Quickie review: BlackBerry 8700
I finally broke down and bought a BlackBerry. So far I have to say it’s been amazing. I bought a BlackBerry 8700, but the reason I was inspired to post is sort of unusual. I decided to post because I dropped my brand new BlackBerry 8700 three times in the first 24 hours I had it… two times on a hard tile floor, once on pavement… while I was running. All three times the device fell hard. It ought to have broken… seriously, but it’s barely got a scratch, which totally blows me away.
Having my expectations exceeded made me figure it was worthwhile to post. Truly an excellent product from a colossal success in Waterloo, Ontario.
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10:41 am
Nice one Mike…too bad you can’t say the same for your poor old cellphone.
11:57 am
I fight with that battle each day (of purchasing the 8700). I guess it will take some time before we ever see the iPhone here in Canada. I feel like my friend that never bought a computer because he’s waiting for the final version so he never has to upgrade.
I believe you stated that you do not use a Mac. Has anyone had any trouble sycnin’ with a Mac?
3:13 pm
BradM, I’ve had the 8700 for the better part of a year now, and as a Mac user, it can be a real pain to get it to sync correctly. I’ve tried a number of third-party sync programs, and none of them have worked completely well for me.
I’m definitely leaning towards the move to the iPhone upon it’s release, but I will miss the solid build of the 8700; I’ve dropped it on pavement at least ten times in the past year, and other than scratches to the casing, it’s never missed a beat. The thing is built like a tank (and I’m guessing the iPhone will be much more fragile).
1:57 am
Mike,
Go ahead and treat your self to a leather swivel case from http://www.shopblackberry.com
The plastic case it comes with allows the device to slip out too easily.
I ended up dropping my 8700 one too many times eventually and had to have a replacement. Another thing you may not be aware of with the 8700 is the ability to use the USB cable to receive “theterd internet” through your laptop.
Rogers does not officially support it, but it comes in handy when you are at the airport and either don’t have WiFi or don’t want to pony up $8.95 to get online for 20 minutes. Just be careful on how much data you use. Instructions here: http://www.blackberryforums.com/blackberry-guides/2019-user-howto-use-blackberry-modem-laptop.html
7:18 am
Welcome to the dark side Mike.
3:52 pm
Being located in Vermont, cell phones barely work and “fantasy” devices such as an 8700 are well… a myth. Do such things really exist?
Ok, well I am moving in a few months and will be able to use such wonderful devices… can I access FB with it? (via wifi?) Can I create new invoices, etc.. with it? Can I use FB exactly the same way, but just with one of these hand held devices? It would be absolutely outstanding to be able to be traveling, get my email and then generate an invoice and send it out. is this a dream or can this happen? Thanks!
3:57 pm
Still fantasy I’m afraid…the blog reads really well on the Berry though
8:22 pm
Bummer! It was such a nice fantasy while it lasted.
1:45 pm
You have no idea how many phones I went through to finally go and purchase the Blackberry. I tried several Treos (each for almost a month) then I decided on the Samsung Blackjack. I liked it but had so much trouble with the e-mail that I marched right into the store and purchased the 8700 Blackberry. I could not be an ounce happier. Sure, after all that I’ve probably spent over $1000 on cell phones but to finally have something that works for me is worth every penny!
6:16 pm
There is a 8800 model now.
http://www.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?q_list=true&q_phoneName=BlackBerry+8800&q_sku=sku780093
It appears to have a nice web browser on it. Can you login to freshbooks and do work with that browser?
I’ll be getting one of these in a couple of months after relocating.
7:26 pm
I just found this RSS program you can install on a blackberry to use the RSS feed from freshbooks!
http://www.freerange.com
Works great!
James
2:14 pm
sweet…I gotta put that on my berry…I’m on a Pearl now for anyone who is keeping track and I love the form factor.
10:42 am
That url is wrong. Sorry… it’s:
http://www.freerangeinc.com
James
8:47 am
Hey – I just thought I’d point out the significance of James’ find…you can use it to get the feed from your FreshBooks account – not just the forum and/or blog. FreeRangeInc supports SSL Authentication and that’s huge.
More on it here:
http://forum.freshbooks.com/viewtopic.php?pid=4199#p4199