Sorry to doublepost, but since I'm a n00b, I can't yet post URLs to my posts on this forum.
Just thought I'd share that don't jump on a bandwagon just yet or despair if you didn't get your shiny new toy today. 8100 did not impress at least this reviewer.
Mine is going back to the store. Here's why:
1. Small screen. too small to be practical, smudge magnet, and looks to be made out of same plastic as iPod Nano. Expect scratch nightmare stories to emerge in 5... 4... 3...
2. Completely useless in direct sunlight - the screen has such a glare that even in shawdow outside its hard to read
3. super-quiet ring (even loudest) does not work well enough
4. Flimsy keyboard and definitely not as convenient as QWERTY
5. Speakerphone, while available, is too quiet to be useful in say... your car (unless you have one of those super-quiet, super luxury cars that are like sensory deprivation chaimbers).
6. Overall feels fragile
7. "Blah" for eyecandy attempt. Reminescent of Sony Ericson interface - all form, near 0 function.
---- additional minuses
8. wonder what kind of mechanism is used for the trackball (pearl) - if its the same one as used in a regular trackball mouse, expect yours to be unusable after 3 days in your pocket. (your mileage may varry)
9. Talk time is the lowest for any BB (that's probably mostly due to size, but something to consider). Mine seems to be running rather low after only about 30 minutes of talking and mostly navigating around.
10. Sound quality is sub-par and reception is even worse than my old Motorola RAZR (which, in my book, is one of the worst sound quality/reception phones ever made)
I didn't have high expectations, inspite of all the hype aimed to boost RIM stock, and even with low expectations I ended up disapointed and totally unimpressed. Don't believe the hype.