[archer6]

Originally Posted by Tutenstein

I ordered the 8703 e from Sprint today.
Now I have to wait until Wednesday to get it

What an ordeal to order it though.
.

What version of OS X are you running?

For maximum success & enjoyment of your new BB I would get used to it for a few days before doing a sync with your iBook.

During that time read as much as time permits about the BB > Mac pairing. That will give you a solid foundation to build on.

Cheers!

[Tutenstein]

Originally Posted by archer6

What version of OS X are you running?

For maximum success & enjoyment of your new BB I would get used to it for a few days before doing a sync with your iBook.

During that time read as much as time permits about the BB > Mac pairing. That will give you a solid foundation to build on.

Cheers!

Thanks for the advice.

OS X 10.4.8 is the version I am using. I have an Intel-imac.

I'll have to wait a bit before I get a Macbook!!

[tru2life]

I actually went from a BB to a Treo 700p and now back to a BB and people ask why. I went to the Treo because it had some inticing bells and whistles. Once I started using it I realized the bells and whistles were "cool" but that is about it. The Treo is a jack of all trades and a master of none. The BB does what it does very well.
I am in the process, on order, of getting the 8703e from Sprint and the wait is killing me to get back to the BB life.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by Tutenstein

Thanks for the advice.

You are quite Welcome!

Originally Posted by Tutenstein

OS X 10.4.8 is the version I am using. I have an Intel-imac.

I like iMac's they are really cool and since you are completely up to date with your OS, you are all set.

Let us know how (great) it's going once you get your BlackBerry!

You will be so impressed and as fellow Mac user here's a thought for you. All other smartphones are like PC's, a little buggy, crashing frequently, and known to be quite frustrating.

BlackBerrys are like Macs! Elegant, solid, very well engineered, easy to use, and always up and running!

Cheers...

[Tutenstein]

Originally Posted by archer6

You are quite Welcome!
You will be so impressed and as fellow Mac user here's a thought for you. All other smartphones are like PC's, a little buggy, crashing frequently, and known to be quite frustrating.

BlackBerrys are like Macs! Elegant, solid, very well engineered, easy to use, and always up and running!

Cheers...

That is very good to hear!! I've only been using Mac for about a year now, but I am very, very pleased.
Very easy to use and I've had NO worries.

That is one question I had about BB: How do they work with Mac's?

Since most smartphones are designed for PC's (which is why I got the Treo 650 to begin with) I wasn't sure how the BB would interact (?) with the Mac.

But, from what you are saying, I should have no problems.

Now I just have to wait. Hopefully it should be here by Wednesday.

Thanks.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by Tutenstein

That is one question I had about BB: How do they work with Mac's?

Not knowing your preferences and exacty usage I would suggest that you do a search here.

You will find lots to read and be able to form your own opinion on what you would like to do and how you want to set yours up. There are lots of opinions.

Cheers.

[jancelet]

Well i have owned Treos (2 of them) and pocketpc 6600 and pocketpc 6700 just bought my wife the blackberry 8703e and have used it for a week, if you use your phone alot for PDA stay with Treo, Blackberrys have almost NO software, think about it, no camera no slot for SD cards,

you can get push mail from microsoft exchange servers that are better then blackberry enterprise servers, see the reviews,
there is 1 (today screen application) , no PIM applications, it costs $100 to get software to edit word and excel (free with pocketpcs), i mean honestly i know everyone here loves blackberries, but wow the 3rd party software is like 4 years behind the times of Windows. The built in GPS, there is NO decent software for directions, windows pocketpc has over 12 of the top companies making gps software for them while BB has only a few that are not any good.

Simple choice unless your company uses blackberry, stay with treo even better treo with windows

[dhendriksen]

I agree with the post earlier that the treo is a jack of all trades, and a master of none. What it comes down to is what you use it for. The bb is very good at what it does, but the treo is more versatile. The bb is super stable and never crashes, where I used to reset ,y treo nearly everyday.

The bb rocks, but certainly is not for everybody.

[archer6]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Originally Posted by jancelet

Well i have owned Treos (2 of them) and pocketpc 6600 and pocketpc 6700 just bought my wife the blackberry 8703e and have used it for a week, if you use your phone alot for PDA stay with Treo, Blackberrys have almost NO software, think about it, no camera no slot for SD cards,

you can get push mail from microsoft exchange servers that are better then blackberry enterprise servers, see the reviews,
there is 1 (today screen application) , no PIM applications, it costs $100 to get software to edit word and excel (free with pocketpcs), i mean honestly i know everyone here loves blackberries, but wow the 3rd party software is like 4 years behind the times of Windows. The built in GPS, there is NO decent software for directions, windows pocketpc has over 12 of the top companies making gps software for them while BB has only a few that are not any good.

Simple choice unless your company uses blackberry, stay with treo even better treo with windows

And your point is?

[jancelet]

i think the point is obvious, but let me say it again then, if you company uses blackberry enterprise server then get it, otherwise stay away go with pocketpcs

[untjoker]

Originally Posted by jancelet

Well i have owned Treos (2 of them) and pocketpc 6600 and pocketpc 6700 just bought my wife the blackberry 8703e and have used it for a week, if you use your phone alot for PDA stay with Treo, Blackberrys have almost NO software, think about it, no camera no slot for SD cards,

you can get push mail from microsoft exchange servers that are better then blackberry enterprise servers, see the reviews,
there is 1 (today screen application) , no PIM applications, it costs $100 to get software to edit word and excel (free with pocketpcs), i mean honestly i know everyone here loves blackberries, but wow the 3rd party software is like 4 years behind the times of Windows. The built in GPS, there is NO decent software for directions, windows pocketpc has over 12 of the top companies making gps software for them while BB has only a few that are not any good.

Simple choice unless your company uses blackberry, stay with treo even better treo with windows

as a former network admin and programmer, I can tell you without a doubt, Blackberry email is the best email, period. Microsoft exchange on a treo or any other phone does not compare, in the least. And what software do you need exactly on your Blackberry besides what is available? And Telenav for the 8703 as well as multiple other programs work awesome with Blackberry's. GPS on Windows doesn't mean jack if your handheld is resetting and giving you error messages every 5 minutes......if someone is doing heavy editing of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files then they need to use their laptop, not their Blackberry and good Lord for SURE not their Windows Mobile device. I've had almost every phone that is available PDA/Smartphone wise and can tell you my 8703e is my favorite, even after having the pearl for months.....Treos blow, period. They are for people who don't know much about technical devices, that's why it's point and tap LOL. Ask most IT guys who know what they're doing and they will be using a Blackberry of some sort.

Oh forgot to add....as far as the camera, I'd like to see one IT person who needs a camera, or almost any other job that needs a camera on their phone. If you need a camera on your phone, then a Blackberry or a Windows Mobile device isn't the tool you need. I don't need to take a picture of the server, I need to get the server working.....Unless you are in the 4-7 megapixel range any photos you take with your phone aren't going to be useful for anything but picture messaging someone........

[osbornem]

switched from Treo 700WX to BB 8703e a week ago. Granted the BB does not have the capabilities and software supporters of WM5....but....the functions I need (phone, email, Text, and syncing consistently with Outlook for calendar/contacts/tasks) it does a great job....and it is not "buggy". I spent so much time fiddling with my Treo that my productivity went down for several months. With the BB....it just works... all the time, every time. So consistency is IMO far superior to the WM5 versions of the Treo. Now if you miss the toy camera and all that stuff then stay w/Treo. The email and phone functions of the Treo were equal to the BB IMHO.

[chrisgoheelsayers]

I have used Palm Treo devices from the beginning (Handspring). Just changed from Palm Treo 600 to Blackberry. Love the 8703. Bigger screen. Better screen. Bigger keypad. Very fast connection with Verizon. Better speakerphone. Had trouble using Outlook with Treo but not with Blackberry. Slightly larger but that's not a problem for me. Very lightweight.

[blackbelt]

I posted some pro's and con's when moving to the sprint 8703e from the tmobile 8700g from a users perspective...

quick points on difference for people looking to switch

+ Broadband(browsing from phone not so great/Phone as Modem(great)
+ coverage - better in tough buildings/subways
+ 11MB limit as opposed to 5MB(bttr for fwd emails, don't have to route email to other servers)
+ GPS, Keyboard(better solid feel), Screen res,All black(8700G is dark blue)
+ Ringtones sound MUCH better not as loud as on the 00G
+ Easier to hear people
- No delivery reports on txt msgs
- Can't txt out while on the phone only incomin txt
- Hard on conferencing
- More Expensive(phone n plan)
- Battery life short
- MM6500 not MM6800 chip(explain in the previous blog)

BlackBerry BlackBelt

[archer6]

Originally Posted by chrisgoheelsayers

I have used Palm Treo devices from the beginning (Handspring). Just changed from Palm Treo 600 to Blackberry. Love the 8703. Bigger screen. Better screen. Bigger keypad. Very fast connection with Verizon. Better speakerphone. Had trouble using Outlook with Treo but not with Blackberry. Slightly larger but that's not a problem for me. Very lightweight.

Greetings, chrisgoheelsayers

Welcome To The Forum...

I have had the same experience as you.

Now 6 weeks after converting over to a Blackberry I'm really happy.

Outlook is so important to my work and personal life, and it's a pure joy to use with the BlackBerry. It sync's so much faster and is so much more stable than any other device I've used it with prior to the BlackBerry.

I have a tip for you. If you are using the BIS desktop software, you may go to the RIM website and download version 4.2 it's even faster and smoother than the version that is on the CD that came with your BlackBerry. You probably received version 4.1. xx since yours is just six weeks newer than mine. I believe that it's not being burned to disc just yet.

Enjoy your new BlackBerry!
Cheers...

[Tutenstein]

Well, I had the 8703e for about a week, but now I have the 8700c.

Since I got a lot of nice replies on this thread, I thought an update would be in order.

When I first chose Sprint service I was living somewhere else, in College Park, MD, which is not far from Washington D.C.

Well, I moved a year ago to Churchton, MD, which is not far from Annapolis, MD.

My calls would always drop in my neighborhood or I simply would have no service at all. I didn't pay much mind to it, since I never really used my phone in my neighborhood, but, then I got the 8703e from Sprint.

Same problems, and if ever the situation arrived when my wife would have to reach me, I decided to call Sprint about it.

Turns out Sprint doesn't have coverage in my area! I purchased the BB over the phone through Telesales, which, they shouldn't have sold me, since they should have known Sprint doesn't cover my area.

So, now I'm waiting for the return kit, to ship the 8703e back to Sprint.

I love the 8700c though!!

[archer6]

Originally Posted by Tutenstein

Well, I had the 8703e for about a week, but now I have the 8700c. Since I got a lot of nice replies on this thread, I thought an update would be in order. I love the 8700c though!!

Thanks for the Update!

I'm glad that you _finally_ got it all sorted out. Too bad you had to go through all that. However the good news is now you can proceed and truly enjoy a great product.

Now that I've been a BlackBerry user for just 6 weeks, I continue to be amazed as how nice these are. Stable, fast, and reliable. I cannot imagine using anything else at this point.

I am truly hooked, and enjoying every minute of it....

Cheers...

[Tutenstein]

Thanks archer6.

It was quite an ordeal! I thought about posting all I went through, but it would have been way too long, and I didn't want to come across as a Sprint basher, but I am definitely not pleased with them.

But yes, the BB is a great product, and I am very impressed with it.

I am also hooked!!

[tmgplc]

I am close to being convinced (after reading the posts on this board and HF) to getting the 8703e from VZW. I really need it to work very well as a phone, email, internet, outlook sync, and store some photos. I am tempted by some of the new WM5 pda/smartphones that seem to be coming out for VZW. I would like to be able to take and mms the occasional photo and store info (beyond the 64 mb - - i.e. photos) to a memory card. Stability and the ability to make a quality phone call is absolutely key (the device is worthless unless it can make a call otherwise I would stick with my moto e815). Given this do would you get the BB8703e? Does BB have a program to store/encrypt passwords and other account type data? Thanks and I have found these boards to be an awsome resource, but make me more indecisive.

[brucejr]

Originally Posted by tmgplc

I am close to being convinced (after reading the posts on this board and HF) to getting the 8703e from VZW. I really need it to work very well as a phone, email, internet, outlook sync, and store some photos. I am tempted by some of the new WM5 pda/smartphones that seem to be coming out for VZW. I would like to be able to take and mms the occasional photo and store info (beyond the 64 mb - - i.e. photos) to a memory card. Stability and the ability to make a quality phone call is absolutely key (the device is worthless unless it can make a call otherwise I would stick with my moto e815). Given this do would you get the BB8703e? Does BB have a program to store/encrypt passwords and other account type data? Thanks and I have found these boards to be an awsome resource, but make me more indecisive.

I agree. I am with VZW and am very happy with the service. I have missed the functionality of my Blackberry and MDA w/ T-Mobile. I currently have the LG VX9800 (soon to be coming out with the VX9900) and love the VZNavigator program. As I understand from other threads, VZW did not make active the GPS capabilities of their 8703e (as opposed to Cingular who did). Looking on the Blackberry webpage, the 8703e is inherently GPS capable. For whatever reason VZW decided not to activate it or de-activate it (whichever the case might be ). I have signed the petition asking VZW to activate this part of their service since most others w/ Blackberry's have this capability active. Is anyone aware of a good external GPS receiver, and program to use with the 8703e w/ VZW ? I can do w/o the camera, and media player (I have a digital phone, and iPod for that).