1. Jake-44's Avatar
    After 17 months of getting good service from my 8350i (except of course the texting issues, the s l o w iDen network and other problems), I Just purchased the Bold 9650 and wave good-bye to Nextel.

    I have had a Nextel phone, of one type or another, for the last 15 years and must admit, I will miss the direct connect - best option on any phone around. I want to thank all you crackheads that assisted me and others to resolve problems with the 8350i - could not have done it without the cooperative help I always found useful in the Crackberry Forums.

    Good luck with Nextel, it was once the best provider around, now it appears it may just wither away into oblivion. Sad.
    05-16-10 11:46 AM
  2. BergerKing's Avatar
    Unfortunately, the 8350i was always kind of a stepchild locked in a room with few toys and thrown some gruel underneath a locked door. But you should enjoy your new Bold, that's quite an upgrade. I'll continue with the Tour a few months and see where December lands us.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-16-10 12:03 PM
  3. Jim Dirt's Avatar
    Gonna miss ya Jake...but im right behind you in July...leave the light on.
    05-16-10 02:53 PM
  4. MSIXTEEN's Avatar
    Another one bites the dust


    Good luck

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-16-10 03:01 PM
  5. juttin3's Avatar
    I've been with nextel 9 years ,orderd 9650 today. sprint just stopped caring about nextel and never kept it up to date

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-16-10 03:22 PM
  6. jdavis530's Avatar
    This very well could be my last week with the BB 8350i. I am going to give up on BlackBerry and make the move to the iphone. Many thanks to the crackberry community for all the tips and tricks and information revolving around BB's and the 8350i. Time to move on.
    05-17-10 11:08 AM
  7. Laura Knotek's Avatar
    This very well could be my last week with the BB 8350i. I am going to give up on BlackBerry and make the move to the iphone. Many thanks to the crackberry community for all the tips and tricks and information revolving around BB's and the 8350i. Time to move on.
    I hope you enjoy your iPhone. Truthfully, any device on a network that is not iDEN would be better. It's not the BlackBerry that is bad. It is the sloooww iDEN network.

    Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab
    05-17-10 01:02 PM
  8. monsoon#IM's Avatar
    I've got a bit of a different approach, I am tired of the Nextel/Blackberry situation as far as texting issues I don't care but what does bother me is the lack of updates and feeling of abandonment! But on the flip-side Blackberry is hands down the only phone worth getting if you are in any kind of business, and furthermore the Nextel network is the only network to have if you ever work outside of a cubicle!!! So needless to say I will stay with Nextel and the 8350i for a long time!!!!

    But I am going to bite off on the 4G hype and purchase an EVO when it releases on June 4th and with the help of Google Voice I will be rocking one **** of a duo! The EVO offers a portable wifi hotspot feature so if I get the urge no matter where I am my 8350 can leach the wifi off of it!

    I know to 99% of those who read this will think it's the dumbest thing they've ever heard, but those are the people who don't NEED Nextel and direct connect. The rest of you Nextel junkies might see it my way?!
    05-17-10 05:15 PM
  9. cputoys's Avatar
    I've got a bit of a different approach, I am tired of the Nextel/Blackberry situation as far as texting issues I don't care but what does bother me is the lack of updates and feeling of abandonment! But on the flip-side Blackberry is hands down the only phone worth getting if you are in any kind of business, and furthermore the Nextel network is the only network to have if you ever work outside of a cubicle!!! So needless to say I will stay with Nextel and the 8350i for a long time!!!!

    But I am going to bite off on the 4G hype and purchase an EVO when it releases on June 4th and with the help of Google Voice I will be rocking one **** of a duo! The EVO offers a portable wifi hotspot feature so if I get the urge no matter where I am my 8350 can leach the wifi off of it!

    I know to 99% of those who read this will think it's the dumbest thing they've ever heard, but those are the people who don't NEED Nextel and direct connect. The rest of you Nextel junkies might see it my way?!

    So what kind of pricing are ya talking about here? Whose 4g? Sprint? I too must have the PTT - so will always have some sort of Nextel device. But I really can't stand the thought of having to carry multiple phones. I know lots of people who do it (and apparently get used to it) but it's not for me. Frankly, don't know what to do!
    05-17-10 08:44 PM
  10. chesterhound's Avatar
    Monsoon:

    I am with you on Nextel! There is a lot of bashing going on (some deserved) with the 8350i. But for those of us who need/want the DC, it is the best thing going. True, iDen is old and slow, but it's also proven. It works some places where other phones don't/won't. I think those of us who stay with Nextel accept its liabilities. Maybe someday Sprint will show us some love!

    chesterhound
    05-17-10 09:31 PM
  11. anon973381's Avatar
    I'm in the same boat as a few of you...

    The difference is that I put myself here. I'm a BES admin and have a Storm 2 and a Tour for work that I really only care about when something is broken and while walking around work.

    For personal devices my wife and I both use 8350i's.

    We really only use DC between eachother because it doesn't feel so illegal driving... When we are in a rush to get a message across its nice to have too... I suppose going up to Canada is also a reason to be on iDEN for the DC instead of having to call each other while roaming and free data... Anyway... Its all for personal use and it completes the BlackBerry device as an ultimate communicator.

    Once 4G BlackBerry devices roll out and PTT is incorporated into something like BBM I must say that my iDEN patriotism will start to peel away real fast.

    Who knows, if the BlackBerry tablet like device makes it's way to market I may very well be just fine coasting along with the 8350i connected to Clear WiMAX through my Cradlepoint hotspot... Hopefully another couple new devices land for us iDEN users yet.
    05-17-10 10:31 PM
  12. tflb's Avatar
    I've got a bit of a different approach, I am tired of the Nextel/Blackberry situation as far as texting issues I don't care but what does bother me is the lack of updates and feeling of abandonment! But on the flip-side Blackberry is hands down the only phone worth getting if you are in any kind of business, and furthermore the Nextel network is the only network to have if you ever work outside of a cubicle!!! So needless to say I will stay with Nextel and the 8350i for a long time!!!!

    But I am going to bite off on the 4G hype and purchase an EVO when it releases on June 4th and with the help of Google Voice I will be rocking one **** of a duo! The EVO offers a portable wifi hotspot feature so if I get the urge no matter where I am my 8350 can leach the wifi off of it!

    I know to 99% of those who read this will think it's the dumbest thing they've ever heard, but those are the people who don't NEED Nextel and direct connect. The rest of you Nextel junkies might see it my way?!
    Me too, the EVO will be the best phone on the planet (for a while anyway).
    05-18-10 10:31 AM
  13. Rockdog97's Avatar
    Me too, the EVO will be the best phone on the planet (for a while anyway).
    Our company just made the switch (back) to Nextel and we got the 8350i...while the tech was swapping all the phones, she hands a phone and says this isn't even out yet, but I was selected as a test subject.. she hands me the EVO!

    Holly guacamole! What a PHONE! I was impressed! The HD screen was vivid clear and HUGE! it was lightning fast. It was substantially heavier that the HTC Incredible, but not overly heavy. but that screen! that was simply amazing...
    05-19-10 12:08 PM
  14. MSIXTEEN's Avatar
    Long live nextel. On the blue collar market

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-19-10 03:46 PM
  15. cjac2879's Avatar
    Monsoon:

    I am with you on Nextel! There is a lot of bashing going on (some deserved) with the 8350i. But for those of us who need/want the DC, it is the best thing going. True, iDen is old and slow, but it's also proven. It works some places where other phones don't/won't. I think those of us who stay with Nextel accept its liabilities. Maybe someday Sprint will show us some love!

    chesterhound
    I live in Northern New England, and am a boost mobile customer.. I have wanted a blackberry for a long time, but couldnt come to grips with paying the outrages fees for aphone.. Now on the boost plan I can get a cheap data plan, and a blackberry.. Only problem is IDEN is the most reliable band in my area, and CDMA is about 1/3 of the coverage, so the 8350I and nextel coverage are the best option for me, and I am in love with the 8350I (my first BB), and the data I get from boost.. Yes the internet is slower than 3G, but for free, why would I complain... I have no texting issues, my go through fast, and I receive just as fast, gps works with no issues.. Im in love..

    The only thing I cant figure out is why i didnt do this a long time ago and save me a ton of money
    05-19-10 04:43 PM
  16. lawden's Avatar
    I live in Northern New England, and am a boost mobile customer.. I have wanted a blackberry for a long time, but couldnt come to grips with paying the outrages fees for aphone.. Now on the boost plan I can get a cheap data plan, and a blackberry.. Only problem is IDEN is the most reliable band in my area, and CDMA is about 1/3 of the coverage, so the 8350I and nextel coverage are the best option for me, and I am in love with the 8350I (my first BB), and the data I get from boost.. Yes the internet is slower than 3G, but for free, why would I complain... I have no texting issues, my go through fast, and I receive just as fast, gps works with no issues.. Im in love..

    The only thing I cant figure out is why i didnt do this a long time ago and save me a ton of money
    Well a year and a half and 7 8350is later, my experience is that your case is the exception and not the rule. I am planning on ditching this Nextel POS as soon as I can. DC is a necessity for my job but I'm sure whatever money I lose by dropping my DC has to be comparable to the money I've already lost thanks to dropped DC calls, lost messages, etc. I think I have put in more work and time than most concerning this phone and I'm done.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-19-10 05:13 PM
  17. anon973381's Avatar
    Well a year and a half and 7 8350is later, my experience is that your case is the exception and not the rule. I am planning on ditching this Nextel POS as soon as I can. DC is a necessity for my job but I'm sure whatever money I lose by dropping my DC has to be comparable to the money I've already lost thanks to dropped DC calls, lost messages, etc. I think I have put in more work and time than most concerning this phone and I'm done.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    I wouldn't say that his experience is an exception to the rule at all.

    The overall satisfaction is quite high from the 8350i and the market has received it well. I administer over 1200 8350i BlackBerry devices among even larger numbers of Verizon devices.

    There are limitations with the iDEN network data/voice/dispatch session wise that RIM cannot change. Having browser push subscriptions, third party apps using any data and possibly being in a fringe coverage area spell certain disaster for a BlackBerry device on the iDEN network.

    Hope you find another device or network that suits your needs better when your contract is up.
    05-19-10 11:17 PM
  18. Jake-44's Avatar
    Update: My Bold 9650 arrived on Monday and its an impressive phone. It took me a few days to get used to the keyboard as the "feel" is much different than the 8350i, expecially for users like me with with large fingers. The trackpad is very responsive and easy to use, but again, it takes some practice as the pad is very sensitive.

    Call clarity is great and the battery life seems a little better than the 8350i. The wifi works flawlessly and browsing the web at 3G makes me feel like I just switched from a dial up modem to a DSL line - the speed is awesome compared to the old iDen network.

    I do miss the NextMail feature though, that was a great savior when I had to dictate a quick letter to my secretary or leave a message for my wife about why I was out late with my cronies (much better than calling home with a phoney excuse and suffering the instant wrath of "she who must be obeyed").

    All in all I am happy with the switch but still find myself trying to hit the DC button on occassion, LOL. If Sprint ever upgrades the iDen newtork to increase browsing speeds or created a hybrid phone with DC integrated on a 3G phone, "I'll be back!"

    Oh, by the way, texting is fast and works perfectly. No red X's at all.
    05-21-10 05:55 AM
  19. HawaiiD's Avatar
    After 17 months of getting good service from my 8350i (except of course the texting issues, the s l o w iDen network and other problems), I Just purchased the Bold 9650 and wave good-bye to Nextel.

    I have had a Nextel phone, of one type or another, for the last 15 years and must admit, I will miss the direct connect - best option on any phone around. I want to thank all you crackheads that assisted me and others to resolve problems with the 8350i - could not have done it without the cooperative help I always found useful in the Crackberry Forums.

    Good luck with Nextel, it was once the best provider around, now it appears it may just wither away into oblivion. Sad.
    Hay jake same boat as you! Coming this June 4th or a couple of days later?
    i will be a new owner of the HTC Evo. Good luck with your Bold!
    05-22-10 12:02 AM
  20. Jake-44's Avatar
    Hay jake same boat as you! Coming this June 4th or a couple of days later?
    i will be a new owner of the HTC Evo. Good luck with your Bold!
    A friend of mine owns a local Sprint store and he is getting a new EVO also, keep us posted how the new EVO stacks up, from what I hear it will be on the cutting edge to compete with the iPhone. Hope you enjoy it.
    05-22-10 08:04 AM
  21. lawden's Avatar
    Update: My Bold 9650 arrived on Monday and its an impressive phone. It took me a few days to get used to the keyboard as the "feel" is much different than the 8350i, expecially for users like me with with large fingers. The trackpad is very responsive and easy to use, but again, it takes some practice as the pad is very sensitive.

    Call clarity is great and the battery life seems a little better than the 8350i. The wifi works flawlessly and browsing the web at 3G makes me feel like I just switched from a dial up modem to a DSL line - the speed is awesome compared to the old iDen network.

    I do miss the NextMail feature though, that was a great savior when I had to dictate a quick letter to my secretary or leave a message for my wife about why I was out late with my cronies (much better than calling home with a phoney excuse and suffering the instant wrath of "she who must be obeyed").

    All in all I am happy with the switch but still find myself trying to hit the DC button on occassion, LOL. If Sprint ever upgrades the iDen newtork to increase browsing speeds or created a hybrid phone with DC integrated on a 3G phone, "I'll be back!"

    Oh, by the way, texting is fast and works perfectly. No red X's at all.
    Jake
    I am with you as well as soon as I can upgrade. I think the only people who will eventually own this phone are people who had it given to them. I was comparing the bold with the evo and the deciding factor was me not being in a 4 G area. Why have a phone when you can't use it to it's full potential? I'll wait for the 4 G coverage and then pull the trigger on a device like that.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-22-10 10:28 AM
  22. Jake-44's Avatar
    Jake
    I am with you as well as soon as I can upgrade. I think the only people who will eventually own this phone are people who had it given to them. I was comparing the bold with the evo and the deciding factor was me not being in a 4 G area. Why have a phone when you can't use it to it's full potential? I'll wait for the 4 G coverage and then pull the trigger on a device like that.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Makes sense, the way I look at it, the first round EVOs should be great but why be a "test user" is they way I look at it. If the EVO lives up to all the spin and hype great, if not, then just wait for the EVO II and all will be well.
    05-22-10 12:52 PM
  23. MSIXTEEN's Avatar
    Jake
    I am with you as well as soon as I can upgrade. I think the only people who will eventually own this phone are people who had it given to them. I was comparing the bold with the evo and the deciding factor was me not being in a 4 G area. Why have a phone when you can't use it to it's full potential? I'll wait for the 4 G coverage and then pull the trigger on a device like that.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Wouldn't that be like owning 8350i lamo

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-22-10 06:39 PM
  24. Cobra1100's Avatar
    Lawden, I feel your pain. That is why I got the Droid. I still carry the 8350i, but only for work purposes. It amazes me at the difference between the two phones. I also use my 8350i for the BB Messenger. I have several contacts who have BB's but don't ride the iDEN short bus.

    My hope for the Q-Chat was obviously in vain, as I haven't even heard anything else about Q-Chat for almost a year now. My 8350i still cuts off in the middle of DC calls, which for our line of work can be deadly. Sprint doesn't give two sh1ts about us or anyone else on iDEN. Actually, they don't give two sh1ts about anyone, for that matter.

    The only reason I have kept the BB is because of the DC. RIM could care less whether or not we're happy. Sprint has given me the impression that they don't even want us to be happy. So, after my contract is up, I'm cutting mine off as well. The Android OS and reliability blows the 8350i completely into oblivion. I hate Verizon more than I do Sprint, but at least the Droid Can. The 8350i just, well, can't.
    05-23-10 12:36 AM
  25. Mr Eddie's Avatar
    Cobra last thing I read on Q-Chat was that it was DOA (sorry cant find the link right now I thought it was on jkontherun.com)
    05-23-10 12:57 AM
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