Blackberry questions

Is 500mb enough? I doubt i'll be a huge data user. I'll probably use it for GPS more than anything, and the occasional text messaging and SF/bbc.

Is there a big difference between the curve 8900 and the Bold? The Bold is supposed to be the fastest, and I kinda like the crinkled texture on the back (though i wish it were real leather). It's a bit thicker. Is the speed much different? I went to Rogers and the keypads were all locked so i couldn't do anything with them. The Storm is out b/c I want something with a real keypad.

Yeah I'm looking down the road to needing a separate phone for business when I start working next year in law (the #1 profession for blackberry use) and the bold looks to be the best option right now. Typing speed is key, comfort, the wifi doesn't hurt. Try out the keyboards. The curve's seems more like the old 8300 keyboard whereas the bold's is more like the 8800. Overall I like the bold better. I don't know if there's anything coming down the pipe that I'll want to pick up next year, though... any idea?

Originally Posted by JD_May

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Yeah I'm looking down the road to needing a separate phone for business when I start working next year in law (the #1 profession for blackberry use) and the bold looks to be the best option right now. Typing speed is key, comfort, the wifi doesn't hurt. Try out the keyboards. The curve's seems more like the old 8300 keyboard whereas the bold's is more like the 8800. Overall I like the bold better. I don't know if there's anything coming down the pipe that I'll want to pick up next year, though... any idea?

No clue. I don't keep up with this stuff. I've still got a motorola razr. The biggest thing with me is GPS. Toronto is huge and I don't want to carry a map around all the time, especially when I have job interviews, etc.

I am pretty sure that mapping software will keep remapping and downloading the updated maps - which can quickly run into MBs...

The whole point of having a BB is unlimited data and internet..

500mb is enough on a BB

500mb should be more than ample. I use it heavily and never run out.

I have the pearl and it has frozen up a few times and the keypad has broken which needed a replacement so i would probably go with the curve/bold.

I find the maps functionality very helpful and it has got me out of a sticky situation more than once.

The storm is a piece of junk

When I had a bold for a few weeks, it was damn nice although I prefer the size of the storm. Not sure where the curve fits in there sizewise but the bold is deffinately a more solid device technically.

the pearl is a bigger piece of junk than the storm

the pearl is the chintsy-est phone they make, meaning the build quality is low. It was my first BB and I fell in love with the service but the phone itself gave me a lot of problems. After moving on from that everything has been a-ok.

anyway, to the OP - I don't think there is really much difference. apart from the obvious size difference, the real things separating the two phones are different keyboards, 3G on the Bold, while the 8900 has a nicer camera. Other than that they both have a lot of similar features.

I got my first BB in late '07, a 8830 WE. Loved it. Great battery life, nice screen, just loved it.

Got a Storm. Hated it the first few days. Almost brought it back. Got the hang of typing on it, and competely love it now. The typing is not as good as a physical keyboard, but it's not bad once you get the hang of it. In every other functional measure, it destroys my WE. Screen = awesome. Came with 9 gig of memory (1 onboard, 8 chip). It's getting some nice apps written for it. I love how it pulls phone numbers out of emails and webpages, so you just press the phone number and it dials.

The Storm just takes a little getting used to.

Originally Posted by JD_May

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Yeah I'm looking down the road to needing a separate phone for business when I start working next year in law (the #1 profession for blackberry use) and the bold looks to be the best option right now. Typing speed is key, comfort, the wifi doesn't hurt. Try out the keyboards. The curve's seems more like the old 8300 keyboard whereas the bold's is more like the 8800. Overall I like the bold better. I don't know if there's anything coming down the pipe that I'll want to pick up next year, though... any idea?

There are a couple of BB's coming out, but the Bold by far is one of the best BB's. The keyboard typing is comfortable and so are the other functiions that it comes with ..

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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The Storm just takes a little getting used to.

I've been using the storm for maybe 5 months...I am used to it and I still think it sucks. The typing is fine...not as fast as the bold but it is acceptable. The software is awful though. It has short lockups or gets confused about the orientation all of the time. Turn an iphone sideways and without fail, the transition occurs perfectly. The storm will lag up, jump around, or get confused and simply not turn and this is just one of the many software bug that still have not been fixed. Also after 5-6 months of use, the "click" part of the screen has gotten hard to activate at the far corners of the screen (as in, where the return key would be in portrat mode's keyboard)...the touch sensitive part works fine but the angle does not work well for the actual clicking.

I havn't used any older blackberries so the storm may well be better than your 8830WE but the bold is leaps and bounds ahead of the storm in terms of features, build quality and software.

EDIT: the screen is beautiful though. the bold has an equally pretty screen but it lacks the size of the storm

Originally Posted by otc

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I've been using the storm for maybe 5 months...I am used to it and I still think it sucks. The typing is fine...not as fast as the bold but it is acceptable. The software is awful though. It has short lockups or gets confused about the orientation all of the time. Turn an iphone sideways and without fail, the transition occurs perfectly. The storm will lag up, jump around, or get confused and simply not turn and this is just one of the many software bug that still have not been fixed. Also after 5-6 months of use, the "click" part of the screen has gotten hard to activate at the far corners of the screen (as in, where the return key would be in portrat mode's keyboard)...the touch sensitive part works fine but the angle does not work well for the actual clicking.

I havn't used any older blackberries so the storm may well be better than your 8830WE but the bold is leaps and bounds ahead of the storm in terms of features, build quality and software.

I've not played with the Bold, but it seems not be be offered by my local Verizon carrier. If it ain't on Verizon, I'm not buying it, due to local coverage issues.

I found the orientation only to be laggy if I am using a memory intensive theme. I have a little program called "quick pull," which reboots my phone daily, and 4:30 am for me, so I have not had a freeze in the few months I've owned it.

I'm looking forward to the next generation of the full screen phone though. My company pays for everything, so I just upgrade when the new stuff comes out.

no the plan is not enough the gps uses alot get an iphone if you can they are going to get a tom tom app

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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I've not played with the Bold, but it seems not be be offered by my local Verizon carrier. If it ain't on Verizon, I'm not buying it, due to local coverage issues.

I found the orientation only to be laggy if I am using a memory intensive theme. I have a little program called "quick pull," which reboots my phone daily, and 4:30 am for me, so I have not had a freeze in the few months I've owned it.

Yeah, no bold for verizon yet which is why my work phone is a storm. I had a bold while we were testing them but with the promise of a bold-like device coming soon for verizon, it didn't make sense to to switch to AT&T...the storm is just another artifact left from testing since we decided to wait.

I must admit I havn't played with themes--I have the default with the stock mountain photo. What is lighter weight? Is there a theme that only shows the app buttons (I hate how the standard view doesnt requires you to click before you get fullscreen menus you can scroll through)? Does a lightweight theme help with orientation lag within other apps? The worst is when I miss a call because it stops ringing by the time I can get to the phone and wait for the orientation lag to figure out what is going on.

Get the Bold over the 8900 (Javelin). Faster w/3G...

Get the 1G option w/Rogers, not 500MB. If you use GPS, which is the most data-intensive app, 1G will not get you very far. I think it's only $5 or $10 more for 1G.

And another piece of advice, DO NOT SIGN A 3-YR CONTRACT W/ROGERS. There are three new wireless licencees now in Canada with service coming online by the end of this year and 2010. Prices will get much better once there is more competition than the current oligopoly. Try to buy an unlocked or used device and just take a monthly plan.

Also, Toronto is the easiest place to get around. Much simpler than Montreal for newcomers since the city is built on a grid with major east-west and north-south arteries easily identifiable from wherever you are.