[mkg]

Since T-Mobile won't have the 8700t available until February (I'm being told) and widely available March, any advice you guys have on this will be helpful.

I went from 7230 > 7730. My 7730 has had the #$%@ kicked out of it. Use, accidents, etc. It's time to replace it.

I love the large screen on the 7730, but the device itself is s-l-o-w. Will the 7290 make me happier?

Thanks!

[stonent]

You'll get better coverage with the 7290 since it runs on all GSM bands and not just 1900

[mkg]

Thanks stonet! What about device performance? The 7730 is plagued by the spinning hourglass. Is the 7290 a faster device?

[bbcurious]

7290 is definitely the better device.
Twice as much memory (32 MB), Bluetooth, two stage backlight so you can actually see the screen in dusk, and yes, the processor is faster.

[Jack T. Chance]

I think you should travel to Maryland, come to the T-Mobile dealer I work for, and buy the 7730 so that my company can finally move the last remaining one that we have in-stock!

Just kidding! LOL!

The 7290 is the superior model by far, especially since it has Bluetooth. I couldn't stand to use my BlackBerry as a phone if it didn't have Bluetooth!

[mkg]

I see a pattern emerging here.

[mkg]

Picked up the 7290. I miss the larger screen, but the keyboard is better. Wider keys (no chicklets) and a firmer feel. The backlight on the 7290 is nice and bright. Significantly brighter than the 7730. The machine feels "snappier", although it could be the "OMG new SHINY" placebo effect. For whatever reason, the browser (via BES 4) feels much quicker than before, and pages are rendered with a little more accuracy. I'm not sure if they 2 machines have different browsers on them.

[Mark Rejhon]

Originally Posted by mkg

Picked up the 7290. I miss the larger screen, but the keyboard is better. Wider keys (no chicklets) and a firmer feel. The backlight on the 7290 is nice and bright. Significantly brighter than the 7730. The machine feels "snappier", although it could be the "OMG new SHINY" placebo effect. For whatever reason, the browser (via BES 4) feels much quicker than before, and pages are rendered with a little more accuracy. I'm not sure if they 2 machines have different browsers on them.

BlackBerry benchmarks show the 7290 as being faster than the 7730/7780. I think it was something like 50% faster.

However, the speed difference is very small compared to an 8700 versus all the old devices -- which is more than 300% faster than 7230/7280/7290.