[Koloftoo]

Overall, I really like the 8900 and enjoy using it. I think it's a worthy replacement for my old 8320.

Likes:

- The design is pretty sleek and attractive.
- The build quality is solid. (with the exceptions noted below)
- Very importantly, the form factor is just right. I carry my device in my pants pockets for the most part. Do not like the feeling of juggling a voluminous and heavy brick in my pockets.
- It has noticeably quicker response time than the old Curve.
- Noticeably better camera.
- Better keyboard. I always found the 8300 keyboard as too stiff and the keys too stubby ans slippery. The new keyboard is in fact slightly larger and has a better give to it. The keys' surface texture is also less conducive to slippage.
- Not much needs to be added about the improved quality of the display.
- The new dedicated keyboard lock button.


Dislikes:

- Media player progress bar is very jumpy. I was listening to this long audio book the other day. It was literally impossible to point to a desired moment in time. It would either jump by big increments or move painfully slowly in seconds. And this was after lowering the trackball sensitivity.
- Rear battery lid does not fit snugly in place. There's a fair amount of slack and it moves up and down after being locked in.
- Installation process was less than straight forward with the OS package having to be downloaded from the BB site. That with no indications in the literature or the accompanying installation package.
- The headset works intermittently on calls. However, it works fine when using the media player.
- Lack of additional convenience keys. With so many useful applications to be used on a routine basis, it is a shame that only 2 of them can be launched right off the device, without going thru the lengthy process of selecting them from the menu.
- The micro USB is not as easy to work with as the mini. The top and bottom sides are hard to distinguish from one another. After 10 days of connecting multiple times a day, I still have to double-check to make sure I'm plugging it round side top. It does not slide in and out nice and clean. I'm never sure if I'm force feeding and breaking it.


Wants/Desires:

Personally, I believe universal speech recognition will be the next major milestone in PDA development. The vendor who manages to offer a successful and functional solution will see its products popularized and profoundly embedded in peoples' lives. I would like to see that solution be on a BlackBerry. However, unfortunately I do not see RIM taking any decisive steps in that direction. Vlingo has a coherent approach to the solution and an interesting offering. But it still falls way short of the Universal aspect of speech recognition. Hopefully they'll be bought by RIM at some point and their technology extended to the entire BB platform.


Well, that's about it for now.

I wanted to know if others have experienced the same issue with the loose rear lid and whether I should contemplate exchanging my device.

Thanks

[torberry]

The grip is much better with the silicon case obviously. I find this device to be overall superior to my Bold although the Bold feels more solid. I am not referring to the size but the weight (I like a heavier device) and the quality. BOLD/3G network is much superior as far as call quality and sound. I actually think that the 8900 is faster for browsing when you factor in the lags on 3G on the Rogers network. I do miss the flow of email/pins/web when on a call but it still works on wifi and it isn't a factor for me even though I am very BB intensive businessman.

The camera is a little slower but I think that makes sense because it so much better. That was probably the main reason I upgraded.

Typing on the keyboard is different- neither better nor worse than the Bold. Overall I don't miss the Bold at all. Anyone wanna buy it? lol

I find it funny how people who state that every new BB is the 'best one yet'. Of course it is! You're not going to hear anyone say that the 7250 is better than the 8900 or that the 8800 is better than the BOLD. There's no comparison as new devices always incorporate all the old features and add new technology. I suppose you can argue that the Pearl is better than the Bold or vice versa but that's of course an individual preference. I quite honestly don't know why anyone other than a casual user who holsters their phone every time and polishes the screen every 2 seconds would want the BOLD over this guy. The only thing that I can think of is 3G and I will state again that I find it to be major disappointment on Rogers. Reminds me of New Coke. To suggest that the BOLD is the 'top of the line' is humorous marketing crap that flows from RIM and is intended to manipulate our thoughts. Don't succumb to that nonsense friends!

Quick question- I have no use for GPS or Voice Recognition and I want to delete them both from my device. Can you someone please show me how? I remember John's FAQ but is there an easier way? My desire is to get better battery life and speed. Do these things slow me down at all?

Thank you very much.

[iLawCDN]

I love the new 8900. There's really only two things I don't like about it.
1. Fingerprints - No matter how hard you try, they are everywhere.
2. The tiny gap above the screen and below the headset speaker - Traps dirt way too easy. I have to use a toothpick to clean out that gap lol

As for the holster, if you put two layers of 3M double sided tape at the bottom of the case the 8300 case works perfectly.

[Cory Scheuer]

Originally Posted by iLawCDN

As for the holster, if you put two layers of 3M double sided tape at the bottom of the case the 8300 case works perfectly.

i dont get it... what case? huh!?

[iLawCDN]

Originally Posted by Cory Scheuer

i dont get it... what case? huh!?

Someone mentioned that the magnet is off by just enough that the 8300 case doesn't work with the 8900.

So Let me rephrase...

If you put two layers of double-sided 3M foam tape at the inside-bottom of the 8300 holster, it works perfectly with the 8900.

[blackbandit18]

eventually they will have cases and other accessories for this phone....thats not a real reason not to like the 8900

[torberry]

Originally Posted by blackbandit18

eventually they will have cases and other accessories for this phone....thats not a real reason not to like the 8900

I dunno what you guys are talking about. I bought a skin, desktop charger, extra USB charger and car charger all on eBay. Got them last week.

[Cory Scheuer]

cases is what we are talking about... i have a desktop charger and skin as well but i need a holster

[iLawCDN]

Its so sad, i find myself checking Blackberry's accessory site daily, waiting for that evil "Coming Soon" to disappear from their 8900 holster listing lol

[Cory Scheuer]

ohh i know

i made the jump and got on ebay and bought, a leather caes, a seidio holster(for a naked phone) and desktop charger, and now bought a seidio holster for a skinned device, and got a black skin (from crackberry, should be here tuesday)

i'm sooo desperate for a case that i had to... i was calling the rogers stores in the area at least 2 times a day asking for accessories

[blackbandit18]

wow

[knowledge_6]

i've had the phone now for 2 hrs.. and taking the phone outta the case that comes with it is a pain in the butt!!!

and the battery is impossible to take out..

this is my 2nd black berry.. the first is a work phone i only use at work.. so this is my first blackberry being used everyday all the time.. and so far in regards to the OS and the usage its fantastic

we'll see when i start using the music player etc

[Kucher]

Originally Posted by knowledge_6

and the battery is impossible to take out..

I thought this initially too! Then I found that if I pull from the top of the battery it comes out real easy.

[Cory Scheuer]

why do you need to take out the battery so often... with that much memory, you dont need to worry about the memory leak

[knowledge_6]

Originally Posted by Cory Scheuer

why do you need to take out the battery so often... with that much memory, you dont need to worry about the memory leak

oh it was just because i was giving my IMEI to the rep to activate my phone for Data ; >

probably will never take it out again haha

[Cory Scheuer]

dialing *#06# = IMEI number on screen

options status = IMEI, PIN, Battery level etc etc

just trying to be helpful

[Casper TFG]

Originally Posted by iLawCDN

Its so sad, i find myself checking Blackberry's accessory site daily, waiting for that evil "Coming Soon" to disappear from their 8900 holster listing lol

Get behind me in the sad queue, I have a skin already but no phone!

Back solidly on topic, I found the 8900 on GPRS to be as fast as my 8300 on EDGE.

(that was in a store and me trying out one of the store guys own phone - I know the area - hard to get EDGE there and there was no WiFi going on either)

Very impressive

[MPScan]

Ditto all the comments above.

What I am most impressed with is the reception. I have had Verizon for 8+ years and just switched to AT&T to get this device (from Rogers). I've had experiences with AT&T's network before and was never impressed. Now, with this phone, it's amazing. The signal strength is great, browsing is fast, etc.

The camera is great.

Don't like the MicroUSB on the right side, makes it hard to do ANYTHING with the phone when a cable is plugged in.

Don't like the lack of accessories. What would make this rock is a Seidio extended battery (2400mh+) to almost DOUBLE battery life with a new door cover (like they offer for the 8330 and Bold). I like the extended doors on their batteries, because it gives the phone a better fit in your hand.

[TheBigNewt]

Originally Posted by MPScan

Ditto all the comments above.

What I am most impressed with is the reception. I have had Verizon for 8+ years and just switched to AT&T to get this device (from Rogers). I've had experiences with AT&T's network before and was never impressed. Now, with this phone, it's amazing. The signal strength is great, browsing is fast, etc.

Do you think it's because the 8900 is 2g (EDGE)? Seeing as how there are numerous complaints about the ATT 3g Bold maybe EDGE is actually better in many places. I do know that people on ATT who have the Rogers bold switch it to EDGE and like it better many places even in 3G areas. Rogers people report faster downloads with EDGE than with 3G on the same device in the same location. I know it's heresy to say this, but ATT's 3g may not be as good as EDGE with BB devices, at least in some locales.

[R-W]

How is the speaker phone while using it to talk on the phone & while using the media player?? Also, I keep reading that the vibrate function is not good? Like? you can't feel it at all?


P.S.
Sorry for the newb questions, I'm just ready to get this phone.