Blackberry Curve 8900

[cap'njack.]

Hiya all,

Does anyone have a Blackberry Curve 8900? The Mrs wants a new phone but refuses to have an iPhone

So I am looking at the Blackberry Curve 8900 for her. I'm after opinions both good and bad before I get it for her.

Thanks

 

[safetymom]

Please suggest that she consider the iPhone. I loved my Blackberry until I got the iPhone. No going back now for me.

 

[rotlex]

Please suggest that she consider the iPhone. I loved my Blackberry until I got the iPhone. No going back now for me.

Not too jump on the bandwagon, but yeah, what she said. Seriously. I've owned every device on the planet, from Treo's to BB's to regular phones. The iPhone is simply the best hand held communication device, PDA, entertainment unit that I have ever owned.

Talk her into it. Neither of you will be sorry!

(I know, not the answer you were looking for, hehe).

 

[cap'njack.]

I want her to have an iPhone as I have one myself however she says that she wants a phone that great for emails and for browsing but doesn't really like the touch screen of the iPhone (although she is ALWAYS on mine )

 

[safetymom]

I hated the touch screen when I first got my iPhone. It took me a few weeks and now I have no problems. I can type as fast as I could on my Blackberry and just as accurate.

 

[LuccaDrake]

I find it useful to read through reviews on Amazon.com as you can usually get an idea for the good/bad/ugly. You can also use Crackberry.com but they will be a bit more biased seeing as it's a site dedicated to the Blackberry. I have the Curve 8320 as my business cell and love it for email but I’d say the web browsing is average (don’t use the BB browser, instead download Opera Mini). If like me email is most important on a phone, nothing really beats a Blackberry.

 

[aGoofyMom]

I have the 8900 - so far my favourite. This would be having tried the Pearl, Flip Pearl, and a few others. One of the things I had noticed on the other ones I had tried was that the keyboard seemed "slippy" With th 8900 I have better traction/control while typing.

DH works for the company so I usually get to try whatever one he is using, for keyboard etc. My hands are so much smaller than his - he can take my input as well as his own.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Now this is my kinda thread! ROFL

I looked at the Blackberry Curve before I wound up getting the iPhone. Trust me, it cannot compare. The iPhone is extremely easy to type on and is so much nicer than the Blackberry. I would have regretted getting it if I did not get the iPhone. Have her take a look at Apple's website and she'll be hooked.

 

[wdwowner]

Try the BB Tour, the screen and functions are great. The Opera Mini browser is a must.

Plus the BB's biggest plus over the iphones is you can run multiple programs at once. Apple will not allow that, and when you want to browse, txt and GPS stuff, the ability to do that blows away other devices. Plus you have a mini SD card slot for memory expansion (just put MP3's on the SD and pop it in, no need for syncing), swap batteries if needed, and can tether to the BB to use the phone as a wireless modem. And the biggest plus is you are not stuck using itunes, the biggest system hogging program ever written. If itunes is down you cannot do much, whereas with other devices you are not stuck using specific programs. One day Apple will have to open up their systems or become a relic like the 56k dial up modem.

While the iphone is the 'cool' thing to have for playing games, for people who want to get things done, the BB's are the best. If you can browse the web and get to web sites and do what you need to do, having an app just does not make sense, unless you want you phone to 'fart' on command.

 

[safetymom]

Sorry to disagree but I get much more done using my iPhone than I ever did with my Blackberry.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I 100% disagree. As a teacher and vice president of our teachers' union, I get a tremendous amount of work done on my iPhone when a computer is not nearby or convient to use. This includes emailing, visiting websites, taking notes at meetings, organizing events, and more. I can also simultaneously use various programs without any problems. This includes having multiple webpages open at once. Likewise, I'm not sure where the above poster got this information from, but having iTunes on my phone has been a blessing. If it ever went down (which I have never experienced before), all of the phones features will still work. They're not directly connected to iTunes.

When I looked at the Blackberry, I found the screen to be very small and the keyboard difficult to use. I am so glad I listened and got the iPhone. I would be at a loss without it.

 

[cap'njack.]

I'm loving the opinions everyone...my brother has the Blackberry Curve so he is popping over tomorrow so Ellie can have a play around with the phone and then make a decision on which she wants.

Personally I want her to have the iPhone so she can get the 3GS and give it to me and I'll give her my 3G

 

[Madi100]

I think that I have given in to the idea that if I am going to have something more than a phone, it's going to be a Blackberry. While I would much rather have an iphone, the most important thing that this gadget needs to do is be a phone. And, at least in our area, that is not something the iphone is good at being. The service around here is horrible. So, until it works better as a phone, I'll stick with wanting a Blackberry, which I still don't have.

 

[OKW Lover]

If you can get an iPhone for her it will be a pretty good trade.

 

[Madi100]

If you can get an iPhone for her it will be a pretty good trade.

I'm going to tell Val you said that.

 

[LuccaDrake]

Try the BB Tour, the screen and functions are great. The Opera Mini browser is a must.

Plus the BB's biggest plus over the iphones is you can run multiple programs at once. Apple will not allow that, and when you want to browse, txt and GPS stuff, the ability to do that blows away other devices. Plus you have a mini SD card slot for memory expansion (just put MP3's on the SD and pop it in, no need for syncing), swap batteries if needed, and can tether to the BB to use the phone as a wireless modem. And the biggest plus is you are not stuck using itunes, the biggest system hogging program ever written. If itunes is down you cannot do much, whereas with other devices you are not stuck using specific programs. One day Apple will have to open up their systems or become a relic like the 56k dial up modem.

While the iphone is the 'cool' thing to have for playing games, for people who want to get things done, the BB's are the best. If you can browse the web and get to web sites and do what you need to do, having an app just does not make sense, unless you want you phone to 'fart' on command.

Agreed

 

[daneenm]

I would have regretted getting it if I did not get the iPhone.

Do NOT let Kevin catching you say that! It will just add fuel to the flame

 

[Willow1213]

I think it is great that you are letting her play with a Blackberry so she can make her decision. This is how I usually demo those iPhone vs. Blackberry so people can decide which they like better

Find the browser on each phone and open yahoo.com
*Note load time (Edge vs 3G) and graphics quality

Open two emails - one that would be graphics heavy (store newsletter type) and one with an attachment
*Note graphics differences
*Note differences in attachment usability (Although the 8900 does have "Documents to Go" - a pseudo-word processor/spreadsheet program)

Once I show off just these two things - they always go straight to the iPhone.
Good luck!

 

[MM32830]

When I started looking for a smartphone, I looked at the BlackBerry. I actually demo'd one. I also demo'd an iPhone simultaneously. I was serious about making the "right choice" since I was going to have to live with it for the next 2 years.

Even though Verizon Wireless has EVDO in my location in Maine and AT&T only has the slower Edge network (in Florida AT&T is faster than Verizon Wireless), the decision was an easy one to make. The iPhone was the much better choice.

I find it interesting that some people believe multitasking is an advantage in a smartphone. Never had a need for it but the iPhone does support multitasking in some apps (like mail). And speaking of apps, there are so many more available for the iPhone. My latest app is FedEx. I own a business that ships many packages very day with FedEx. Now with the FedEx app I can keep track of all the packages that my staff ships.

Now, who said the iPhone isn't business friendly?



____________________
Armand

 

[LuccaDrake]

"Now, who said the iPhone isn't business friendly?"
Unfortunately, some businesses say it's not business friendly. While I'm sure the iPhone is great I know many companies even here in Maine that will not cover iPhone expenses for their employees but are fine with Blackberry and *gulp* Palm devices. I actually think that if ATT offered an email only plan (or Enterprise Email like the BB *MS Exchange doesn't count*) for the iPhone that could speed up adoption in business environments.