Impressions of the 9800
 

Got a 9800 today. Been playing with most of the day - to the detriment of work.

First impression - fits my hand and is very solid. I like the size better than the 9000 or iPhone.

Still trying to figure it all out. Screen takes a bit of getting used to, but I am getting the hang of it.

Kept hitting the speaker phone when talking. Not sure why yet.

Finally got my BT headset to connect - Moto BT H710. Don't know what was wrong, but it just wouldn't pair. Finally on about the 50th try it connected.

The options menu has really changed and I am still trying to find things. Have not figured out how to delete unwanted service books yet.

Doesn't appear that the Mac DM supports OS 6 and/or the 9800 yet. Did recognize the device. Tried to sync calendar and contacts on 2 Macs and kept getting errors that referred me to the DM knowledge Base. Most of the solutions had me to delete certain service books. If I could I would have (see above).

Wow!
Congrat!
I wish 9800 is selling now in my country

I got mine this morning and it took me half a day to be able to switch devices and transfer my data.
Not impressed at all with the 9800. Rings, and sounds in general are too low.
RIM needs to get on the wagon because between the droids and the iphone BBs will lose ground, i am seriously considering switching.

I just picked one up today and so far I am really digging it. Far better than the Bold so far. I had upgraded the Bold to OS 5 Hutchison and it didn't like that at all. Although I wiped it tonight and reloaded that OS and migrated all the wifes stuff onto it and it seems pretty stable now. I did not wipe it before so i think that was part of the issue as well as an old battery which needs to be replaced.

The Torch though seems pretty hip and together, very ITouch like and I like the interface better than the old Bold. The keyboard is a bit tough to use as the upper lid when slid back to expose the keyboard kind of gets in the way for the letters on the top of the keyboard but that isn't a deal breaker. The onscreen keyboard kind of sucks and if you have pudgy fingers like I do it will give you fits it is even worse than the ITouch keyboard which is pretty bad. I had it reboot randomly once this evening while screwing around with the bluetooth settings which seems to be an ongoing issue with these devices. I had the same issues with the Bold if I was using the bluetooth or changing bluetooth settings the phone would occassionally just say nope and reboot??? I hope this isn't a recurring theme. The browser seems to be much better and useable although the speed still isn't there. Time will tell whether this device will survive the test of time or not. My Bold for all of it's quirkyness lasted 2 years and still looks like new as I kept it in the holster all the time clipped to my belt. By the way the Bold holster works with the Torch if you put the Torch into it facing inwards it will go to sleep and it fits the holster pretty snug so that saved me having to buy a new holster. Really sucks that RIM decided not to include a holster with this new device.

If you buy comparing it to an android or iphone, you will hate it.

If you buy because you want a BB with a better browser with touch navigation, you will like it.

I am happy with mine so far today because I came in treating it like a new BB with better browser. Also can't complain because the corporate at&t store gave me an additional $100 off (no idea why) so I got it for $99 :)

Only issue is I liked how the bold could be configured to show my inbox with only 1 line per msg allowing many email headers listed in the messages view. Torch seems to not give you a choice so I can't see as many emails in the messages view at the same time.

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I am sooooo jealous of all of you.
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I tried the keyboard in the store and found it a little hard to get use to. It's flat and does not have great feedback.......that concerns me, but I'm wondering if it's just because I'm not use to it.

LOVE Mine! (y)

As others have said, there are a TON of new areas for settings for everything
will take some time to find and learn it all.

Had to tone down the sensitivity of the track pad, was acting like a Jack Russel Terror on crack. :razz:

Found where to delete a lot of the preinstalled AT&T bloat ware and other (to me) useless stuff. Stuff I couldn't get rid of I just Hid.

iPhone and Droid users at work not impressed with the screen resolution, but are very jealous of the battery power already. Theirs are at 40%-50% after just 2 hours off the charger, while mine is still 100%. Still at 77% a day later, still havent charged it even with all the tinkering i did last night. :smile:
They do like the full keyboard and that its very ballanced in your hands and feels good.


I had a little difficulty myself configureing my BT ear piece. Once I set the phone to discovery, it found 18 other devices in the office. LOL I never realized how much BT stuff was running around me. I selected my Plantronics BT and everything was good to go.

Calls have been great, not tinny or metal sounding on my end or the other.
Overall ringer volume is not as loud as the Bold 9000 was. Bold has 2 speakers I think while the Torch has just the one right on top.

Oh, when I got home from work yesterday, it had already discovered my N band network and attached to it for all data connections. It already had the configuration saved when i did the device transfer on BB DM 6.0 earlier. YouTube was fast and fluid, didnt hesitate for buffering at any time. Did some web browsing in potrate and landscape modes, zoomed pics and text smoothly and quickly.

For now I'm still very impressed with this phone.

My one and only concern is the slider. Since its a moving part, like the old track ball was on my Bold 9000, how long will the slider gizmos last?

Time will tell I guess.

For now, its rock solid and I'm very happy and would do it again in a heart beat! (y)

One thing I saw this morning, reception isn't as good as with my iPhone and other ATT device that I have. Getting very little signal - one bar most of the time - at home, fluctuating between EDGE, edge and GSM most of the time. Step out side and I get a couple bars on EDGE.

Spent 20 mins with AT&T trying to trouble shoot to no avail. Could be a problem, will continue to experiment however.

Don't say that too loud.
If Apple hears it they'll run away with it, saying "See! I told you so!".
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Been playing with it since I unboxed it I am going to be useless all weekend with my face in the phone!

Got mine ... love it. Wife has it for now so she can get addicted to it. Custom options is definitely different than the 9700. I had a custom hybrid OS6/5 on mine. Swapping BB's this weekend and can't wait to really give the Torch a run for the money in testing out all the features. I do like most of the touch features that allow you to quickly drop into messages, connections settings, alarms, etc ... all from the touch-screen.

DubDub,

Don't tell me that :x I just ordered a Torch to replace my iPhone4 since the iPhone couldn't take or make calls in my home. Compared to my 8820 it was sh!t. I was hoping the good 'ol BB would come through and still be strong...

Sorry. I am telling it like it happens. I have what AT&T describes as a "white hole" around my house. Outside of 50 feet, I am good. Inside, all bets are off.

But then maybe I was just holding it incorrectly.

I bought an AT&T Microcell (Femtocell) and living in the hills, I never had any signal. Now I consistently get 5 bars everywhere in my house.

I got my Torch yesterday, but I also still have my Bold 9700. I will have both and compare them for awhile to decide which I like better. I have two numbers and I have the same add-on features on both phones. So far, I am noticing that the Torch is larger and a fair bit heavier. When I have been carrying the Torch for awhile and then go back to the Bold, I notice a big difference. So far, +1 Bold.

The microcell would probably work for me if I had a way to spoof the GPS. My set up, network connections, server, routers, switches, etc are in the basement and there is no window that I can use to place the thing or the GPS antenna to get a GPS signal.

My wife has an iPhone 4. She was looking at my Torch and I noticed her turning her just the slightest bit green. It probably helps that the Torch has higher bars than her iPhone when standing in the same place and that the Torch doesn't have the Grip of Death issue.

Sounds to me like AT&T should install a repeater on your roof! ;-)

One other minor thing, but a big deal for Mac users. ATT does include a CD in the box but it is a "mini" CD and a Mac doesn't accept it nor read it from their internal CD/DVD drives. Works OK on most PCs though.

Not gonna hold my breath for that.