[GTNTP]

Let's get some discussion going around who uses this device. Is it mainly business people, avid BB users or new users? Housewifes or World travelers? What do you like about it and what don't you like about it? Make sure you actual are talking from experience and not from what your brother twice removed said or your friend in Seattle when you life in Dallas.

I know I need some informaiton on how it is used and what others experiences are with this device.

Thanks in advance.

[sempai]

My fourth BlackBerry was a 7100t.

I liked that I could use hotkeys to mute/speaker the active call. I didn't like that it felt cheap.

I think the T-Mobile theme is abominable.

[ctdw]

I just purchased a 7100g (Cingular) and it's my first BlackBerry. I am a business user and have just setup BES in house. I am a previous Treo 600/650 user. So far I like the device. My only complaint so far is that Cingular's local coverage is not as good as Sprint (my Treo provider).

[w1ze]

This is my first PDA style device. I am new to the BB family. I currently work for at&t wireless and was unable to purchase the 7100g through the employee policy snce i am not indeed entitled to have these B2B devices. So my work-around was purchasing an unlocked 7100t. From my research from the blackberry website i came to a conclusion to it all comes down to the physical design of the device. I would go with the 7100g a million times over but I have to settle with the 7100t. So far it does meet my business purposes since it is easier to type messages, I am able to receive my home email via the redirector software that comes with the 7100t, and the clarity itself/browser capabilities are phenomenal. I know that the more experienced users within this community know tons of extras that can be done to the BB's. On a bad note so far the only thing i miss which i had from my previous device was the ability to answer/end calls using the headset that comes with the device. The headset that came with mine only lets me mute my calls. The answer/end button was a major plus due to driving circumstances.

[takeshi]

There are some differences other than just form factor and Qwerty vs. Suretype. I definitely preferred the screen on the 7100 as its resolution was noticably better (even though the specs don't really make it sound much better -- it's much easier to interpret the Houston Real Time Traffic Map on a 7100). 7100 series has speakerphone and better ringtone support. I don't think the 7100 has the dual brightness backlight though. I tried a 7100t for a while but retuned it as I found that I really preferred the 7290's keyboard and it had Bluetooth as well.

[hughvh]

The 7100g is my third Blackberry. I liked my last BB, a Nextel 7510, but I hated its voice features. So I kept my Nokia and using the 7510 for e-mail only. The 7100g has more of a phone feel to it. I had no problem adapting to the Suretype. My cheif complant is that it doesn't ring AND vibrate at the same time. But I hear that's common for all Blackberries.

I support outside sales. So I have high voice usage, but my e-mail use is light. About 25 e-mail a day, with me only sending out about 15.

[gregg]

I have had a 7100g for about 3 weeks. It's my fifth blackberry with the 7290 being it's immediate predecessor. I was nervous about the keyboard thing (and sometimes annoyed when trying to type in email or web addresses) but feel the pros outweigh the cons (and I still have my 7290 that I can convert too at any time). The only other detractor is battery life. There are several posts out there around this but after using a 7290 for 4+months I am positive that the 7290 battery outlasts the 7100's. Having said all that, I wouldn't trade my 7100g for anything, it's awesome and is my 'crack-berry'. I'm an operations executive at a fortune 100 company and travel across NA, EMEA & APAC. I get approximately 250 email a day and reply to roughly 30-40 from my bb.

[Brad00111]

I am waiting for my 4th berry (7100g) which should get to me on Friday. I started with the 957, went to the 7510, to 7520 now the 7100g. I am starting a new Job on Monday that will put me out of the office, on site but out of the office, more than I am in it. having email at my fingertips is not essential but i t makes life easier. Having real time access to my calendar and addressbook is amazing, with meetings on the fly etc. never having to sync it (BES) is another great feature i enjoy since i have 3 different computers at 3 different locations, they all stay up to date.

I tried the Pocket PC (iPaq), Palm (V, M505) and the Smartphone (MPX220) and just about all the Nextel phone out there, and I wouldnt trade my BB for any of them. Soild OS, secure, easy to use, great apps for them, cant ask for anything better.

All IMHO.

[revision78]

I switched to this one because our company had an extra one and i do a lot of travelling. I was tired of the big bulky 7730 i had and the 6750 one before that. I was ready for a phone sized device again and this thing fit perfectly.

The speakerphone was a total turn-on to since i do a lot of work where hands free is needed. The stock Rim headsets are called fish-hooks in our IT department due to everytime you want to move you run a 50% chance of nearly ripping your ear off (especially when dealing with seatbelts).

It's been a great switch for me and i don't think i will be going back. I absolutely love my bluetooth headset as well. It's just nice. Battery life can be pretty bad but that's why i carry an extra one. Even with my 6750 and 7730 i had to carry 2 batteries so it's nothing new for me.

[robhawley]

I'm going on about 3 weeks with my 7100r.

I am just as fast with the suretype as I was on my qwerty Treo 600.

I work in Business Development (Sales) and use both voice/e-mail on it, although mostly receiving on the e-mail side.

[Fraggle]

I got my 7100t late last year, as our company was considering switching to Blackberry devices, and possible getting BES (My Boss' idea). I'm the IS guy here, so I get to play with the gadgets

Before the 7100t I had an MS Smartphone device, which I was very happy with - until I broke it :(

Anyway, my Boss got a 7100t about a week after me, but as of last week he has ditched his in favor of a Treo 650 - he decided the 7100 was too quirky.

I shall also be switching from my 7100t once I decide which MS Smartphone to get again. I found the Blackberry to be quirky initially, but put that down to just being used to the Smartphone OS previously. However, from getting the 7100t until now, I've been more unhappy with it than happy. The things that bug me are:

Bluetooth support - It does not link automatically with my Bluetooth car kit. Well, it does, but when I make or receive a call, the 7100t doesn't put the call through the kit. For that to work, I have to initiate a Bluetooth connection from the 7100t before I switch my car on, everytime. It's getting annoying. :( I've tried Trusted/Untrusted, Headset/Handsfree, Encrypted/Unencrypted, upgrading the firmware on the 7100... nothing. My partner's Motorola T720, My old smartphone, and my collegues new smartphone all connect seamlessly, exactly how it should be.

Suretype - I'm fairly impressed with this, except that it's a little slow, and also if you mis-type something and then backup to correct it, the 7100 decides to pick a different word from it's dictionary to match to this time around. Frustrating.

Profiles - When successfully linked to the car kit via bluetooth, I'd like the 7100 to automatically switch to a different profile (One I created, called "Car"), which turns it's ringer off (since the car kit "rings"), and changes some of the other sounds too. Not a major problem, but it would be nice.

Receiving Calls - I may have not read the manual on this bit (!) but incoming caller ID is displayed in a large font, and I don't get to see the whole name of the person calling (Not a problem, unless like me you have two people with the same first name, and same first few characters of their last name!)

Speakerphone - The 7100 "sticks" in the last mode you used it. (Well, mine does!). If you activate the speakerphone and hang up the call, next time you are on a call, the speakerphone won't work first time around, you have to switch to speakerphone, switch back to handset, and then switch to speakerphone again for it to work. (OR just remember to switch FROM speakerphone back to handset before you end your previous call)

Don't get me wrong, by no means do I hate the Blackberry... but I think it's not for me. I like the freedom of the Smartphone, and the fact it can sync to our Exchange 2003 server without BES or without having to run a program on my desktop PC (& therefore leaving myself logged in all the time).

Just my 2 cents