[lharvey180]

... but it seems like the quality of blackberry has gone downhill...I had a pearl..loved it..took a beating always did what I asked of it.never had any problems...Upgraded to a Storm 2...slow...slow...slow! I couldn't use the internet in my house..froze...took forever to switch from portrait to landscape...anyways..returned it for a Curve 8330..Yeah its not the newest berry on the block but it works...feels solid like it can take being accidentally dropped..no problems!
Now, my sister in law just picked up the new curve...I can't believe how poorly put together this phone is. Trackpad is wobbly and doesn't sit flush..phone is creaky and just feels like its made as cheaply as possible, didn't even come with the standard leather sleeve. I don't know, I have to say I'm a little disapointed in new berry's that are being released..thoughts?

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[ls1norcal]

My biggest gripe with RIM is the piano black finishes on all their phones now. Looks great when it wiped down, pick it up and actually use it and it turns into a smudgy POS.

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[lharvey180]

I agree...makes me wonder what I will possibly upgrade to next when the time comes!

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[Sensesfail99]

I dont know... I mean the curve does feel cheap... i feel like ANY phone that has a "one piece" keyboard always feels cheap. I like when each key is its own individual key. Ive got the Storm 1 right now and i feel like all in all its a pretty tough phone... Its been dropped its fair share of times and still works. My complain with the storm is the same as everyone elses... not the phone itself, but the slow moving system and stuff.... As for what youve stated though.... I have feeling you might be one of those people who are never happy.... The phone seems cheap... if the phone was made not as "cheap" and it raised the price of the phone because they had to use "better" parts you would then gripe about the price of the phone... so either way its a lose lose for blackberry. >_<

[Reed McLay]

I own and use both a Pearl and Curve, lots of hours on each and the are both absolutely reliable.

Keyboard wobble on the Curve? Some tiny amount of flex exists because the keys are mounted on a carrier over the logic board contacts. It is normal and in no way impacts the "build quality".

phone is creaky ...

Has it ever been disassembled and put back together? Correctly assembled, they don't creak.

I can not speak to the Storm issues, but the Curve and Pearl are solid.

[lharvey180]

...Yes, I am fussy when it comes to my phones. But as far as "never being happy" I stated in my first post that I was happy with my pearl and curve. I was simply stating that build quality and service quality with newer blackberry's seem to be going down..
Look at all the issuesd with the Storm 1 when it was released, with the Tour etc..etc..If you were to handle the Curve and the Curve 2 I think you would notice a difference in the quality.

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[1mangoo]

I feel the plastic door on my 8900 scratches alot easier than any other past generation of blackberries. Other than that, I would say the build quality is still superb.

[diegonei]

My biggest gripe with RIM is the piano black finishes on all their phones now. Looks great when it wiped down, pick it up and actually use it and it turns into a smudgy POS.

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Having a 8520, I more than know what you mean.
But still, I wouldn't say that's 'a drop' on quality...

[es_bih]

It dropped starting with the 8700 I believe. The 7290 and 7100t I have are very well built. The keyboard wobble and loose battery door are present on the 8700. The 8900, the 8300, and the 9630 got battery door problems to an extent (the 8300 less so). Etc. Etc. I did have to exchange my 9700 because of the bezel coming apart. That is inexcusable. If WM released a candybar style phone, with a high res screen I'd strongly consider one. The S620 I had was amazing in quality so was the BlackJack.

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[ilovemileyyy]

The top buttons on my Tour sound a bit creaky, and you can see some light shine through by the bezel. And the battery door wiggles. But it works fine, so it doesn't bother me much.

[paddygirl16]

I have had 2 curves 8310 and 8330 and these both phones were extremely solid. And believe you me, I put some major hours and abuse on both. I now have the 9700 and I love it. I think it is extremely solid. I think with everything, when demand gets high, the manufacturers have to meet up with those demands and produce a solid phone, but quickly. Look at cars, they aint like what our Grandparents drove, but the cars we have today go faster and have alot more features.

[avt123]

My 9000 was built great and so was my 8330 before it. When I bought the 9700, it felt great in hand and seemed like it should have build quality. I went through 4 replacements and returned it. Ever since the 9000 series like Civic said, build quality really has dropped.

My Bold 9000 does have some ripples in the screen, but only if you press and try to make it ripple. Everything else is great. Everything after that though really is pretty badly made. Hopefully RIM does something about this.

[Bmelt1]

It dropped starting with the 8700 I believe. The 7290 and 7100t I have are very well built. The keyboard wobble and loose battery door are present on the 8700. The 8900, the 8300, and the 9630 got battery door problems to an extent (the 8300 less so). Etc. Etc. I did have to exchange my 9700 because of the bezel coming apart. That is inexcusable. If WM released a candybar style phone, with a high res screen I'd strongly consider one. The S620 I had was amazing in quality so was the BlackJack.

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I agree 100%

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[rayzryd266]

I've had the 8330, 9530 and now the 9550. Didn't have issues with any of them as far as quality - but I spent a good amount of time inspecting them in the stores and online before I made my decision. I think the build quality is fine for what it is...a portable phone/data tool. I think some people miss the point sometimes.

On the other hand, I do understand some of the gripes - I would like a better browser for one. And if I had a creaking phone that wouldn't do, but I haven't experienced any of that up to this point. Guess I should consider myself lucky.

[bluz]

I have used only 1 BB and am pretty satisfied with it's build quality;however,the build of the Nokias especially the E71 does make me feel envious.

[davidnc]

Same here. I have only had one BB , the one I am currently using 8330 on vzw.It is performing much better then the phone I had so happy with.Although that could be view is the phone I had was REALLY even more of a POS

For real tho satisfied with my BB ! (tour2 next ? ,one maybe)

[JRSCCivic98]

I think the big difference here is that RIM's used to coming from platic page POS designs, whereas other "true" smartphones come from much better design companies and have much better fit and finish. This isn't true with all of them, but I think if you take someone like me and give me different examples of other smartphones and also BBs, I will most likely find faults in both camps, but I guarantee you I will find more fault with in the BB line then anything else. I think what we're overlooking is the fact that Blackberry is really a "cheap" smartphone line. It may be used by a bunch of people, but it's a cheap line. The phones are almost 100% plastic in design and that's what makes them cheap. Sure, you can have a plastic phone, but I just feel like when I pick up other phones, they are made to be so much more asthetically pleasing. Blackberry devices even have panels that hare held on with nothing more then two sided sticky tape and peel off if the phone is not maticulously taken care of over time. That to me is bullisht design and cheaping out. RIM has a long way to go when it comes to better fit and finish on their designs and build structure. If you don't believe this, take a look at a few videos of BBs being taken apart and then take a look at other smartphones being taken apart and you'll see what I'm talking about.

BTW, even my old 8830 had a loose battery door problem. I just don't understand WHY RIM lets this sort of stuff slide out the door. I mean, it would be like if you bought a laptop who's battery constanty fell off. WTF RIM!?

[es_bih]

Simple. Its an enterprise line - the enterprise buys a whole bunch, too many for the IT to give a damn about a loose battery door, and with people who are getting them for free to use. With consumers who pay good money you get complaints, and soon enough drops once the hype wears off.

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[Hot94Z28#CB]

I think the build quality of my Storm 2 is better than the 8320 or the 8900 I had. The battery door is at least metal instead of plastic.

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[oasissux]

Blackberries are among the most durable smartphones available. How, exactly, does that translate to poor build quality? But hey, when you're selling millions upon millions of units, I guess a few are bound to have some problems. I think this is just another whiny, nitpicker thread filled with the same whiny, nitpickers.

[R1cE]

I think the weight went down a little bit. I think the 9700 quality is "OK," but if it felt like my 8900, then i would have jumped on it. I want that weighty feel.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

I haven't seen a drop in quality among the BlackBerry devices. I believe that they are getting better. I don't believe that they are. Advancing at the rate of other smartphone manufacturers. The evolution of the keyboard on the BlackBerrys have been tremendous. Although partual to the 8330 keyboard, I think the overhaul was a great direction. The screen resolution on the devices has made a considerable difference in the device's presentation. I also like the fact that the devices are all coming in black. These are the best BlackBerrys to date, just not on par with some of the other manufacturers.

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