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Shap · 02-14-2005, 04:03 PM

Just picked up my new 7100t last weekend after going through my 3rd sidekick. I must say this thing is growing on me BIG TIME! There are a few things I like much better on the sidekick, but being able to download apps on this and the phone function make this way better than my old sidekick ever was.

The only things I liked better (at least I knew how to use better, maybe?) on the sidekick were the email was a breeze to use and it seemed to be more reliable (I've sent 5 emails to myself and have yet to get them on my 7100, but will get a couple other random ones out of the blue). The navigation was easier to use on the sidekick also. Again I have not learned any shortcuts yet on this thing, I imagine it will be simple once I understand it all. The only other thing I liked was having text messages seperate from the email messages.

Anyone else made the switch from the sidekick to a real (phone version) pda?

Eric5273 · 02-14-2005, 04:49 PM

I used to have a Sidekick II, but I recently changed to Cingular and just have a regular phone now. I'm considering getting the 7100g and was wondering the differences myself.

How is the web browser compared to the Sidekick? How is the speed? Also, how does it render pages compared to the Sidekick?

Any other comments about the trasition from Sidekick to Blackberry?

Shap · 02-14-2005, 06:28 PM

Again I have just had it for a couple days, but I do like the browser much better on the sidekick, it feels more like an actual browser, and the 7100 feels like a phone. That being said I think the speed is actually better on the 7100, and if you get berry411, its SO easy to find anything you need.

Rob · 02-14-2005, 08:53 PM

The thing I like about my 7100 is I can do everything with one hand. When I demo'd the sidekick, it was not so easy.

I was more impressed with the Sidekicks web browsing capabilities, and the IM untilities. The time I demo'd it though, it did not automatically have the ability to sync up (with the bundled software) with my Outlook. For business use, this is not a preferance, it is a must.

Of course, that may have changed, since I demo'd the first sidekicks out, not the ones currently on the market.

Shap · 02-14-2005, 11:43 PM

I actually like the keyboard and feel of the first sidekick the best. The new one is way to long and the flip action is horrible. I do believe the new one can sync with outlook, but I don't use outlook. All in all the 7100 seems much more reliable.

I am having serious issues with my email. I use a hosted web server for my site, but only about 25% of the emails come to the 7100. The other problem is I am receiving about 100 spams a day, it started from the second I registered an account. I don't know what to do, but its totally unusable like this.

On a lighter note I can't stop playing that texas hold'em game!! SO adictive!

tritone900 · 02-15-2005, 12:00 AM

I had both a sidekick 2 and a 7100 for a few weeks and was able to compare them side by side. Each has it's own things it does better. On the sidekick, it is hard to beat the keyboard IM (works really well). However, most of the apps written it have been games, and as much as Danger/T-Mobile have been promoting development, ultimately T-Mobile decided on what applications show up in the catalogue. Maybe this is just a "growing pain" of a new platform, but it just didn't feel much like an open platform. Also, I did get frustrated by how limited the sidekcik PIM functions were - this is ultimately why I chose the 7100 over the sidekick.

Some other reasons - the 7100 is lighter/smaller. The bluetooth implementation is nice too (although somewhat limited.) I agree with the post above that the browser was a bit faster and also more reliable. This may just have to do with Danger's proxy servers vs. the servers used for the blackberry. As much as I like the usability of the sidekick web browser, it didn't seem to be reliable enough.

One last thing - it is nice being able to operate a device with one hand. I did feel that unless you had both hands free, you really couldn't operate the sidekick without fear of dropping it.

There are more differences that I noticed, but these are the main ones.

Eric5273 · 02-15-2005, 02:30 AM

When I had the Sidekick, I loved the AIM program. I liked how it would alert you when someone signed on or signed off just like the desktop version. I'm not sure how close Verichat comes to this.

I expect email is probably the same on both devices -- they both do push email and attachments.

A major annoyance with the Sidekick was the Web Browser. It seemed that half the time it would just load and load and take foverer, and sometimes after a couple minutes of waiting for a single web page, it would just time out. Is the 7100 more reliable?? Also, the sidekick browser does not support javascript. According to what I have read, the browser on the 7100 supports some javascript??

I also can relate to what you are saying about being able to use the phone with one hand. While I wouldn't care about using AIM or the web browser with one hand, being able to make a phone call with one hand would be nice.

Also, I prefer the "candy-bar" form factor over the Sidekick rotating screen. The Sidekick did have a camera which was nice, but not a necessity for me.

Overall, I really like the 7100, but I keep debating over whether it is worth paying a premium of $25/month (I'm with Cingular now) for the service over other smartphones which use a regular data plan like a Nokia 6620 or a Treo 650.

tritone900 · 02-16-2005, 02:22 AM

Your experience sounds similar to mine with the sidekick. Regarding the phone, I really like having a "normal" phone app on the 7100. The sidekick was never much fun to dial numbers on (although I did appreciate that you could start typing a person's name and their phone number would come up - but this was still a 2-hand operation.) I'm not really sure why they didn't included voice dialing on the sidekick.

You also brought up another question I had - with Cingular, is the data plan for your 7100 $45 a month? If you decided to go with the treo650, would the data plan only be $20 or $25 a month? Maybe they see the additional charge in service related to running the Blackberry Web Client/proxy server.

Eric5273 · 02-16-2005, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tritone900

You also brought up another question I had - with Cingular, is the data plan for your 7100 $45 a month? If you decided to go with the treo650, would the data plan only be $20 or $25 a month? Maybe they see the additional charge in service related to running the Blackberry Web Client/proxy server.

Yes, blackberry if $45/month. As far as other data plans, they just changed the whole pricing structure. I have the "grandfathered" Mediaworks plan which includes unlimited data, 1500 txt messages & 200 MMS for $20/month. The new plan is $25/month for unlimited data (no txt or MMS). Part of my dilemna is if I go with the blackberry and give up my Mediaworks plan, I can never get it back in the future.

fizzbob7 · 02-16-2005, 08:08 PM

the sk2 is about twice as heavy as the 7100t, and just bulky......the phone function seemed secondary to the browser, but it seemed mine tried to find the optimal signal too much and tripped itself up......i will have to get used to the bb keyboard, but i was fumbling around the sk1/2 at first as well.....the screen on the 7100t blows the sk1/2 screens away......much sharper......and tmobile ruins what the sk2 can actually do.....restricts everything......boring games, no customization, too generic......all mine was good for was looking at porn occasionally and trying to communicate with my boss by screaming into the mic (no one could hear me on my sk2)

andresaun · 12-29-2006, 10:24 AM

I have a question. I am also and Newbie with a 7100t. I also have a Motorola H500 Bluetooth device. My question is can you do voice dialing with it? If this is a repeat question I am sorry.

John Clark · 12-29-2006, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andresaun

I have a question. I am also and Newbie with a 7100t. I also have a Motorola H500 Bluetooth device. My question is can you do voice dialing with it? If this is a repeat question I am sorry.

Sorry, no voice dialing. BTW welcome to the forums!

JSanders · 12-29-2006, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andresaun

I have a question. I am also and Newbie with a 7100t. I also have a Motorola H500 Bluetooth device. My question is can you do voice dialing with it? If this is a repeat question I am sorry.

No you can not do voice dialing with any bluetooth unit on the 7100.

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