[richard371]

I have the 8700c and went to look at the 7130c today and they only advantage I see is it has a phone form factor. I think the screen and keyboard on the 8700 makes more sense.

[naviwilliams]

Play with one, and you'll see...

In addition, who wants such a WIDE Blackberry?

[fizz]

I agree. Most people that went with the 7130 did so because of the size while not sacrificing any of the functions on the 8700 IMO.

[naviwilliams]

...plus have you played with the interface? Talk about quick, even 'Lightning McQueen' can't keep up...

[wirelessandy]

It's a matter of personal preference, I'd say.

The 8700 and 7130c appear to be equally zippy (well, vs. the older 'Berries) and both have that eyeball-popping LCD screen.

I know that one of my gripes with the older 6280/7290 is that it felt like I was holding a blueberry Pop-Tart to my head... with really poor audio quality.

I held back on the 8700 because it's still more squarish-shaped for my tastes. (That, and the early dust issues). The 7130c is more to my liking, but again, that's personal.

[dulcamara]

Agreed. It's personal preference. There is no "good vs bad" here.

I avoided BBs until the 7100 showed up. I considered the 8700 for the screen+edge, but didn't think the real keyboard advantage made up for the form factor. I have a new 7130 and have now programmed my brain for suretype. I think I'm a 71xx guy for life.

[fizz]

I used to have the 6230 and now i have the 7130e. major difference aside from size. things can only get better. can't wait to see what the stealth is like from what it's going to have for features.

[richard371]

Still the only difference I see is form factor. The 8700 is small enough for me and fits in my pocket perfectly. Is the actual phone quality better? Sometimes my 8700 does not sound so great or I have a hard time in semi noisy enviroments.

[alwaysON]

Originally Posted by richard371

I have the 8700c and went to look at the 7130c today and they only advantage I see is it has a phone form factor. I think the screen and keyboard on the 8700 makes more sense.

Well, if you are a t-mobile user, you don't have much choice... If you want Edge, you have to go 8700... I personally really like the size of my 7105. I don't type huge emails and the suretype becomes very predictable after a little while. I used the 8700 and I found it more difficult to type on due to the spacing in between the keys. That could be I'm not as used to it yet... Plus, the 7105 fits perfectly into the little pockets within a pocket on most of my BR Pants. It keeps the girls mistaking the bulge with "the bulge"... ;)

[DINide]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7100i/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/103)

For size and SureType.

[geeq]

because i cant see my self holding the 8700 up to my ear

[fizz]

Originally Posted by geeq

because i cant see my self holding the 8700 up to my ear

It's like holding a slice of toast next to your ear! LOL. Anyone with the 8700's HAS to be using some sort of headset.

[lgreenberg]

Different strokes for different folks.

I have both and still haven't made up my mind as to which one I want to use on a daily basis. The 8700's keyboard works for me but the size of the 7130c can't be beat.

The lack of shortcuts on the 7130c is what's keeping me from going back to it right now.

[diegosalinas]

Originally Posted by lgreenberg

Different strokes for different folks.

I have both and still haven't made up my mind as to which one I want to use on a daily basis. The 8700's keyboard works for me but the size of the 7130c can't be beat.

The lack of shortcuts on the 7130c is what's keeping me from going back to it right now.

new to BB so dont know the shortcuts you refer to available on the 8700

can you list your top shortcuts that are lacking in the 7130c?

[naviwilliams]

...also, I've been searching, is there a shortcut to switch 'profiles'?

[lgreenberg]

Originally Posted by diegosalinas

new to BB so dont know the shortcuts you refer to available on the 8700

can you list your top shortcuts that are lacking in the 7130c?

There are zero shortcuts on the 7130c so it's lacking all of them.

For example, pressing the "M" key on the 8700 takes you to messaging. Pressing the "O" key takes you to options. Pressing the "F" key opens profiles. Pressing "A" opens address book. etc.

This cuts down greatly on the amount of trackwheel scrolling.

[FlyingElvis]

Lack of shortcuts on the 71xx series is a serious bummer. What I do is move my most used apps. at the top and together to limit the need for trackwheel scrolling.

[rebelmix]

Originally Posted by richard371

Still the only difference I see is form factor. The 8700 is small enough for me and fits in my pocket perfectly. Is the actual phone quality better? Sometimes my 8700 does not sound so great or I have a hard time in semi noisy enviroments.

you have a big pocket :D

LOVE my 7130c!

[trick202]

Originally Posted by richard371

Still the only difference I see is form factor. The 8700 is small enough for me and fits in my pocket perfectly. Is the actual phone quality better? Sometimes my 8700 does not sound so great or I have a hard time in semi noisy enviroments.

This is what I am most interested in.

I am returning my 8707 from UK Voda because of two reasons:

3G modem let me down most of the time, only connected when it felt like it.

People complained a lot about poor call quality from my end.

Aside from those two, I really like the BB. I just hope that the call quality is better, and I can get used to the suretype.

Would you say that the 8700 series is an email device with phone, and the 7100 series is a phone with email?

[adamlau]

1. Longer standby times (18 versus 16 days)
2. SRAM memory cache (up to six times faster access to memory cache than SDRAM)