BlackBerry Forums Support Community

ArgonNJ · 07-05-2007, 06:30 AM

Impressions, complaints. Thinking about getting one.

JerryD · 07-05-2007, 07:18 AM

Worked on one last week. One thing I did NOT like at all - the unit is brushed silver with silver buttons and dark blue light for the keys. They were unreadable in daylight!

ma077146 · 07-05-2007, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryD

Worked on one last week. One thing I did NOT like at all - the unit is brushed silver with silver buttons and dark blue light for the keys. They were unreadable in daylight!

JerryD, are you talking about the AT&T unit? The Sprint unit is Black with white backlights.

gibber9583 · 07-05-2007, 07:53 AM

No, isnt the AT&T Blue, and its a 8800 not an 8830. The VZW 8830 is silver.

JerryD · 07-05-2007, 08:00 AM

Sorry. Forgot Sprint had it now too!

FroogleThis · 07-05-2007, 08:14 AM

I should be getting mine today. People laughed when I told them I paid full retail for it ($549.99) and didn't get the iPhone, haha. I have demo'ed one for an hour or so. I definitely LOVE the black, as opposed to the VZW silver. Having used the thumbwheel for 3+ years, the trackball takes a minute to get used to, but I found it useful. Menu customization is key for quick access, but the one-handed operation is pretty fluid. I purchased a 2GB PNY MicroSD card from Best Buy, because the one I fooled around with had it, and I was able to quickly and easily sync a few albums to it. I suggest purchasing the MicroSD card from your local shop, not the carrier. The music sounded good on my relatively high-end ear buds, but I didn't get a chance to try and lock the phone while playing music. That would be a sore spot if I was unable to do that. The voice activation is very smooth, and a very pleasant feature. I only goofed up on the first few tries, but once I spoke clearly, it picked it up immediately. I did do a semi-rapid Activate-Escape-Activate, and it stalled for a moment, but that could have been unrelated.

When i get mine and tinker more recklessly with it (why pay $7/month for insurance and not abuse the hell out of it?), I'll post some more thoughts.

Steve-hose · 07-05-2007, 08:15 AM

I received mine from Sprint on Tuesday and I like it very much. I used the Verizon silver version for 2 weeks in Europe so I can compare. The Sprint version's keys are WAY easier to read than Verizon's. Also Sprint includes the sim card already loaded in the device, Verizon's was an add-on. I hated the Verizon keyboard but like the Sprint one very much, it is slightly smaller than my 8703e but with time i am adjusting no problem. Everything works well like my 8703e, however the device is more elegant with its shiny metal sides and gloss black finish. I activated the T Mobile theme with the 5 icons on the bottom of the screen (like Verizons but nicer fonts etc. IMHO) instead of using the Zen theme which goes up the left side of the display and wastes an icon for menu (menu button is to the left of the pearl). Love the SD card (I bought a 2gb) to hold music and pics. RIM should let the SD card be used for storing email and attachments etc.

All in all I am impressed, its an sweet, solid device, and now with an estimated 1 million iPhones in service, mine's way rarer!

Travelling Trojan · 07-07-2007, 06:45 PM

Hi Froogle,

Thanks for the info. Turned in my Verizon 8830 today before the 30 days were up and am now trialing the Navy Blue Cingular AT&T 8800. AT&T tells me they do not offer insurance on Blackberry's. you mention insurance in your post. Is that through Sprint or an outside company?

The Silver Verizon keys with blue lighting were illegible in many places. The Navy Blue one is nice (my favorite color) but it is AT&T and who knows what lurks in the background with them as a carrier - you never know...so I might try Sprint...don't know if any better though

Thanks!

Sjjones · 07-08-2007, 01:01 AM

I have both, just got the Sprint version Thursday.

Sprints EVDO data service is so much faster!! Not close, so am selling the ATT 8800 very very soon

cykojoe · 07-08-2007, 01:35 AM

I received my 8830 from Sprint friday. I switched from Nextel 7100i and the difference is tremendous! The screen is fantastic and the keys are smaller but I have already gotten used to them. The ball also took a little getting used to but have already gotten acustomed to using it. I also like that the ball lights up along with the keypad.

We are running a BES 4.0 SP6 and had a problem activating 2 of these BB's on the Server.

Everything else went pretty smooth and we were able to port all of our old numbers to the new BB's with not problem at all!!

Travelling Trojan · 07-08-2007, 01:17 PM

Thanks, sounds like you both like your 8830s. What added features do you get on the Sprint 8830 that are not on the AT&T 8800?

Thanks, appreciate it.

oldspice · 07-08-2007, 01:43 PM

Wirelessly posted (8830: BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelling Trojan

Thanks, sounds like you both like your 8830s. What added features do you get on the Sprint 8830 that are not on the AT&T 8800?

Thanks, appreciate it.

The biggest difference is that the 8830 is CDMA in the States and can roam on GSM networks internationally. On the VZW 8830 you're stuck with Vodafone internationally because the sim is locked. On the Sprint 8830 you can swap sims. Also, the VZW 8830's GPS is disabled while Sprint's is not. Short of that, the differences are cosmetic.

bikedogrun · 07-08-2007, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travelling Trojan

Thanks, sounds like you both like your 8830s. What added features do you get on the Sprint 8830 that are not on the AT&T 8800?

The main difference is (as sjjones mentioned) is the far faster EVDO network for data transmission. It really does make a "HUGE" diff, especially when browsing the web and downloading/uploading files & docs with attachments.

/BD

TheWuternal · 07-08-2007, 03:27 PM

I received mine this past Friday; I absolutely love it!! The media player is fantastic and the audio from the speaker is great. It took a little bit to get used to the trackball but now I like it a lot more than the old trackwheel. It also has stereo bluetooth - major plus!

cwikked · 07-09-2007, 09:55 AM

I just got my Sprint 8830 on Friday as well, and I'm really digging it so far. The only two things I cant figure out is how to "register" my phone with the AIM service, and the Spoken GPS Navigation that was touted on the press releases.

Other that that, it's a really nice package.

--m
(First Post, new BB user)

BinkBerry · 07-09-2007, 11:13 AM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

I'm happy with my 8830 too!

Coming over from a 7100i makes for a bit of a keyboard learning curve, but I'm coping.

Regards,

Randy

ArgonNJ · 07-09-2007, 12:57 PM

Just ordered mine!

been there done that · 07-10-2007, 10:16 PM

got mine yesterday and screwed mine up yesterday,somehow my software from my 8703 got loaded on my 8830,screwed it up ,they havent released the software for the 8830,so sprint is sending me another one,i love sprint but im a dummy