Upgraded From 8220

[Blade_27]

The 8220 Flip was my vary first Blackberry and I had for two years. In that time I'd go though five defective units. One right after the other, including one that wouldn't even power up out of the box. Several people have asked why I kept going back to the Pearl even after being offered other devices. Despite my bad luck with a bad batch of units one of the reasons that kept me coming back was that I loved the size of the 8220 keys. It actually had buttons I could use with easy. Aside of the units I did have difficulty with, my only real complaint about the 8220 was the brutally slow processor. The 8220 was listed with the ARM7 {which was even dated at the time} processor with speeds of up to 312 MHz. Now I did love having email received right to me at the time it was sent however I quickly had given up all hope of ever using the browser function.

Well at the start of this year I received my Blackberry Pearl 3G 9100. Let me tell you the difference is night and day. To give you an indication of the difference in feel between the two, it's like going from this



to this



This 9100 is equipped with the ARM 11 processor with speeds of 624MHz. 3G and now having GPS are also a plus, buttons, keys and trackpad are far more responsive, browser pages load within seconds, surfing from this mobile is easily achievable, you can scroll though pictures in your media file by just sliding the trackpad back & forth. You can access the manage connections folder by scrolling to the top right of the home screen {the signal strength bars are now selectable, just like the profile sounds on the left of your home screens}.

The one thing I will miss with the 8220 is the option to type a text then select who you wanna send it to. With the 9100 you must have a contact to start a text, which will be a bit of a problem for me as I've been know to hit send before finishing what I'm typing.

Overall with the week that I've this 9100 I have to say I'm pretty pleased with its performance, style & features. For any of you looking to upgrade in the immediate future you definitely don't wanna overlook this one.

[Tiassa]

I'd love to -- if T-Mobile USA would ever get it's head out of it's **** and offer the 9100.
Alternatively, i could get off of my **** and get one from CBW or Wind.

[Jaszman]

Thanks for the helpful post from a 8220 user about upgrading. I too have realized that upgrading to a new BB is inevitable. Love my 8220 but have had some trouble also. The difference between me and most BB owners is I pay full price for all my phones (by choice) and any info I find on the forums about upgrading is invaluable to me.

Would have loved to see the Style in a GSM phone, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon,

[BergerKing]

The Style is quite a pleasant change from Tour, as well. I'd really hope to see a GSM Style introduced, as well. The keyboard is roomer than the newer Bold versions. Keyboard locks with the flip. Nice speaker. Great Bluetooth volume. All 3 Wi-Fi bands. It's a really nice BlackBerry. Id also like to see the new Pearl on CDMA, I know folks that love the Pearl's form factor.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[hubermania]

Around Thanksgiving I became eligible for upgrade, and was tempted to snag a 9780 for under $60. Would have loved OS6, 5MP, and faster CPU. But when I tried one out at the local TMo shop, I found the keys too small for my liking. I also don't care much for the form factor. I'll have to stick with my Flip until the 9100 comes to TMo or the next crop of BlackBerry phones is in bloom.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Blade_27]

I can't begin to tell just how much I'm enjoying this device, I've waited for it since it's announcement and It's been well worth the wait.

I went with an unlocked Bell Wireless {Bell not being available where I live} on the Rogers Network {Rogers wanted $100 more for the color I didn't want} Bell has offered more hassle then I'd care to get into right now but the device itself has been an absolute treat to use.

A few more observations I'd like to add is

Text are in a chat like format. If your familiar with bbm's you'll be familiar with texting on the Pearl. I've mentioned the processor on the 8220 and how discouraging it was to use anything data related. Well with the 3G of the Pearl I used more data in the first day then I ever did in a whole month with the 8220, I'm dead serious! I do have a 500mb a month cap and I'm still below that if your concerned about overages. For those of you that use bbm group chat. I don't need to tell you about the lag you get when you try to open the chat, well that's nearly non-existent now. With the profiles you can individually select tones and volumes for each function, e.g. I have bbm's louder then I do group chats. Just a sexy, sexy little device.

Few of the downsides I'm still coming to terms with. No preview for text and bbm's, you'll get the audio tone and the red led but the screen will not light up and your not shown the contact messaging you. If the screen's black, it stays black. I have this set to lock on it's own when I'm not using it, just like my 8220. With the Pearl the pop up screen requesting you to unlock does block the section of the screen where it would indicate if you have incoming calls, messages and bbm icon's. So you have to actually unlock just to see if you do have messages. Something else I'm still getting used to is, as someone who uses multi-tap the timing to get to the keys alternate letters "R" "Y" "I" has somewhat increased. You literally have to stop, wait then proceed. As I've said in the first post, sending text. Yes I'm sending them prematurely now. Something I started doing when I first started texting. I countered that by typing the text first then when I was done the message I'd select the contact then send the massage. Unfortunately with the Pearl 3G you have to select the contact before you start your message.

As to why you'll all still here reading this. Go out right now and get yourself the 9100.

[nightflame]

i regret i changed from 8520 to 9780

[Jaszman]

Thanks again Blade, all good things to know when looking at phones.

[Tiassa]

Originally Posted by Blade_27

As to why you'll all still here reading this. Go out right now and get yourself the 9100.

I'd love to, but as I don't want to switch to AT&T and aren't willing to give up 3G my options are:
Wait for T-mo to pick it up (not likely)
Get it from Cinci Bell wireless (who won't ship to my state)
Get it from Wind Mobile (who won't ship to my country)
I've got a trip planned to Toronto, to watch a Red Sox game in "Fenway North" (aka the Rogers Center), and I'll probably pick it up then.

[Blade_27]

Sorry for the confusion but I gotta make some corrections. The first is regurading the alternate letters, what I meant to say is. You know how if you were say typing "Book". With the 8220 you type "B" "O" slow down, then "O " "K" with the 9100 it's "B" "O" stop! wait. then "O" "K". I'm still on a learning curve with this and noticed that the unlock menu screen blocking notification icons is easliy by-passed by just hitting the return key. Wakes the phone up while still remaining locked but gets rid of that pop up screen allowing you to see if you do have messages. So you don't have to unlock to see if you have messages.

Originally Posted by Tiassa

I'd love to, but as I don't want to switch to AT&T and aren't willing to give up 3G my options are:
Wait for T-mo to pick it up (not likely)
Get it from Cinci Bell wireless (who won't ship to my state)
Get it from Wind Mobile (who won't ship to my country)
I've got a trip planned to Toronto, to watch a Red Sox game in "Fenway North" (aka the Rogers Center), and I'll probably pick it up then.

This is just a heads up Tiassa, Rogers is charging $100 more and Bell... well Bell is... http://forums.crackberry.com/f160/2-hours-hold-571613/

If I could go back and do it again, I'd just go eBay or Amazon.

[Tiassa]

Originally Posted by Blade_27

:This is just a heads up Tiassa, Rogers is charging $100 more and Bell... well Bell is... http://forums.crackberry.com/f160/2-hours-hold-571613/

If I could go back and do it again, I'd just go eBay or Amazon.

I'm not sure what your point is. AFAIK Wind is the only Canadian vendor that uses the same 3g bands as T-mobile USA. My plan is to go to Toronto, catch a game or 2 in "Fenway North :-) ", spend a day at Woodbine Racetrack, and while I'm in Toronto, go to a Wind mobile store, buy a 9100, bring it home, get it unlocked and pop my SIM card into it. Hopefully the phone won't be "DOA" and I'll never have to deal witht Wind Mobile's CSRs.

[Blade_27]

Originally Posted by Tiassa

I'm not sure what your point is. AFAIK Wind is the only Canadian vendor that uses the same 3g bands as T-mobile USA. My plan is to go to Toronto, catch a game or 2 in "Fenway North :-) ", spend a day at Woodbine Racetrack, and while I'm in Toronto, go to a Wind mobile store, buy a 9100, bring it home, get it unlocked and pop my SIM card into it. Hopefully the phone won't be "DOA" and I'll never have to deal witht Wind Mobile's CSRs.

I was under the impression that were coming to Canada and getting a 9100. Two of the currently biggest Canadian outlets for the 9100 are Rogers & Bell. I just had to make sure that you knew that they were other options available.

If and when you do pick up a Wind device make sure you get the staff to at least make sure it powers up before leaving the store and making the trip back home. That could really save you a lot of hassle.

[Tiassa]

Originally Posted by Blade_27

I was under the impression that were coming to Canada and getting a 9100. Two of the currently biggest Canadian outlets for the 9100 are Rogers & Bell. I just had to make sure that you knew that they were other options available.

But Rogers and Bell use the same 3g bands as AT&T (ie not the ones that Tmo uses), right? So if I want a 9100 that will do 3g on TMo, my choice is Wind.

Originally Posted by Blade_27

If and when you do pick up a Wind device make sure you get the staff to at least make sure it powers up before leaving the store and making the trip back home. That could really save you a lot of hassle.

That's part of the plan, my current idea is to get a Wind prepaid phone (assuming they do prepaid) with a few minutes and use that in Toronto, then get it unlocked and dump the Wind SIM for my Tmo one.