BlackBerry 8830
Average Ratings
Garbage
Do you use your device for nothing other than data usage and email? Awesome, run out and buy one of these immediately.
Are you going to use it for phone calls? Holy crap, DON'T DO IT! I've used this "phone" in 5 states already and I can promise you, you will be downright disgusted with the voice service on this "phone".
As a blackberry and email device, it runs flawlessly. The keys arent too small that my fat fingers can use them, it looks gorgeous *until you get one smudge on it*, and it has a pretty good form factor. But WOW, where's the PHONE?
I've dropped over half my calls with this. And when they don't drop, the call doesn't connect. And when it does connect and i'm receiving a call... the ringer is ridiculously quiet with no way to use vib AND ring simultaniously. Not that it would matter, the vibrate feature on this is a joke.
If you're really considering getting this phone and looking at reviews, ignore all the "I just got the phone today and.." stuff, because theyre too enamored with the device at first.. as was I. After a little bit, they'll start to see the downfalls. AVOID!
8830 Great / Sprint..not so much
This is my first BB. Hopefully not the last as I actually love the features on the phone.
My complaint is with service and not so much bb's. The one hour wait to speak with tech was a little long. However once she started she dind't give up and stuck with me through the whole process twice. This took two adtional hours.
Sprint is where I have a HUGE issue. This phone and it's features were exactly what I was looking for as I was (currently am in) heading to Cambodia on business trip. Voice /Data /Phone as modem in all cities I am to be in.
I've been a Verizon customer for the past 10 years but they have no coverage in Cambodia (unfortunately)
Made the unfortunate jump to Sprint.
So after paying all the money for phone/ call plan/international V&D plan /unlimited text plan. I am here with a rather expensive clock! (It even has an alarm)
I was assured three days before leaving everything was set up and I was ready to go. I wouldn't need to change anything or any settings they would be automatically detected.
I've now spent and counting for two more weeks $160.00 on calling cards and wi-fi access cards.
Sprint informed me over 40 hours ago that my international code wasn't activated and it would be so within the next 4-24 hours.
Nothing...
Called again today they say it should be in the que to be processed and my data service provider is a name that dosn't show up on phone and can't be typed in to add to "preferred list"
Still nothing. Now need to buy another phone.
what a waste of time and money.
Awesome
this phone is great. classic blackberry functionality in a global mode. with the best network in the US and now access to networks nearly worldwide, how can you go wrong?
Solid Enough
OK, so this is my first blackberry with Verizon. I have had them with T-mobile, but the coverage was always so so. But with verizon in NYC/Metro area the coverage is fantastic.
When I was at verizon there where several users like me (basically carrying 2 or more phones.) Everyone was switching and pairing down to this one phone. It was kind of funny because everyone was soo excited. Like getting a new nintendo, everyone was pumped up.
My last BB was the pearl, to be honest I loved the software and menus, hated the size of the phone, it wasn't very practical for any real kind of emailing. Just the same I never had a hard time finding anything on it (program wise). That being said it took a little while to navigate through this BB and set it up. I am sure I will get used to it, but to be honest I couldn't just pick up with it and run.
Pros:
The key board is great!
The screen is beautiful.
Great Reception.
Great volume.
Feels good in your hand.
Cons:
No Wifi.
No Camera. (but this is more of a business phone than a phone for your average consumer)
To Complex and Tiny
I returned my VX-9900 today because I saw the new Blackberry 8300. First impression on this was holly cow, cool looking, slick,alot of tools and accessorys to add to it, just what I was willing to spend the extra $$ for
. After spending half of my day with it, I'm returning it to going back to my vx-9900. I think it would be really great if the dang keys where not so tiny on the blackberry. I dont have large fingers, but the design of the keys and closeness of them I cant bear with any longer. Im not extremly please with the overall broadband service with verizon also. I guess Im just used to my 10MB's a sec speed and waiting for something to load on this blackberry is like going back to dial up.
Not to happy that AIM and MSN isnt loaded on it either unless you pay a fee. I think the phones price should cover this.
Pros: Slick design, silver looking, alot of
features.
Cons: Extremly small keyboard,accessorys I would like you have to pay for(msn,aim). To complex.
Great phone, didn't cut it
The phone was awesome. It only fell short in a few different catagories.
The first and biggest issue was ringtone volume. It was so quiet that I missed 3/4 of all my calls.
Second was call clarity on the receiving end. my partner had trouble hearing me over background noise when I was at our bar.
Thirst was the keyboard. It is a good board but a little cheap feeling and not as good as the Moto Q9m.
Excellent phone for the serious business man but the Moto Q9m is better for the average Joe.
Go get a Curve
Sorry, but this and the 8800 are going to get it.
Cons:
THE KEY'S! I can type better on the Curve's smaller key's (which I eventually went with, despite the womens fitness club name).
VZW's 3G. Edge just seems as fast, don't know why, it just does.
VZW. As a long time VZW customer I hate to say it, but their coverage is not what it used to be. I don't know why, full bars and all, it just isn't as good. Dropped calls in 2007 are just unacceptable. I even had the $100 credit towards new equipment and I still left. Nuff said.
Pros:
Looks sweet.
You can say, "My blackberry has high speed, na nana na na".
Looks really sweet.
It is the best non ATT blackberry there is, for now, and that is worth something.
Conclusion:
All in all, I really wanted to like this phone. My wallet REALLY wanted to like this phone. But something just didn't click. I don't need everything on the Curve, but for some reason I find it a compellingly better piece of equipment. That's just my opinion. The girl at the stand in the mall may disagree.
No Durability!
Just to clear this up, I LOVED the functionality of the phone and also liked the size (thin!) of the phone as well. Unfortunately for me, I went through 5 of these phones (for various reasons) before Verizon finally gave me a free upgrade to a Curve (8330).
Pros:
Size
Screen Resolution
Email
Keyboard
Cons:
No Camera
Browser is not on par with rest of phones functionality (only basic websites displayed well)
Microphone is awful (if I had a nickel for every time someone couldn't hear me, I'd be a very rich man. Had to use a bluetooth headset to make calls that had any importance.)
Keys are hard to distinguish during daylight on silver version. Red version was much easier to see during same conditions.
Low flash memory (50% less than Curve)
Phone tended to run slow after a few weeks of owning it
Trackball broke (and was replaced under warranty) 4 times while I owned this! 5th return was due to speaker not functioning properly.
Volume is very low on speaker and ringer
Regardless of the number of cons listed here, I actually enjoyed having the phone, but was turned off by the amount of time I lost having it replaced at the Verizon store. Durability was a MAJOR questionmark that I did not see mentioned anywhere on the net.
Don't make my mistake
I have been very dissapointed with this phone overall. The buttons are very small and slippery with no space in between, and make typing difficult. I typically have rather nimble thumbs, but with this phone sending short messages is a bear and never mind long e-mails. Those are nearly impossible! The track ball also seems to stick, has a slippery surface (especially if your hands are just a bit sweaty), and makes it difficult to navigate. I would rather have a 4-direction pad for navigation. There are some nice features that are somewhat standard with Blackberries such as e-mail integration. But what good are such features when the hardware stinks! Another issue is that the paint is starting to rub off of the keys after just around 50 days of use. This is probably because I am used to a flip phone and keep it in my pocket. After a year I am afraid that I won't be able to read the keys... My biggest gripe is the horrible user interface. It is very unfriendly and unattractive. Whoever designed the interface for this phone should be ashamed. It seems like I need to go thought 2 or 3 more steps than with my old phone to get where I want to go. My wife just got a mid-level Sprint phone and the user interface blows this phone away. Another pet pieve of mine is the lack of a camera. I primarliy used my camera previously for work (to document issues at customers). Without a camera phone, I have to bring a camera with me all the time now. The only plus I have found with this phone is that it works well overseas with the international SIM card and it seems to get pretty good reception. Overall, I really wish I could return it and get something else. I'm dreading the next 2 years that I will be stuck with this phone. Don't make my mistake. Get something else.
A Mazerati of a device ...
Six months ago I got Sprint's TREO 755P. It was far more stable than my older 700P and I thought I was done looking; until my company switched carriers to Verizon. Since they still did not carry the 755P, I "settled" for the XV6800, a fairly new model. I hated it. It was flimsy, not eye friendly, near impossible to work with one hand, and a learning curve akin to doing an oil change on the Space Shuttle.
And along came the Blackberry 8830. Not only has it met or exceeded my expectation and the functionality of my old TREO 755p, but in some ways has really calibrated my thinking as to what a smart phone is "supposed" to be good at.
This is pro-device, no doubt about that. From its sleek chrome sides and flat profile, to the way it feels on your hands it screams of class, stellar quality and flawless manufacturing.
PROS:
* Perfect weight, balance, look, design and construction.
* A amazing feel on the keyboard, just like the 755P (which I consider the best). My fingers had it down in a day. The trackball takes an hour to get it right.
* The reception and signal levels are as good or better than both the 755 and 6800. No dropped calls in 2 weeks.
* Every email setup wizard should be like this.
* The operating system is amazing. Nice icons, the trackball does take a bit to get used to but it comes to feel natural in a few days, if not hours.
CONS:
* No camera, no problem. The missing camera just makes it what I want, a phone-contact-texting-calendar-email powerhouse.
* The OS does take getting used to from Palm. I found Palm had more bells and whistles, but did none of them spectacularly. This one does a few less things, but all of them to perfection.
* The browser is less-than, but a download of mini-opera 4.0 had me in heaven.
You want fluff and whistles, go the route of the other devices. This is a device for those of us who need stability, reliably, speed;... not to mention not looking like you have a tumor when you put it in your pocket. Perfect.
