[cdfitzsimons]

Well, this is my very first post, but a heartbreaking one...

Late in January I finally got the nerve to leave Sprint and sign up with AT&T. My phone of choice was my very first BlackBerry. I bought the BlackBerry Curve 8310, and fell in love with it. (MUCH better than my old cheap flip phone.)

Flash forward to two weeks ago. In a truly bizarre chain of events involving a faulty SIM card, stronger than normal magnet in the holster, a scratched screen, an inept salesperson at AT&T, and a shady "repair" shop that severely damaged my screen after 4 attempts to fix it, I had to replace my phone. Given how outrageously bizarre the situation was (too long a story to tell), it was replaced for free, and by a miracle I received a new phone rather than a refurbished phone.

Tonight I was walking down the street, phone in hand in a different holster (the sleeve), when suddenly in a freak accident it flies out of the holster! It skidded 50 feet on the concrete after crashing hard. Needless to say, it's annihilated. No part of the housing is salvageable, several of the buttons are broken, and the button to press to remove the battery door is crushed in, meaning to remove the battery and SIM card requires prying the phone open. I can't manually dial numbers anymore, but can still call preprogrammed numbers. Miraculously, the screen didn't get scratched at all! Still, my replacement phone is destroyed after only 7 days, before the original phone has even reached its final destination in the mail!

Needless to say, I have been crying much of the evening, as I couldn't make it to any store in time, and my finances are going to take a huge hit in replacing the phone. I've never had such horrible luck with a phone before! Hopefully the third Curve's the charm! It's horrible, though, to be on my third phone in three months! I was so careful, too... I wouldn't even let others TOUCH my phone! Thank goodness I was able to save the SD and SIM cards. I was very lucky, as the latches were jammed and broken.

So yeah, it's been a devastating time...

[flairbrtndr3]

you could order a whole new housing and i think keyboard from Cellular Accessories - HTC, Sony, Acer, Nokia, SonyEricsson, Alcatel, BlackBerry, Samsung, NEC, Dopod/O and it will save you money over buying a whole new phone

[flairbrtndr3]

yup i just checked you can get the whole housing including side rails and keyboard and then get the batterydoor release button all for about $50

[cdfitzsimons]

Thanks... this is a good site. Unfortunately I need my phone working sooner than immediately, and with my crazy schedule I have no time to completely reconstruct my phone, as fun as that would be for me. Also after my horrific disaster at the "repair" shop which led to the first replacement, I'm wary of reconstructed phones. Thankfully, my birthday is coming up next month, so I'm hoping for some birthday money to make up for this...

[flairbrtndr3]

sorry, does anyone you know have an extra phone you could use until the parts or new phone gets there... putting the parts on is easy

[cdfitzsimons]

Nobody...

I'm just trying to look at one bright side to all this. By chance, we're having a cell phone drive at work this week, donating all used cell phones in any condition for recycling, so they can be given to the elderly and poor... Always trying to think positively... I think that's what's keeping me from being too sick over this.

[flairbrtndr3]

thats cool, karma is a good thing when its positive lol

[boomerbsg]

when you do get your new phone.. might i suggest this:
OtterBox Defender Series for BlackBerry 8300 Series - ShopCrackBerry
may prevent a repeat of this again.

i just ordered one for my pearl 8130 (in all black.. really wanted the yellow, but wouldnt fit with my job attire)

[Solachica]

Oh my ! You got some terrible luck there.

[4x4 geek]

I totally agree with Boomer on the Otterbox. I'm pretty rough and tumble with my gadgets and my 8830 is still looking pristine after several drops and getting banged against things at work.
Fair warning though, it will bulk up your BB.

Good luck with the Bday cash, have to finance the addiction somehow!