Tech Review - Nextel Blackbery 7100i

I've had the Nextel Blackberry 7100i for approximately one week now (See picture on left).  I LOVE IT!!!! I previously had the 7200 (Shown on the bottom right).  The ergonomics of the 7100i are much better than that of the older 7200 model.  The 7200 was too wide and the "End" button was positioned on the side of the phone.  This made it difficult to hold the phone in your hand and not accidentally hang up on the person you were talking to.  Another difference between the two phones is that the screen & keypad are significantly brighter on the 7100i.  I was expecting to have problems with battery life on the new Blackberry but so far I've been pleasantly surprised.  Another thing I was concerned about was the two letters per key on the 7100i.  It did take a few days to get used to but now I'm typing with no problem.  Probably the biggest advantage that the new Blackberry has over the older one is web browsing.  I could never seem to get pages to display properly on the 7200.   

Comments

[Jon Dale]

Dave,

Unfortunately I would have to disagree. I actually moved from the newer style blackberry to an older style blackberry. Now granted the crackberry really had become my primary email device, but I was sick and tired of it guessing words incorrectly. I mean how many times has it guessed "see" when you meant to type "are." I also much prefer the web browser on the wide blackberry (granted I do have the newest model and it probably has better browsing software).

My one complaint with the new one (accept for the obvious distaste for carrying around a brick) is that it doesn't have a speaker phone. That seems to me to be a needless oversite on a high dollar phone. Although the bluetooth works really well, especially with my new motorola earpiece that turns on when you use it and off when its not on your head. The other feature I'd like to see is an intellegent backlight that turned on automatically when the device is used at "night."

Well, enough about phones, when are you going to come and visit. Ski season starts in 30 days and we have season passes.

[David Gervino]

Your're right about the typing. I hate it that I want to type "see" and it comes up "are" or vice versa. Someone who isn't familiar with Blackberry typing probably gets my emails and thinks, "How dumb can this guy be? He can't even spell a 3-letter word correctly."

As for the Nextel Blackerry phones, both the old and the new ones have the speakerphone feature. They also have the Nextel direct-connect feature, which is great.

As we were talking about the other day though, there really is no replacement for the good 'ole two-page-per-day Franklin Planner. I've used Palm, IPAQ and several Blackberry phones but you just can't type or use a stylus as efficiently as you can use a pen on a piece of paper. I also like being able to see the whole two-pages at once, rather than have a small screen to look at. So for now and possibly forever, I'll continue to carry BOTH a Blackberry and a Franklin Planner, like you do.