[xts5000]

Well I have had enough of the 8350i problems. I switched to an motorola i1. Seems to be ok. I will hang around here on this forum though.

[BergerKing]

Well, unfortunately, you were saddled with a data-centric device on a data-unfriendly network, so it isn't unusual to feel not-so-good about the experience. Glad you found something that works for you.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ibbeach0]

I have been using the i1 and bouncing between the i1 and the 8350i. So far I like the i1. Takes a bit of time to get used to not have physical keys. With the addition of KIK messenger I dont feel so lost without my BBM. Although i1 does not have the current Android OS it is still very usable. Not sure I am ready to completely give up on BB as of yet.

[justlovejoy]

kinda sux cause i was such a big fan of this phone when i got it. I went through a ton of problem resolutions and now I am on android and dont wanna go back. at first i needed the physical keyboard so i had the samsung moment with sprint but now i have the samsung captivate with simplemobile. its a very big shift in perspectives. i appreciate everything my 8350i taught me. I still answer pm's and I try to keep my friends with crackaberries connected with the site. i take emails if you need help with androids too now!

[jodogzzz]

Hey xts5000 I know what you mean I also went to the i1 but that only lasted 6 days and back to the 8350i. I hated that alot of settings were limited OS was way behind and my reception was horrible. I'm done with the iden CDMA very soon just not sure what phone yet. But my be great for you.

[Cobra1100]

jodogzz and JLJ, I got the original Droid on Verizon last year. Loved it. Just upgraded it to the Droid 2 and love it even more. My father-in-law got the new EVO 4G from Sprint. I love it even more than my Droid 2. I still have the 8350i. I've had it since the first days of launch. I wish they would have given a sh1t about it and made it work like it was supposed to. But, as of February 2011, Nextel will be only a fond memory.

Less than a handful of my contacts have weathered the Sprint execution of the Nextel network. Sprint still has the best "bang for the buck" pricing of any carrier, except maybe Boost, but they have literally strangled Nextel with their "give a sh1t less" attitude towards its faithful followers. I've been a Nextel customer since the very first brick phones back in the early '90's. But, as soon as my contract expires, it is over. I'll miss the "Direct Connect Chirp". Already do. But, Dan Hess and Sprint have shown me that no matter what I, or any other paying customer of Nextel either need or want, they're only interested in the Sprint side of things.

Andoid has a PTT app that is cross carrier and just as reliable as Nextel USED to be. I have yet to experience any major issues with either of my Droids. The 8350i, as everyone who has attempted to "give it the chance" has found out, is a total waste of time. iDEN is more or less relegated to the Voice Only side of things. Of course, this is as much the government's fault as it is anyone. They are pushing the carriers off the 800 band for government use anyway.

But, I'll stop rambling now. I almost enjoyed the ride with this phone. It did have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, that potential was overlooked and under-funded. Ya'll have a good one. Maybe I'll see ya'll on the other side.

[MSIXTEEN]

I'm still on this sinking ship as most of contacts are starting to make the jump to the big v I might be following them after all. Its been a great ride and I got my life jacket. Hopefully it makes a turn in the other direction

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[SWFLFFPM]

The i1-what data platform does it use? iDen? EVO?

Where did you get the February, 2011 date for the demise of Nextel? I know it is going away but I never saw a timetable.

[Cobra1100]

SWFLFFPM,

Sorry for the confusion, Nextel will be a fond memory for ME in Feb 2011. My contract is dead in February and I'm not renewing it. I miss the Nextel very bad. But, unfortunately, Sprint could care less about us b@stard step-children. And, the slow as$ed iDEN network and a smartphone just don't jive together, either.

The i1 will be just like the 8350i. Probably a good phone with good potential, but tied to a rotting corpse of a network. I hate to say it, but no matter how good they make the hardware or the software in the handset, the network is not made for a smartphone. It is made for voice only communications. The bandwidth is too narrow to allow for the speeds needed for a good smartphone experience. There's nothing Sprint could do to fix that anyway, even if they would. Anything short of a hybrid with dual radios is simply not going to work for a Nextel smartphone.

Good luck to all you hold-outs. I wish you the very best. But, I believe once you try Android 2.2 on a real network, you'll be like me and wondering why the he11 you wasted all the time and money trying to get a Mercedes to run across a plowed field up the side of a mountain, with water in the gas tank.

The 8350i was a good phone. RIM dropped the ball with the OS problems, Sprint dropped the ball on the OS and the network problems, and I dropped the ball by wasting over two years trying to hope that it would work out. It's kinda like pushing a car uphill with a rope. Makes you feel ******** when people see you still trying to do it.

The last three OS updates caused more problems than they fixed. Since I upgraded to OS 5, I have to pull the battery at least once in every single DC conversation. I've tried downgrading and it still is the same problems. Messaging on a messaging phone should not require pulling the battery in order to use it for a messaging phone. No matter what flavor OS you happen to be running.

I'll admit, I was hooked from the moment I received my original handset back in December 2008. But the hook started to rust quickly as I waited for reboot after reboot after reboot, just to get text messages or carry on a DC conversation. It's amazing to me that the old brick phones worked so much better than this 8350i for everything except email. I never had a problem with email. But, phone calls, DC calls, text messaging was a nightmare from the onset and never got any better. He11, even the forum moderators got real phones. That should say a lot by itself.

OK, I'll shut up now. Like I said. For all you holdouts, I wish you nothing but the very best. I've been to the dark side and I like the landscape. I've yet to have to pull my battery to get any messages, SMS, MMS, Email, or anything else. I've had the original Droid and now I have the Droid 2. I like the HTC EVO even better than I do either of my Droid's. But, Android IS the future of smartphones. Hopefully, Sprint and Motorola can wring as much money as possible out of people who HAVE to use Nextel. Personally, I've switched all my guys at the police department over to the Droid 2. The Tikl PTT app is as good as Nextel ever hoped to be so we still have instant communications.

Good luck with your Nextel/Sprint/NowI'mWondering network and your 8350i. I've stopped carrying it as of Wednesday this past week. I figured it was better than taking a .45 to it.