[tmag2005]

Ok, so its arrived, the 8300 sits on my deskxxx8230;..The box seems the same size, RIM, have not changed anything therexxx8230;.

As I open it, there sits this tiny little BB. Itxxx8217;s only then that you realise how small it actually is xxx8211; not too small. I have sausages for fingers but its nice, and a quick blank test of they keyboard lay out makes me think xxx8211; yeah itxxx8217;s nicexxx8230;.

The battery carefully inserted, seems very small having placed 8800 battery next to itxxx8230;And hey presto, on comes the red ledxxx8230;.Life has begunxxx8230;.

The Silver casing is a mix between the grey 7290 and an 8800 in touchxxx8230;not too rough yet not too slippery. The rubber on the sides reminds me of the casing for the Motorola Pebel xxx8211; if have ever felt thatxxx8230;A nice touchxxx8230;but I think I can see that wearing a little in respect of feel.

On finally powering up, the horrible O2 Theme appears with the usual Wizardxxx8230;promptly exited though.

Change that Theme: Choices are xxx8211; Dimension Today / Zen / Icons, O2 Today, O2 Zen.

Going through the Options Settings, I immediately notice the Spell Check therexxx8230;great. No more typos and I set the options to spell check before emails sent.

Now my usual ALT + CAPS + H = Help Me!

What am I running on this?
Platform 2.4.0.29
Apps Version 4.2.2.67 (150)

So going through the box xxx8211; A nice slim like case (like the Pearl) only this really suits the BB. The 8800 should have had one of these definitely xxx8211; would have been a good move from RIM.

The Stereo headset is nicely made as usual with some nice controls for the music player. It has a round hub for the controls, but only does minor functions such as answer / hang up and play/pause.

Also a 128 mb card comes in the box xxx8211; and whilst this isnxxx8217;t a great size, itxxx8217;s a nice touch as people will be able to take some pictures at least.

Aside of that, the normal charger with adaptors and USB cable are also present.

So to give my overall verdict from having just opened the box xxx8211; I do like the 8300, and itxxx8217;s a great looking device with neat functions, but will it take me away from my 8800? I donxxx8217;t think so. Aside of the camera which the 8800 challenges with the GPS, its just really smaller, although the sizes on paper are hugely different, this will be the selling point and I think RIM have created yet another market breaker. This will bring a whole another group of new BB user. An O2 for the UK couldnxxx8217;t have done this better.

So where is this BB8300 goingxxx8230;to my wife of course!

Pics will be followed up once edited and sized.

PICS HERE

I meant to add, my unit came SIM Free and therefore was Unlocked.

Also the Camera looks good and works well. However i still think a little clear plastic cover should have made the casing to cover the Lens and Flash. All that bareness, looks like a recipe for disaster.

[greggebhardt]

Thanks for the review. Liked all of it except you telling how small the 8300 is. I do not want small. Just cause they can make it small does not mean they have too! The 8700 is about my favorite size, guess a girl would like smaller but my hands need something it can hold and use the keyboard

[kasperapd]

**Pics removed per tmag's request**

[IanHummel]

Wow, great comparison shots with the 8800, I had no idea it was that much smaller.

[dtmfjunkie]

Did it have wifi?

[sean76]

Great post, really is smaller then I thought! Two questions though! Does the key board light up bright and evenly,and does the call and send keys light up as well? All the pics I've seen out there have the call and send keys looking like a dark alley!

[JSanders]

Originally Posted by dtmfjunkie

Did it have wifi?

No.

Tmag--thanks for the review.

Kasper--good pics, thanks also.

[robdes]

Where/How did you get it?

[tmag2005]

I got it cos i ordered it and kept a watch for it and made sure i knew how to get round CS to make sure i got it...

No Wifi, and the keyboard is well lit.

Its a great littl device, just more for the Mrs than me!

Thanks Kasper for the Pics help....

[Jagga]

Does it still only come in 2 tone?

[coldconfession13]

I can't wait to get my hands on this

[Outrigger]

I def. do not like the silver front, compared to the 8800 front, the latter def looks more professional. The more I look at the 8800 the more I like it. However, I love how the back of the 8300 looks as well as the rubbery sides of it. The silver side rails of the 8800 is a turn off for me because it feels a bit on the cheap side. RIM is doing a great job in rolling out different kinds of BBs for different types of people. Can't wait for what they have in store for the 9xxx series.

[Spiffyis5150]

I agree that the 8800 looks classier, but for me I just can't take that keyboard. I'm dying to get away from from my Pearl to a QWERTY, but I don't want the scroll wheel of the 8700, so for me the 8300 will be the one since it's smaller than 8700 and 8800, has the QWERTY of the 8700 plus the features of the Pearl I like which is the pearl scroll ball and the multimedia features. The only downers that I see are the coloring which I think could be nicer and the lack of GPS which would be a good feature to have. I'm not so sure that I care about Wi-Fi because the question I ask myself is "How often am I near a Wi-Fi access point?" which is not very often. My work doesn't have WiFi because of the security risks that they feel outweigh the usefulness and when I'm out and about, I'm in my car traveling. I think the 8300 will be a good stopgap for me until we get a 3G BB in which case, I'm all over that.

[greggebhardt]

Hard to believe that someone is still asking if it has WiFi!

[tmag2005]

NOT have it.

:D

[Spiffyis5150]

I wasn't asking it has WiFi on it. I'm well aware that it doesn't. I was just thinking in general of the possible upcoming models of Blackberrys that will have it and how useful it would be to me.

[sean76]

Question??? If one was to some how get there paws on an unlocked Curve from O2, would it work here in the United States?

[kasperapd]

Originally Posted by sean76

Question??? If one was to some how get there paws on an unlocked Curve from O2, would it work here in the United States?

Yes

[exilio]

Originally Posted by greggebhardt

Thanks for the review. Liked all of it except you telling how small the 8300 is. I do not want small. Just cause they can make it small does not mean they have too! The 8700 is about my favorite size, guess a girl would like smaller but my hands need something it can hold and use the keyboard

I felt the same way about the Pearl. I do like that they can make such a great device so compact, but it's in many ways, too small for me. That is why I am looking forward to putting my hands on this 8300 - I think it might be the sweet spot between being pocketable and accommodating of a QWERTY keyboard.

[exilio]

Originally Posted by Spiffyis5150

I agree that the 8800 looks classier, but for me I just can't take that keyboard. I'm dying to get away from from my Pearl to a QWERTY, but I don't want the scroll wheel of the 8700, so for me the 8300 will be the one since it's smaller than 8700 and 8800, has the QWERTY of the 8700 plus the features of the Pearl I like which is the pearl scroll ball and the multimedia features. The only downers that I see are the coloring which I think could be nicer and the lack of GPS which would be a good feature to have. I'm not so sure that I care about Wi-Fi because the question I ask myself is "How often am I near a Wi-Fi access point?" which is not very often. My work doesn't have WiFi because of the security risks that they feel outweigh the usefulness and when I'm out and about, I'm in my car traveling. I think the 8300 will be a good stopgap for me until we get a 3G BB in which case, I'm all over that.

Spot on! The 8300 will be a great interim device until:

* iPhone comes down in price and gets 3G (I mean come on, no 3G for that?)

* New line of 9xxx BlackBerry's are released that have: 3G, video recording, more internal memory, newer OS that takes some of the good things WM6 and the Palm offer - there are a few!

The keyboard on the 8800 was kind of a misstep by RIM, and I think the return to this keyboard on the 8300 confirms that.

And I totally agree about the looks. The BB black like on the 8800 and 8100 is gorgeous. I have no idea what they were thinking with the boring gray on the 8300 - especially as it is being marketed more as a lifestyle phone than a business one.