BlackBerry 8703e
Average Ratings
What a Phone/Device !
It really has been a pleasure frequenting this site to reseach mobile phones. This is my first PDA type phone, and all the people who take the time to review have bee a great help.
I have owned Motorola and LG phones, all based on the reviews found here, and have never had a bad phone. I have to say that this is the best phone I have ever used. The sound quality is the clearest, and it is easy to use. Since this is my first smartphone, I am just getting used to all of those features. It feels quality in hand, the keyboard is positive and easy to use.I compared this phone to the Treo, and since I didn't need the digital camera or MP3 player, I chose the RIM Blackberry 8703e. I was looking for a good-functioning phone, with email, and planner functions. This phone does it all.
Based on all of the above, I would rate this phone a 5 out of 5.
PROS:
Great quality
Quicky email
Great keyboard
Bluetooth functions great
8703 Verizon Wireless WOW !!!
Wow...picked it up today and its the Ferrari of all Blackberry's...Verizon and/or RIM have out done themselves with this one...
T-Mobile and Cingular had their versions first, now it's time for the BIG BOY to get it...well worth the wait...
Pro's
Great Sound
Great RF
Speakerphone is clear
Screen is bright
Definately worth the price
Keys are nice and big and easy to operate
Awesome Phone!!!!
This phone is absolutely amazing. It's my first blackberry and so far my experience with it is great. I'm using the VZW version and also use the tethering service which is 15 dollars a month to use the phone as a modem. The speed is just as quick as my cable line at home. The keyboard took a little while to get used to, the screen is amazingly clear and sharp, battery life is great, but then again this is a replacement to my razr and any battery is better than that. I get through a whole with heavy usage and still have more than half the battery left. All in all this is the perfect device for any business or personal email user.
Pro's:
Battery Life
Size
Screen is sharp
Push email
weight and feel(Doesn't feel cheap)
Speakerphone(Clear as day)
Bluetooth
Con's:
Some websites don't load but then again this isn't really a device to use to surf the internet.
So far, me likes this one
Hi folks,
Well, it's been a week with the new 8703e and I am liking it so far. I'll get to the good part, since you can find lots of specs and info here and on Howardforums and Blackberryforums -
I like the bright screen and the "computer screen" like graphics, but I miss the great sunlight readability of the 7250 (but you can't have it both ways). The browser seems pretty quick and the normal Blackberry functions work like we all like them to. The 64mb of RAM is plenty for me and thank God, no camera! the speakerphone is just OK, but it beats no speaker at all (like my 7250). The phone has given me a great signal, on par with my Moto e815 and Razr v3c (on Verizon of course). the battery life is OK and I carry a spare, which I have needed a couple of times, but I'm a heavy user at 2000+ minutes per month.
I'm using mine with both the Jabra Earwave Boom wired headset and the Plantronics 645 Bluetooth headset. The wired one is decent and great when in the car. The 645 is the best BT headset I've found so far. It's BT 2.0 and bonds with the BB 8703e well, with great volume and clarity.
The only real downside I see to the 8703e so far is the lack of voice-activated dialing. That is really the only thing I miss about my Motorola phones.
Also, so far I have not the re-booting and re-setting issues that I experienced with the BB 7130e. Also, the full QWERTY keyboard, while slightly cramped, works better than Sure-Type of the BB 7130e, in my opinion. Heck, these things get smaller and something has got to give, right?
Bottom line, a better upgrade from the 72xx series Blackberries, for the business user - in my humble but honest opinion.
Watch those thumbs!
Hoppy
Unreal Fantastic Phone
I finally jettisoned my PPC-6700 (Pocket Piece of Crap is what I named it) in favor of this. I am stunned at how well everything works, how easy it is to use, the software is fast, intuitive, reliable etc etc. Phone quality is outstanding. For me I don't need a camera so i actually am glad this doesn't have one. I had WiFi on my 6700 but it was useless because it would drain the battery in a heartbeat and the EvDo works great from Sprint so who needs it? I use the tethered modem which is great, battery life is great compared to my 6700, the build quality is outstanding and the keyboard is a dream. I am late to the party with BB but better now than never. I will never go back to the so-called smartphones/WM5 phones again. No crashes or freezes with the BB which was once common for me. Email push is superb (5 email accounts from work, gmail, aol etc.). Run, don't walk to get this phone. I am not a blue tooth user so I cant comment there but I don't doubt that is well thought out too.
Pros
Every feature works perfectly
Phone is great both hearing and to the caller
Software great
Batt life great
Cons
None
For me this phone is a major winner. Thanks to all on this forum, its the best phone resource anywhere.
Great phone!
This is really a great phone. Battery life is good, screen is beautiful, keyboard is small but works, and the size is just right for having all keys. It is a Blackberry and if you have owned one before you know exactly what you are getting. A stable smart phone that keeps perfect sync with Outlook.
The other reviewer gave this phone a 2.5 because it won't sync with his Mac. Don't blame the phone for your Mac's shortcomings. You choose a Mac and are told to expect incompatibilities as a way of life. I am not endorsing nor knocking them but if you buy a Mac anyone will tell you the exact same thing so don't give another device a bad review because your Mac has weaknesses.
Anyway, this is a really great phone. If you haven't tried it make sure you get the Google map application. Its the best "free" GPS with traffic overlays for the maps.
My Jabra BT 250V works perfect. The ear piece and mic work good on the phone too. The speaker-phone is as good as I have heard on a cell phone. This phone has hit all the high notes. The only addition I would recommend is a SD card reader. The screen is so clean pictures look awesome!
Happy first-time Blackberry user
The VZW 8703e is my first PDA-type phone after years on a basic Sanyo SCP-6200 from Sprint. The BB is much bigger in my pocket, but I'm otherwise happy with the switch.
Of the features I've used...
Pros:
-Great screen quality (easy to read, no trouble for me viewing outdoors)
-Reasonably speedy internet access (EVDO)
-Blackberry Enterprise Server works exactly as it should (e-mail, contacts, tasks and calendar items all populated within seconds of activation, wireless synch requires no effort on to keep everything straight)
-Able to use Blackberry Internet Service to receive select personal e-mail on the device, too
-Very easy to send e-mail, SMS or make a phone call to any contact
-Sound quality is great (from my end)
-Coverage in NYC has been rock solid (except obvious no-RF zones like elevators)
-Speakerphone works decently (but not very loud)
-Enjoyed customizing it with "Zen" theme (thanks to blackberryforums.com), Google Maps Mobile and Berry Bloglines
Cons:
-Battery life is lackluster (gets me through the day, and recharges remarkably fast, but can't go 3-4 days without charging like I could with my old phone).
-Haven't figured out a way to lock keypad without multiple clicks of scroll-wheel (why isn't there a shortcut for this?!)
-If you enable a device password, it must be at least 4 characters (I'd prefer to just use one letter--I want to unlock it quickly, but want nominal protection to prevent somebody from reading my e-mail if I lose the device)
-VZW cripples GPS (apparently Sprint's 8703e is GPS-enabled)
-I greatly preferred Sprint's voicemail system to VZW's (this is a service-related complaint, not phone related, but Sprint allowed me to turn off the extra prompts so callers didn't have to wait to leave a message, and Sprint let me check voicemail from the phone with one touch--no password needed)
-Friends say my voice sounded better on my old phone than on the BB (not sure if this is Sanyo vs. Blackberry or Sprint vs. VZW)
I will miss the 8703e
I ordered this phone one day after it showed up on Verizon's Website 9-18-06. It arrived two days later and I was totally impressed. Coming from the 7230 (T-Mobile), which I desperately needed to upgrade from, It was a dream come true. Unbelievable reception, nice data,the clearest conversation and no dropped calls!... Except one thing. IT WOULD NOT SYNC WITH MY MAC! I sent the 8703e back to Verizon for that reason only, but to my surprise, On 10-2-06 I got an email from PocketMac saying that RIM had just released V4.0, which now supports ALL blackberries. DRAT! Now I'm sitting here with a BB8700G, which I'm preparing to send back to T-Mobile due to the horrible speaker phone, which happens to be a problem with all 8700 series phones.
I gave VZW a shot for a couple of reasons. T-Mobile refuses to address issues with static & distortion that pops up while talking on their network. It actually happened while I was on the phone with one of their reps and he seemed baffled. Plus, I knew the 8703e would be different from the 8700s.
Data is faster with T-mobile's 8700G, but the Blackberry 8703e is actually an improvement over the 8700c & 8700g models.
The only thing I noticed is that the software on the 8703e was bloated in comparison to the 8700G, not leaving much free space for the user.
Pros over 8700:
BETTER SPEAKER PHONE. I can walk into another room and the person on the other end can still here everything I'm saying. With T-Moible 8700G or Cingular 8700C, it doesn't matter! The speaker phone cuts out while you're speaking and the person on the other end always asks you to repeat what you were saying.
Tethered Modem.
Instead of using a wireless card you can plug straight from your computer via usb and get high-speed data transfer.
HAC (Hearing Aid Compatibility)
T-Mobile will tell you that this is the only difference between the 8700G and their forth coming 8705G, but THEY'RE DEAD WRONG and if they don't get me that 8705G soon, I'm going back to Verizon!
BB 8703E
COMING FROM 8700 WITH CINGULAR THIS PHONE IS AS GOOD AND EVEN BETTER BEING ON VERIZONWIRELESS. THE NET IS NICE AND FAST AND THE SCREEN IS GREAT! JUST WISH VZW GOT THIS PHONE LAST YEAR WHEN CINGULAR GOT IT!!
Not really looking for a new hobby, thanks.
Got this phone to replace my old candybar style Nokia that I usually get, so Im totally unfamiliar with these. That being said, Im either too dumb to use this phone, or I got a defective one. Nobody at Verizon seems to be able to tell me which one it is, I'd say its about 50/50. (Just for the record, I usually have no problems figuring out electronic devices, getting printers working, following directions, etc...) This phone was purchased brand new, sealed in the box. To start, neither CD disc provided with this device will open in my Apple (OSX 10.4.something) computer. Next, nobody at Verizon seems to know how to work this BlackBerry. The girl at the store said for me to call another store, but when I call & wait through their phone tree, it hangs up on me. Otherwise the phone tree gives irrelevant, recorded directions. But back to the device itself -- The paper "Getting Started Guide" & "Quick Reference Guide" are no help whatsoever. I am trying to sync up my Email with the BlackBerry and the directions they provide are 100% jibberish. The books keep telling me to go to icons on the menu that do not exist on the actual phone menu (e.g: Browser icon, Email Settings icon) and then follow a sequence of events that do not occur on ANY menu or submenu on this phone. The phone has a "setup wizard" prominently placed on the screen, but it requires some kind of corporate account that I do not have. (I was told this device works with typical POP/IMAP type Email servers like Gmail, obviously they were wrong). The phone itself is easy to use, the settings are simple and easy to change, reception seems to be good, and my only complaint is that the ringer somehow reset itself to "vibrate" so I missed a few calls. Oh, and it is impossible to text on this phone, unless I am also too stupid to figure that out as well. (Like I said before, 50/50 chance). There is nothing in the HELP menu about texting, it refers me to the EMAIL SETTINGS icon which does not exist.
