[Kingdom_Living]

Hey Yall,

Well im contract free again, so its time for me to sign my life away for 2 more years, well anyways since its time for a new phone, im not sure which phone to get and which one will better fit my needs, I used to have a Bold and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT, I was using it on both ATT and T-Mobile, no problems on either network. Im currently using an iPhone 3g unlocked for t-mobile.
Heres what im looking for>

Must have BBM
Needs 3.5mm head phone jack
Something thats easy to Type on(I do around 250 text messages a day)
Stable Mp3 player
Nice screen(Something better than the 83XX series)
Something I can type on relatively easily, I liked both the Curve and World Edition, I have my doubts about the Storm, but i dunno, im willing to try it.
GPS is a Plus, but not needed
Decent Battery Life,or as good as my iPhone 3g lol

[pakman92]

Well, typing rules out Storm. If 3G is important go with Bold. Otherwise 8900 which has smaller form factor. IMHO

[litchblade]

I can agree with that, you should forget about the Storm right now. If you type that much you�ll go crazy trying to type 250 messages per day.

If you need 3G you�ll be fine with the Bold, if you can live without it you should have a closer look at the Curve 8900 which is smaller.

I use the 8900 Curve, I love it. My brother uses the Bold 9000 and he loves it aswell.
For me size matters, I am happy that my Curve is smaller than the bold, my brother needs 3G and therefore decides to go back to the Bold.

We both had the Storm before.

[Bajanbastard]

Yep. If 3G is important go Bold. I can tell you for a fact that the 8900 is faster than a 9000 on GPRS/EDGE. As for battery life im a very heavy BB user and my 8900 lasts for about 9-10 hours, barely acceptable.

[litchblade]

And the battery life will be even fixed more and more with upcoming firmware updates. The Bold has the same issues in the beginning.

My 8900 battery lasts like 12 hours in heavy usage without any break.

[NewOrleans7]

Since you want a phone you can type on, that pretty much rules out the Storm (and I'm sure you've had your touchscreen fix by now ). If you are in wifi areas most of the day, you could probably do without the 3G on the bold. I say if you're in wifi areas get the Javelin and if not get the Bold.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[crackcookie]

I have a question for this thread too. The Curve 2, since it lacks 3g, is it true it can not use voice and data at the same time? I think its a great phone spec and feel wise, but I think to pay $30 a month for just data, I should be able to at least go online while Im talking via bluetooth or through my headphones....ya kno?

[litchblade]

Its partwise true.
When you're surfing in the internet and a call is coming, the 8900 will stop surfing and get your call. But if you're downloading files from a web page or from an email, you cannot get a phone call until the download is finished as least as I know.

[JonL_TK]

I was just wondering if 3G would be needed if travelling to Japan.
I too am confused as to which model to get, either the 8900 or the 9000

[Bajanbastard]

Its partwise true.
When you're surfing in the internet and a call is coming, the 8900 will stop surfing and get your call. But if you're downloading files from a web page or from an email, you cannot get a phone call until the download is finished as least as I know.

Is that the case on your network? I get calls while downloading email attachments just fine.

[litchblade]

Why would you need 3G if you want to travel to Japan?
I don't think so :-)

Depends on what you want, I would go to some store and feel both in your hands, and then decide. It's all about size & 3G.

About getting calls while downloading: I didn't try it yet, but that is at least what 3G was all about. I am gonna try this later to be sure.

Regards,
Nils

[uberspeed]

I couldn't type fast on the Storm. I have tried it less than 10 times but I didn't feel my learning curve was improving any.
The 9000 I've used extensively and like it, though it's too large for me. That said it has 3G and I think it should (check into this) work in Japan.
I have yet to touch an 8900 but I think that it will feel similar to the current Curve series and I find it to be a very good fit size wise for me.
YMMV

[alely]

I'm pretty sure (correct me if I'm wrong) that Japan/Asia use a different 3g band than the US, just like Europe (not they same bands, but the fact that in Europe different 3g bands are used.)

[aristile]

Since you want a phone you can type on, that pretty much rules out the Storm (and I'm sure you've had your touchscreen fix by now ). If you are in wifi areas most of the day, you could probably do without the 3G on the bold. I say if you're in wifi areas get the Javelin and if not get the Bold.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I agree, this is good advice.

@OP - If you didn't have problems with the Bold's size when you were using it previously, then you may want to stick with it as it has 3G. I am not sure which carrier you are going with because you listed AT&T and T-mobile in your post and have Sprint/Nextel listed as your carrier but keep in mind that if you purchase an AT&T branded Bold you will lose the option to "turn off 3G". Keeping 3G on will drain your battery much faster as compared to having it off. This is also why the 8900 will have a longer battery life as compared to the Bold (all things being equal: OS, settings, etc) when the Bold has 3G enabled since the 8900 does not have 3G.

I have a question for this thread too. The Curve 2, since it lacks 3g, is it true it can not use voice and data at the same time? I think its a great phone spec and feel wise, but I think to pay $30 a month for just data, I should be able to at least go online while Im talking via bluetooth or through my headphones....ya kno?

3G enables you to access data, make phone calls and SMS text simultaneously while being connected to the carrier's network. With that being said, if you are connected to a WiFi hotspot, you can download data (using the browser for example) and make a phone call using the carrier's network even without a 3G phone. In this case, instead of using the one cellular connection over a 3G network, you are using two different connections on the phone simultaneously. I hope that made sense.

And the battery life will be even fixed more and more with upcoming firmware updates. The Bold has the same issues in the beginning.

My 8900 battery lasts like 12 hours in heavy usage without any break.

Exactly, and I agree. Each OS that has been released recently seems to be improving the battery life.

[AttaQ]

To the OP, why did you get rid of the Bold the first time, and what service are you going to use? Are you going to go between both AT&T and T-Mobile, or stick with one carrier this time?

Also, where are you going to use the phone? If you answer these questions, it will make it much easier to determine the best fit.

[Kingdom_Living]

To the OP, why did you get rid of the Bold the first time, and what service are you going to use? Are you going to go between both AT&T and T-Mobile, or stick with one carrier this time?

Also, where are you going to use the phone? If you answer these questions, it will make it much easier to determine the best fit.

Ok then heres my situation, I currently have both Sprint and T-Mobile, I have an old 3rd party line and primarily use my 8703 as a Modem, I have T-Mobile for personal use because i LOVE GSM, Im not bound to any contracts right now with T-Mobile, As far as using ATT, I Work for ATT, So I have a C.O.U. (company owned unit)however that can strictly be used for business use only, and My work also knows my servere addiction to cell phones so they stuck me with a samsung a 737, so ya thats a whole nother story. But as far as having the Bold, I absolutly loved it! I bought it outright before i had my job with ATT then i returned it hoping that i might get a bold, which i didnt. So now its back to a Blackberry, What ever device im going to get, im most likly going to unlock it so i have the option of using it on both T-Mobile and ATT, But keep in mind i will primarily be using it with T-Mobile, keep in mind, ive been using edge on the iPhone with T-zones and its not that bad i guess, because most places im in have wifi, yes 3g would be nice, but i can live with out it. Because Edge has been suffice when im in a jam and i dunno, lets say i needed to check facebook, or see when a movie is playing, just things like that. I know this is getting to the point where im writing a novel, but im just an extreemly picky person when it comes to phones, i want a Phone that can do it ALL, the iPhone comes pretty darn close, minus the crappy email, Crappy 5 hour Battery Life, and lack of a qwerty keyboard. So hope this helps, and thanks again guys, im trying to get a phone that i can stick with this time and stop switching back a forth every 3 weeks, lol

[aristile]

Thanks for the additional information, this really sheds more light onto your specific situation. Going by what you are saying I would recommend the 8900 and here's why. T-mobile is still working on their 3G network so it won't be immediately available to you. If you get another AT&T Bold, you can't turn off the 3G connection, so your battery life will suffer (of course you can always get an unlocked Rogers Bold). Being frequently around WiFi is also another reason to go with the 8900. On top of that the 8900 has improved EDGE technology that speeds up the EDGE network on that device - instead of having 2 channels, there are 8. Since you are not really a power web user on your phone, I think EDGE will definitely suffice for you.

I would like to add that both are great phones and you really can't go wrong with either. Since battery life seems important to you and given that you will frequently use multiple networks and are around WiFi, I would recommend the 8900. I will admit, that I am partial.

[AttaQ]

Going by what you are saying I would recommend the 8900 and here's why. T-mobile is still working on their 3G network so it won't be immediately available to you. If you get another AT&T Bold, you can't turn off the 3G connection, so your battery life will suffer (of course you can always get an unlocked Rogers Bold).

As usual, I agree with aristile 100%. I would say get an 8900 through T-Mobile when it drops - you will save a lot of money and it is a great device. Plus it will switch over to AT&T 100% with no issues, vs. trying to use a Bold on T-Mobile which will cost you battery life and lack of 3G ability.

Thanks for the additional info to help make a more informed recommendation.

[Kingdom_Living]

Well im still very unsure of what to do, i think i rather just out right buy the 8900 if i do get it, only because im sure i will get atlest $425 dollars for my unlocked 8gb 3g iPhone, but im in pickle, I absolutly loved my bold when i had it, but besides the OEM bold and the ATT having the ability to turn 3g off is there any other main differences besides the lovly red keypad and no ATT Logo crap?

[AttaQ]

I think those are the two big ones. But not being able to turn off 3G is a big one if you are not going to be using it on AT&T all the time, and you are concerned with battery life.... IMO.