[SanDiegoBBboy]

I've been reading reviews, playing with them both in the store--it's such a hard choice! I'm currently a Verizon customer very likely to switch to ATT for either the Fuze or Blackberry Bold (the Storm is not for me, and their Fuze is nerfed). Also, I'm a business user who needs to get email from an exchange server (but not authorized to use BES for my company), but I also have a fair amount of experience tweaking and doing reg edits and the like (I read someone before talking about power users vs. normal users).

There's two key things I'm looking for, and one optional:
1) Reliability--I want to be able to do emailing, calling, and texting without constant resets, loosing draft messages, it freezing, etc. I currently have a BB 8830 Word Edition, and that sucker freezes up for 15-20 seconds when the calendar reminder pops up!

2) Ease of messaging--I want a full QWERTY keyboard so I can quickly fire out text messages and emails (and the ability to quickly navigate to the New message or Reply buttons in my Inbox)

3) Optional: Music/Multimedia--I want to be able to listen to my MP3s on the device without having to carry around another gadget. And it would be nice to have something I could be listening to in the gym without looking like a fool.

4) Optional: GPS/Other cool apps--I would like the ability to use my device for other things, like getting the weather, surfing the net, getting directions, looking up restaurant reviews/yelp, etc.

Thank you to everyone in advance for their opinions! Just please explain why you'd recommend I go with one over the other...

[saravananjay]

I can vouch for pretty sure that when it comes to reliability and ease of messaging with a QWERTY, nothing can beat blackberry. Trust me I have tried a few QWERTY WinMo PDAs and have traded them to get my BB back.

May be just that your old 8820 was a defective piece. Try the BOLD, it is just awesome!

[anon(5336015)]

My brief Windows Mobile experience is what got me into BlackBerries in the first place. I was using Windows Mobile 5, though. I had to hard reset my phone about 5 times in less than a week, and I lost everything each time. Totally unreliable. I had to hack the registry to do simple things like change system sounds (who wants a deafening startup sound on their smartphone, anyway?), and then the phone became unstable. The main good thing about Windows phones is their customizability, but I encountered complications and problems anytime I tried to add programs or change settings via the registry.

Your 8830 problem sounds like low memory, although maybe you've worked on that already.

BlackBerries are a good balance between customizability and reliability. There are some things I wish I could change to be how I like them, but most of the features I would want came built into the operating system.

Multimedia on the Bold is pretty sweet. My Windows Mobile phone came with a media player, but it would crash constantly.

I personally wouldn't try to use a phone as a media player while working out, but I use it all the time during my commute.

As for ease of use, BlackBerry puts a lot of effort into user testing, from what I can tell. Most times when you hit a menu key, the item you want to use is already highlighted. Most apps have a good set of keyboard shortcuts associated with them that make navigation a breeze.

Any device is a compromise, but BlackBerry is definitely the best fit for me.

Josh

[VoltaicShock]

The Bold is a great phone:

1. It won't lock up on you. It has with Flycast but that is still in Beta so it's expected. I had the 8830WE don't get me started on that - lol

2. Messaging is easy. The only thing I wish it had was true threaded SMS.

3. It will play all DRM free music from iTunes and the headphones are great.

4. There are a lot of apps, way to many to list but here are some. AccuWeather (push weather), Opera Mini (Which I have never liked), Google Maps, AmazeGPS.

[Bretski]

I've been reading reviews, playing with them both in the store--it's such a hard choice! I'm currently a Verizon customer very likely to switch to ATT for either the Fuze or Blackberry Bold (the Storm is not for me, and their Fuze is nerfed). Also, I'm a business user who needs to get email from an exchange server (but not authorized to use BES for my company), but I also have a fair amount of experience tweaking and doing reg edits and the like (I read someone before talking about power users vs. normal users).

There's two key things I'm looking for, and one optional:
1) Reliability--I want to be able to do emailing, calling, and texting without constant resets, loosing draft messages, it freezing, etc. I currently have a BB 8830 Word Edition, and that sucker freezes up for 15-20 seconds when the calendar reminder pops up!

2) Ease of messaging--I want a full QWERTY keyboard so I can quickly fire out text messages and emails (and the ability to quickly navigate to the New message or Reply buttons in my Inbox)

3) Optional: Music/Multimedia--I want to be able to listen to my MP3s on the device without having to carry around another gadget. And it would be nice to have something I could be listening to in the gym without looking like a fool.

4) Optional: GPS/Other cool apps--I would like the ability to use my device for other things, like getting the weather, surfing the net, getting directions, looking up restaurant reviews/yelp, etc.

Thank you to everyone in advance for their opinions! Just please explain why you'd recommend I go with one over the other...

Been there done that.....I recently tried the Fuze and I will list for you the reasons I did not like the phone in comparison to the Bold.

FUZE

The "touch flow" to me responded very slow.
If you want to text or email quickly, you need two hands. (Had to slide out qwerty keyboard.)
The phone is literally "heavy."
In ability to choose customization for the phone with regard to appearance.
Call quality was ok.
Too many steps to get into the programs you desire.
I kind of like the size, yet the Bold's screen was easier to read and was much more pleasure to look at.
The keyboard was too much for me. Too many buttons and function options to consider when typing.
When using touch floe, I would have a hard time when trying to scroll. When I occasionally tried to scroll, I would end up selecting a program because I really needed to press down some on the screen to get it to scroll.

Bold

Quick responsive when trying to text or email.
Crisp, bright, easy to read screen.
Faster CPU 624 vs 528 mhz.
Capable of GPS, WIFI, Bluetooth, and 3G.
Lighter unit in terms of holding the phone to my head or texting.
Easy navagation of programs and highly customizable.
Able to obtain various multi media, GPS, and other communications programs.
Great sound from internal speaker.
No file system per se. You can hook the Bold to the computer and use the windows file system to organize the SD card and move files around. (Im not sure about MAC)

All in all, Fuze is a good phone and can do many of the same things the Bold does. IMO it just takes longer and the form factor is not for me. After doing my research, I have found that when you count features, form factors, and ease of use, it beats the competition hands down. Personally, I love the Bold and am very happy with all it can do.

[dtaylor279]

I have both...
I had the att tilt prior to going to the bold..
let me tell you there is no comparison!
The reason I have both is because I had a tilt and warranty traded it in...
here is the basic difference i notice..
sound quality.. with the tilt and fuze.. people talking to you can hear a pin drop... but it doesn't sound like a pin.. its a bomb!
Changing ringtones, getting through apps.. many steps.. I have worked with windows 5 and 6 and 6.1.
if you don't have your blue tooth handy... good luck laying that touch screen on your ear... god knows who else you will call, activate, or what ever.. a real pain.
many steps just to text.... tap this.. then slide... then... just alot really
ONE THING THAT REALLY ANNOYED ME IS IF YOU ARE USING WINDOWS MOBILE DEVICE CENTER WITH VISTA (ACTIVE SYNC ISN'T COMPATIBLE WITH VISTA).. YOU CANNOT SYNC BOTH DEVICE AND PC... YOU HAVE TO CHANGE ONE OR THE OTHER... THEY DON'T UPDATE EACH OTHER!!!
very annoying.
I understand the need to edit docs and ppt.. i wanted that too.. but after a few times of the hassle... i found myself just loading on to a lap top and then doing it..

so far I have had my bold for a week and with the addition of a little software.. (that runs much better and with ease)..
I wont be going back!
Good luck to you!
And the other negatives the previous post stated... I completely agree...

[SanDiegoBBboy]

Thanks to all the great info...looks like I'm going to make the switch to the Bold!

For anyone reading this, Amazon is offering a SWEET deal through the end of December...

[Crackburry]

You can't go wrong, either way. It's a matter of personal preference. I like my Bold, but I would not min having a Fuze at all. Spend some time with each phone. Remember, there is usually a 14 or 30 day return policy depending on where you are.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[tnewton3]

I've been reading reviews, playing with them both in the store--it's such a hard choice! I'm currently a Verizon customer very likely to switch to ATT for either the Fuze or Blackberry Bold (the Storm is not for me, and their Fuze is nerfed). Also, I'm a business user who needs to get email from an exchange server (but not authorized to use BES for my company), but I also have a fair amount of experience tweaking and doing reg edits and the like (I read someone before talking about power users vs. normal users).

There's two key things I'm looking for, and one optional:
1) Reliability--I want to be able to do emailing, calling, and texting without constant resets, loosing draft messages, it freezing, etc. I currently have a BB 8830 Word Edition, and that sucker freezes up for 15-20 seconds when the calendar reminder pops up!

2) Ease of messaging--I want a full QWERTY keyboard so I can quickly fire out text messages and emails (and the ability to quickly navigate to the New message or Reply buttons in my Inbox)

3) Optional: Music/Multimedia--I want to be able to listen to my MP3s on the device without having to carry around another gadget. And it would be nice to have something I could be listening to in the gym without looking like a fool.

4) Optional: GPS/Other cool apps--I would like the ability to use my device for other things, like getting the weather, surfing the net, getting directions, looking up restaurant reviews/yelp, etc.

Thank you to everyone in advance for their opinions! Just please explain why you'd recommend I go with one over the other...

I have had both devices in hand and spent time with the two live models surfing the web using most of the features. Being an employee for AT&T this is something I must do before selling the phones.

1. Reliability of the Bold compared to the Fuze isn't really comparable at all. I have been running the Bold personally for a couple days now only but no freezes or anything like that. Emails coming through beautifully and Docs to Go puts up my attachments in a very easy to view format. With the new processor running on the Bold you will not see freezes with pulling up reminders or alarms or tasks. The Fuze is still in it's baby stages as a device, the model that we were selling in our store that is no longer a pre-production model was running very glitchy and wasn't too fast pulling up web pages, weather and generally surfing the web.

2. Ease of use while texting and emailing is where the new Bold excels. I can't beleive how much I love the new fretted keyboard. You can use quick option buttons for your email and texts if you want. Personally I have BB messenger on the right side and text on the left. To get into those messages is just one key press away.

3. Your Bold will sync 40 times faster than your ipod will with your itunes and your itunes don't even have to be open in order to sync. The Fuze is easy to load media as well and may support a wider range with it being windows media but you can't come close to the speakers on the bold or the headphones that it comes with.

4. 3rd party apps are amazing on the Bold as well as other cool things you can download: themes, wallpapers, ringtones (all mostly for free). Fuze will have the ability to use HTC's OS or Windows it is a very technical phone. I know a couple IT guys that love this phone because of it's capabilities.

For the things you described that you wanted to do I would say the Bold wins by a long shot. If you don't know we give a 30 day trial on devices you can try the bold and fuze before you make your final decision.

(Try to Fuze first because if you start with the Bold you probably won't want to bring it back)

Good luck .

[yokken]

I absolutely loved the keyboard on the Fuze. Probably the biggest thing that turned me towards the Bold instead of the Fuze was the slowness of the WinMo 6.1 interface. TouchFLO 3D lagged like crap for me on the demo phone, and whenever I tried to enter a URL of my own into the browser, it'd crash as soon as I hit backspace to enter something in.

It's almost certainly slow because it's demo and it's being used by everyone, but I want a demo phone that's going to operate like the real thing, and the Bold worked great.