280 a 6230 which have almost twice as much standby als the 7730, if the specs are true?
But the 6280 and the 6230 are rare on Ebay.
On the other hand they are charming with their monochrome displays?

Thanks.

[Ompul]

Originally Posted by cristy999

NO COMMENT 7290

Please, give me a comment.

Just some short personal points

Is it just Bluetooth?

And what is to say against the feature of the 6230 with its 16day standby versus (10 days of the 7290)?

[NJBlackBerry]

They are both ancient BlackBerrys
The 7290 was the best in its day, which was several years ago.
It has a smaller form factor and different keyboard than the 7730.

[Ompul]

The size is nearly the same:
11.3 x 7.5 x 2.0
versus
12.1 x 7.7 x 1.8

So: still I'm looking for relevant differences between the 7230 and the 7730

Do you remember in which details the keyboards differ?

Does anyone know, if the declaration of the standby time of the 6280/6230 with 16days is true or not?

Thanks.

[Sytner]

Wirelessly posted (8520 (5.0.0.411))

The only thing you are gaining with the bluetooth really is for handsfree.

[rambo47]

7290 memory: 32 MB
7730 memory: 16 MB

7290: Quad-band
7730: Tri-band (no 900 MHz)

The 7290 is the clear winner.

[akosnitzky]

Originally Posted by rambo47

7290 memory: 32 MB
7730 memory: 16 MB

7290: Quad-band
7730: Tri-band (no 900 MHz)

The 7290 is the clear winner.

No argument here. I had a similar 7250

[rambo47]

My BlackBerry history:

7230 Revolutionary for me to discover the world of BlackBerrys after years of Treo use.
7730 Bigger screen, better backlight.
7105t Still an all-time favorite. Love the form factor, and the screen blew me away.
8100 Much improved SureType, and very pocketable.
8300 QWERTY makes all the difference. Unlocked Rogers model used on T-Mobile. We had to jump through hoops to get it to work on TMO because they were last to provide service books. But once it was sorted, wow! I had a couple of other 83xx models, all on AT&T. They never released the rumored "papa bear model" that had WiFi, GPS, and Camera, which was the device that would have been the ultimate BB at the time.
9000 Won it from BlackBerryForums and Horizon Wireless, leading me to drop T-Mobile for AT&T. Two words: Boo Yah. Finally I had all the papa bear features in one slick package. Overall a bit large, but a small price to pay for having it all.
8330m I jumped to Sprint to get the Palm Pre, but after 2 weeks I came running back to BlackBerry with my hair on fire and a bad taste in my mouth from BB withdrawal. Dumped the Pre but kept Sprint.
9630 Paid full retail to upgrade from the 8830m, which was working perfectly. I just missed the Bold-style keyboard and was making too many typing mistakes.

So what's next for me? Probably the 9650 (on Sprint) for the added WiFi and the trackpad. I suppose at some point I should get a Verizon BlackBerry. I've had all the U.S. Tier One carriers, but I never had Verizon while using BlackBerrys.

[Ompul]

I bought a 7230 (arrived yet) and a 6230 (will arrive soon) via Ebay for a very small amount. I was curious about the monochrome display. May be the older one even fits better to my "retro" affection in that area.

Thanks to all who answered in this thread.

One first impression of the 7230: the light is quite dark in comparison to my old 7730.
I prefer the form factor of the 7230 over the 7730.

At the moment I remove the silver color of display frame to get it all black

Nice surprise: I could use the battery of my died 7730 in the 7230.

[Ompul]

I just revealed a disadvantage of the 7230 compared to the 7290.

The 7230 doen't allow to configure a timeout for the background light, which means, the application autolock (starts a key lock automatically) does not work.

[rambo47]

I remember going from the 7230 and 7730 (small differences) to the 7105t and being amazed at the differences. IMHO, that's the place to start with a legacy BB - the 7105t.