[cooperpwc]

I'm with AlbertoM. I got a new unit so I could have gone the Telstra route but the important question of why has never been answered. The app names on the Zen home screen is enough to turn me off and since I don't put third-party apps in the top five, there is nothing to turn me on.

[whoscalling]

Originally Posted by AlbertoM

Again, I switched from Cing basic OS to Bharti because there were specific problems, ie, volume, that it addressed. Without a specific problem, fix or added functionality that an OS addresses, do not switch just to get a higher version number - or at least do so at your own peril....

Agreed. Obviously everyone isn't experiencing the same but Bharti DID fix some problems for me and i feel my 8700c performs better (browsing/call quality..) after going to bharti from the stock cingular OS. I then went to Telestra and had all the issues that have been mentioned. (battery drain, BT, etc). Went back to bharti and everything is working very well.

Not everyones opinion just my 2 cents

[duofold]

Ater downgrading to the stock T-Mobile software (.284) and fully charging the battery, it's my belief that this retrograde may have improved battery life.

I understand that this is highly anecdotal, but as I mentioned in the earlier post, after not nearly a day's worth of usage (disconnected charger 4 a.m. to battery check at 4 p.m.), the Telstra-fed 8700g read 55% battery remaining.

After disconnecting the charger at the same time on Thursday morning, the .284 8700g reads 55% battery now. This is nearly two days + 5 hours into the charge. Usage has been heavier - more calls and more emails per day.

Again, this observation has been anecdotal, but I cannot attribute this improved performance to any other changes since I've tried to maintain everything else as constant.

So I'm happy with the stock. I've not seen anymore issues with receiving data (either in the browser or emails) while the indictor still reads 'EDGE' as I did once while on Telstra. The current software does not show any achilles heel and Telstra offered no compelling wow performance difference. As a result, I'm sticking with the stock software until I see an official T-Mobile offering in the future.

[RickL66]

yes, I did search - but don't see it, what is great about Telstra over the .284 standard version?

Edit: never mind, I found the answer.

[lgreenberg]

No problems here.

[earpon]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

No problems so far over here.

[gadgetfanatic]

Is it possible that the battery drain problem reported is not the os draining the battery but the os not reading the battery level properly? I received a replacement BB yesterday. I'm using my old batt. since Cing sent me a re-furb with no batt. I loaded Telstra on it immeadiately and it does seem like the batt. drops down to 85% quicker than before but I don't think the os is draining the batt., I think it is reading the level incorrectly.

[hf1khal]

Originally Posted by gadgetfanatic

Is it possible that the battery drain problem reported is not the os draining the battery but the os not reading the battery level properly? I received a replacement BB yesterday. I'm using my old batt. since Cing sent me a re-furb with no batt. I loaded Telstra on it immeadiately and it does seem like the batt. drops down to 85% quicker than before but I don't think the os is draining the batt., I think it is reading the level incorrectly.

I would tend to agree with you. My battery level showed 35% (earlier today) then after a phone call it was back to 50%.

[gadgetfanatic]

I can't imagine RIM not thoroughly testing each OS before releasing it. While every bug can't be caught, sucking the life out of a normally long lasting battery certainly could. Apparantly there may be a battery meter calibration bug. The fact that some have experienced it and others have not may be related to the level of their battery when they did the os upgrade.

[cooperpwc]

Originally Posted by gadgetfanatic

I can't imagine RIM not thoroughly testing each OS before releasing it. While every bug can't be caught, sucking the life out of a normally long lasting battery certainly could. Apparantly there may be a battery meter calibration bug. The fact that some have experienced it and others have not may be related to the level of their battery when they did the os upgrade.

Given the serious ringer volume bug in the old pre-.284 OS, I can't express any faith in the concept that major bugs are caught by RIM before a release.
No opinion on this battery issue though because I'm sticking with Bharti until the Today themes are released. Then I guess I'll find out.

[EricaJ1074]

No issues here with T-Mo's OS upgrade.

[bigboy]

Originally Posted by hf1khal

I would tend to agree with you. My battery level showed 35% (earlier today) then after a phone call it was back to 50%.

Interesting. Well I was noticing battery drain on the indicator and I ended up going back to T-Mo OS. My concern is that, even if the OS isn't reading the battery correctly, if it reads it too low, then it might shut down my BB even if there's plenty o' battery left.

[gadgetfanatic]

Originally Posted by bigboy

Interesting. Well I was noticing battery drain on the indicator and I ended up going back to T-Mo OS. My concern is that, even if the OS isn't reading the battery correctly, if it reads it too low, then it might shut down my BB even if there's plenty o' battery left.

Why not go from Telstra to Bharti or Orange? They are both very good.

[donovan1983]

I found the call quality on Telstra to be a bit lower than with the T-Mobile firmware and promptly went back. Call quality on the T-Mobile firmware is simply excellent, making my 8700 the best phone I've used for voice so far. I didn't notice anything about the Telstra firmware except the new Vodafone theme that was a real upgrade, and I have taken that theme and used it with the T-Mobile firmware, anyway. I didn't have the Telstra OS long enough to test the battery life. it lasted maybe 6 hours before I went back.

[stripesace]

I can't imagine RIM not thoroughly testing each OS before releasing it. While every bug can't be caught, sucking the life out of a normally long lasting battery certainly could. Apparantly there may be a battery meter calibration bug. The fact that some have experienced it and others have not may be related to the level of their battery when they did the os upgrade.

This is why US carriers put there OS's through so much before we get them. They figure its easier to troubleshoot a handheld of devices within the company at first, than it is all millions across the country.

[RickL66]

I've been using Telstra for 3 days now and don't really notice the battery drain issue. I do not use the phone though - just data. I finally charged it last night and 7 hours later it's still showing full (or 90% according to status)

[dcfella]

I used Telstra for about a week and noticed a significant amount of reception drops, though they only lasted a few seconds at a time. Also, the battery did seem to run out way faster. Now that i'm back with the TMO, i've had almost no reception drops and the battery life seems noticeably better.

[paulbblc]

running Telstra, just upgraded today. So far no issues besides when I lock the keyboard the homescreen image is diffrent than the one that shows up when the keys are locked. Other than that I havent had it installed long enough to notice the battery issue nor have I tried T-Mo's new upgrade to test the voice quality.

[cooperpwc]

Loving Telstra and my initial experience is that my battery performance has improved. This may be because I'm getting better home reception than usual - and that could be just a weather thing - or maybe the radio stacks are better suited to Rogers than Bharti was.

Here is another Tesltra improvement: after you switch themes, it automatically bumps you up to the Screen/Keyboard line of Options. I love that because the first thing I always do after each switch is reset my font to BBCasual 10 Bold.

One last thing (and this may well have been the same with Bharti but I never noticed it): the locked screen for the Orange theme is beautiful.

[_quest_]

Ok i am somewhat confused, as being an Aussie, we have had Telstra as our main carrier now for 16-odd years (before that it was called Telecom and was the only carrier in the country). Has Telstra been in your market long? Is it the same carrier we have here?