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Old 11-26-2008, 02:24 AM   #1
david_uk
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Played briefly with 8900 at a BB event yesterday. Bold Mini in all but name. Razor sharp screen, bit narrower than Curve, similar weight, spaced buttons that seemed quite stiff, minimalist UI.

Smart, useful Curve upgrade without the heft of Bold/Storm, and uncompromised by 3G.

Certainly ticked all my boxes.
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Old 11-26-2008, 04:33 AM   #2
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There's only one thing that is as of yet left unclarified and will most likely remain unclarified until release and that's the battery life. What was the internet speed over EDGE with RIM BlackBerry data compression?
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Old 11-26-2008, 05:33 AM   #3
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There's only one thing that is as of yet left unclarified and will most likely remain unclarified until release and that's the battery life. What was the internet speed over EDGE with RIM BlackBerry data compression?
Am optimistic re battery life, my 8120 was 2G + WiFi and the battery did fine. 8900 has a bigger screen for sure, but having used Bold and Storm I still think 3G is the killer.

Browsing was GPRS but seemed quite snappy. Apparently RIM claim 60% data compression, should certainly minimise roaming charges.
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Old 11-26-2008, 05:41 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by david_uk View Post
Played briefly with 8900 at a BB event yesterday. Bold Mini in all but name. Razor sharp screen, bit narrower than Curve, similar weight, spaced buttons that seemed quite stiff, minimalist UI.

Smart, useful Curve upgrade without the heft of Bold/Storm, and uncompromised by 3G.

Certainly ticked all my boxes.
What was your feel of the device compared to say the Storm? (In all aspects, form, function and the readiness of the UI)

Thanks!
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Old 11-26-2008, 06:38 AM   #5
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What was your feel of the device compared to say the Storm? (In all aspects, form, function and the readiness of the UI)

Thanks!
I wouldn't venture a review based on a 2 mins trial - esp not on this forum!

But as to form/function, I've always thought Curve was the BB to beat - business class QWERTY plus a few consumer apps, all correctly balanced in a compact 115g form factor with no nasty surprises.

Bold, fully loaded as it is, never cut it for me; a big, hefty beast, hobbled by 3G whose appeal totally depends on carrier performance where you happen to be.

Storm carries a confusing message. Because it's a BB, there's an expectation that it works just like devices with physical keypads, and it doesn't. If you don't mind using two hands, you can live without speed dial from the idle screen etc., then fine. It's not a bad device, it'll give Apple a run for its money and it will undoubtedly improve with firmware updates, but keypad killer it ain't.

As to readiness of the 8900 UI, we'll have to wait a month before the early birds get their hands on a retail model. And a month is a long time in software.
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Old 11-26-2008, 06:45 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by david_uk View Post
I wouldn't venture a review based on a 2 mins trial - esp not on this forum!

But as to form/function, I've always thought Curve was the BB to beat - business class QWERTY plus a few consumer apps, all correctly balanced in a compact 115g form factor with no nasty surprises.

Bold, fully loaded as it is, never cut it for me; a big, hefty beast, hobbled by 3G whose appeal totally depends on carrier performance where you happen to be.

Storm carries a confusing message. Because it's a BB, there's an expectation that it works just like devices with physical keypads, and it doesn't. If you don't mind using two hands, you can live without speed dial from the idle screen etc., then fine. It's not a bad device, it'll give Apple a run for its money and it will undoubtedly improve with firmware updates, but keypad killer it ain't.

As to readiness of the 8900 UI, we'll have to wait a month before the early birds get their hands on a retail model. And a month is a long time in software.
I think that mirrors my feel of the Bold and the Storm (and I have a Bold now), and the Curve was always the one to beat for me, vis a vis berries. The Bold's UI and speed (nearly) combined with the Curve's form factor would suit me well.

A month for retail? I was rather hoping it would be out in the UK in the next few weeks.
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Old 11-26-2008, 07:19 AM   #7
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I've just come back to the Bold from a Storm that will go back to Verizon today; I am also looking forward to the 8900. The transition from my previous Curve to the Bold was easy; snappier performance, improved UI, but the form factor of the Curve I agree is the best so far. 3G is useful in my specific case in the sense that it allows me to send and receive emails while on conference calls, it is really not so much about the browsing speed for me. I can certainly live without 3G (the countries I travel to in Central America don't even have 3G, you're lucky in some of them to even get GPRS), a similar form factor to that of the curve, snappy performance and an updated OS is what I am looking for, and I believe that will be the 8900 for me. I am anxiously awaiting its release, through which ever carrier in the US (no QWERTZ or AZERTY keyboard ...) so I can get it unlocked should AT&T not be the designated carrier.
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Old 11-26-2008, 11:59 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by david_uk View Post

...

As to readiness of the 8900 UI, we'll have to wait a month before the early birds get their hands on a retail model. And a month is a long time in software.
More like a day or two for the t-mobile de versions!
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Old 11-26-2008, 12:01 PM   #9
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More like a day or two for the t-mobile de versions!
That's what I was hoping but I can't find any hard dates for the tmob release.

The only UK date I have seen is CPW, which is 20th Dec.
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Old 11-26-2008, 12:18 PM   #10
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This and the new thread I think answers my question!

T-Mobile Germany Now Shipping the BlackBerry Curve 8900 | CrackBerry.com
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Old 11-26-2008, 05:02 PM   #11
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I had an opt to play with the javelin last friday - think of it as a smaller form factor bold (similiar to the 8300) with no HSDPA. However it has camera + GPS + wifi
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