BlackBerry 8830
Average Ratings
Nice Upgrade from an 8703e
Ok, so I truly believe that BB currently makes the best smartphones and this device is certainly a winner! I have enjoyed using it for the past 4 months and its by far the best Blackberry that verizon has ever released. This device has saved me countless hours and has made me so much more efficient in both my professional and personal life. Overall this is a pretty darn good phone, but of course it's not without its flaws. If you're looking for a great phone, with pda/smartphone capabilities and instant push email--look no further!
PROS:
Great professional look (I get compliments all the time!)
Keyboard is a little weird at first, but once you get used to it, its fantastic to use. I actually like it a little better than the keyboard on the curve.
Stable OS that rarely crashes or has to do hard resets (don't even get me started about issues I have experienced with Palm products)
Push email is great to have and RIM has mastered the process.
Call quality is pretty good when the earpiece is in the exact right spot, but fluctuates if you move the phone around your ear.
Using the center control pad is much better when compared with the scroll wheel.
Calendar is pretty functional and easy to use.
Phone gets fantastic reception!
CONS:
Ringers are very quiet, but I just try to utilize vibrate more often.
Cases is nice, but scratches very easily.
Speakerphone isn't really that great, but its usable in a pinch.
Web browser is pretty pathetic and needs to be improved on future BB's
Tough for other callers to hear when you are talking in an area with background noise.
Vibrate is a little weak when compared with some of the old school blackberries.
Best Phone I've ever had
As soon as the Red 8830 came out in Verizon stores, I grabbed it. I had a Moto Q which was my first smartphone, and I really enjoyed it. However, this phone is a step above. First of all, appearance wise, the Red color is really cool and the keys and trackball look great lit up. But now on to the performance...
PROS
- The battery life blows my mind. I don't even need a car charger or charger at work. This thing lasts all day long.
- The QWERTY keys feel great, and are easy to use. It's easy inserting symbols, and I love the fact that when you hold down a key, it capitalizes that letter. This saves a lot of time if you text and email as much as I do.
- Emails arrive in a flash. My office doesn't use a Blackberry server, but using BB's Internet service, I get emails sometimes before they appear in my desktop's MS Outlook.
- Great speakerphone, and great phone call quality.
- The blackberry function key. It's very intuitive, and no matter what application you're in, it gives you the options you're looking for.
- The sleep key on top of the phone is a quick, easy way of locking the keyboard.
- I love the indicator light, which flashes different colors, depending on what the Blackberry is trying to alert you to (new message, low battery, etc.)
- The Brick Breaker game. It's absolutely addicting.
- Lastly, it's just very easy to navigate through all the different applications. It hasn't frozen on me yet, and it just runs very well. The Q was a decent phone, but it tended to freeze on me when I was doing too many things in succession.
CONS
- Camera. I do miss the camera, but it's a small price to pay for everything else this has. But it's easy to upload pictures using a Micro SD card, and a camera on a phone can complicate things for some professionals.
- The BB Internet Browser was pretty disappointing at first, but I downloaded the Mini Opera browser, and it blows away Mobile IE. I can go to just about any page.
That's it... I highly recommend the 8830
So good, you'll never look at desert the same way
I've owned many, many phones in my life:
kyocera 3035
lgvx4400
moto v710
moto e815
samsung n330
moto v3c
moto v3m
casio g'zone type v
blackberry pearl
treo 700p
But I have to tell you, none have been more productive or reliable than the vzw 8830.
Pros:
- Great Battery life, better than the 700p regardless of reported talk time
- push email, I get email on my phone before my gmail accounts
- slim
- qwerty keypad, better than the 700p (i can type ridiculously fast)
- trackball, jokes aside, its tactile feedback is pleasant
- large screen
- desktop browser mode, for those hard to click links
- voice dialing, works like a charm
- bluetooth, esp. for cali driving
- great themes, can access my calendar, email and phone log from the main screen
- new facebook app, never miss a birthday again
- nearly completely customizable, sounds, ringtones, pictures, etc
- usb mass storage mode, for pictures, songs, documents, ringtones, presentations, etc
- document reader, works with powerpoint (out of the box take that 700p!)
- obscenely reliable, stable OS
- Blackberry messenger, by far the easiest way to meet other blackberry users
- clear music player
- brilliant screen
- wonderful agenda view option on the calendar
- able to sync with a pc and a mac (I have both -pocketmac available for free)
- attractive
- great reception (probably more the carrier)
- Computer Internet tethering is awesome!
- EVDO speeds in most cities
- World Support, tested, tried, true and simply fantastic (England, Italy, Spain, Ireland)
- Separate email inboxes for different email accounts
- unbelievably clear calls
- sturdy as hell, took a harder beating than my 700p and still works well
Cons:
- locked GPS, c'mon verizon!
- OBEX is locked, for bluetooth file transfers, but mass storage mode is a worthy replacement
- no camera, great for a member of the press
- very sensitive microphone
If you're looking for a smartphone, this is the most reliable device I could recommend.
Sprint 8830
I have had this phone for over a week now and I am just impressed more and more day after day. I've had the treos (700p, 755p) and I had the biggest waste of money Motorola Q, and this one is by far the best!
Pros:
GPS!!! It rocks, I love the way I can see my
little arrow going down the road!
Pearl Ball, although it is bright at night it's not overwhelming at all, I so like that more than the old track wheel on the side, I hate those things!
New Keyboard, It feels really good and I have no problems typing on it at all
The new styling, What can I say I like black and I like chrome so the way that the sprint version is set up is perfect for me!
The Media Center is Incredible!
Micro SD Drive... Hey at least its an option
Push Email, for my job its a must! No more losing customers over slow sync cycles!
Cons
No Camera (never use mine anyways)
Micro SD, not really that bad, im sure in the next few months a 4Gb version will show up somewhere
Perfection.
PROS:
-Good Battery Life
-Durable
-Ambidextrous design, both lefties and righties can enjoy it...
-Keyboard feels great
-Bright display
-Quad band, can go overseas
-Great antenna technology
-Excellent e-mail interface
-User Friendly
CONS: (To some)
-No camera... Darn, now we have to use our 7.0 megapixel camera instead of our horrible 1.3mp phone camera... lol
US Cellular 8830 rocks!
This Blackberry is fantastic!
Compared to the 8703 and the 7130 this device is, hands down, the best.
New wonderful features include:
Trackball - The trackball is so much more user friendly than the trackwheel of previous devices. It's central location makes one-handed operation easier and less awkward.
Voice dialing - I previously used Motorola products because I found their voice dialing to be accurate and easy to use. blackberry has adopted a very similar system and I have not had any problems using it.
GPS navigation - Unlike verizon, US Cellular did NOT deactivate the GPS navigation that RIM built into this device. I have only used it for a few minutes but it seemed to be very accurate and includes land speed.
Media Player - This device takes up to a 4GB micro SD card. I currently only have a 2GB but 2GB is enough for me.
I have wanted to get a Blackberry for quite some time but just didn't find that it was user-friendly enough for me. This one is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who wants or needs a Blackberry.
8830 on Verizon... best phone VZW offers
After using the BlackBerry 8703e on Verizon for nearly a year I decided to upgrade to the 8830. I canât say I was reluctant to upgrade as the 8830 offers many features that the 8703e canât even touch. So far, I love the 8830 and canât believe I didnât upgrade sooner. However, there are a couple of issues that are well documented that are addressed under âconsâ.
Pros:
-Great reception
-Great speakerphone⦠most people never know that theyâre on it.
-Excellent form factor⦠itâs incredible thin and light, puts all other smart phones to shame.
-Awesome key board⦠I was apprehensive moving to this phone due to the lack of spacing between keys, but itâs actually better than the 8703e.
-Trackball navigation⦠make the click wheel feel archaic.
-MP3 ring tones⦠just make sure the file size isnât too large.
-Expandable memory
-Battery power⦠yesterday I talked for 2 hours or so and spent all day checking NFL scores and TXTing⦠ended the day with 65% left.
-Awesome media player and support.
Cons:
-Ring tones are way to quiet⦠they are fine in my office or at home, but in a regular environment itâs too quiet.
-Weird vibration when I talk⦠perhaps itâs that Iâm talking too loud, but when I talk it feels like the earpiece is vibrating in my ear when I talk.
-Lacks 3.5mm jack
Addressing some previously posted cons:
-Bright trackball light⦠I donât notice this to be an issue. Sure, itâs bright, but itâs by no means âtoo brightâ.
-Poorly illuminated key pad⦠again, I think itâs fine, perhaps itâs a personal preference type thing.
-Bad BlueTooth quality⦠from what I have found, this issue is more related to the headset than the phone. I have tried 3 different headsets and finally found one that worked great on my 8703e and now the 8830 (I have the LG HBM-730). Most places will take them back, so if it doesnât sound good, take it back and try a different one⦠just donât blame the phone.
what a phone
wow the best phone i have ever had period... this phone gives you so many options no camera but hey still a super phone. the web pages are great compared to black berries in the past. the GPS is heaven sent and the media features are crisp with great sound much better that berries of the past the best phone for verizon out right now hands down. the palm is good too if you don't mind bugs and your phone turning off at random times.
Not perfect but the best yet
Previously had Treo 650, the XV6700, now the 8830. No comparison, 8830 in another dimension. Excellent PDA and email device but also a superior phone device.
Pros:
- Email functionality superb
- LOUD speaker and speaker phone
- Trackball is great
- Seemless integration with Exchange Server
- Great screen
- Small, light weight
- Holster tech great
- OS Stable, no reboots
- Signal strength and call clarity as good as any regular cell phone
- Lots of nice functions for business user
- Easily tethers to tablet pc
- User interface easy to learn and far superior to Verizon's
Cons:
- Battery life adequate but not great. But you have lots going on.
- No touch screen (trackball kind of makes up for it)
- Keyboard a bit small but it's the tradeoff for the overall small size. For the size, keyboard probably designed as good as it could be.
- Verizon disables GPS capability. Dumb.
- Verizon's published expectations for data speeds aren't remotely close to reality.
Lots of "little things" that really work for the business user. I really like when you are dialing a Customer where they have an extension. Dial main number and on the 8830, the extension is on the screen, you press the trackball for it to dial after the automated system answers the main #. This is so handy and safe when driving. Wondered why Smart Phones didn't do this, so simple of a requirement but so, so handy.
I now know why there are so many "Crackberry" addicts out there. This is a true business man's phone, I regret taking so long to make the switch.
Verizon Fumbles with the 8830
I intend to use this phone abroad, one major reason why I went for the 8830.
Verizon disabled the 8830's GPS, I but chose Verizon only because I think other carriers in my area don't get nearly as good coverage (South Orange County, CA).
Moving up to the Blackberry 8830 from a much simpler multimedia phone, I am quite impressed.
What most readers may not know, is that Verizon apparently does not ship a SIM card with the phone. As Verizon customer service explained, I must go in person to a Verizon store and (most likely) pay $40 for a SIM card, prior to subscribing to any international data plan.
I would have without hesitation gone over to Sprint for the 8830, if not for the better coverage and discounts Verizon provided with this phone.
Voice quality is okay, but barely acceptable using my blue-tooth headset.
Pros:
- Wonderful email integration (wow!)
- Nice browser, but not as sophisticated as the iPhone's
- Excellent LCD screen, excellent graphics, and very good and multimedia (play) capabilities
- Okay to good voice quality (CDMA)
- Thumb-wheel is very nice to use
Cons:
- No camera (would have been nice)
- Verizon disables the GPS
- Verizon does not ship the phone with a SIM card by default (you have to buy the SIM card)
- I couldn't find an easy short-cut to lock thekeypad (yet)
- Ring volume and voice activated command volume cannot be changed easily (on my old phone, I used the up/down side buttons to do this).
- Verizon doesn't quite have its act together regarding communicating upfront the issues regarding the deactivated GPS and the missing SIM card.
- Verizon is most likely not willing to unlock the phone for use with other SIM cards.
- Thumb wheel's white LED is rather bright
- Voice quality with my blue-tooth headset seems inferior to my older phone - with the 8830 it sounds tinny and choppy, just barely acceptable.
