[synmag]

I currently have the 8800 and the primary reason I held on to it this long is its keyboard (mostly used for email). I have big hands and I love the form factor. I have looked at all the subsequent devices and thought of upgrading to either the first torch or the 9700 however general negative comments on the torch (1st gen) and the new (narrow) form factor of the 9700 made me stay away.

I really like the torch (big screen, full keyboard) however I checked out the 9900 which I found to be very appealing with the old wide form factor and large(er) screen. I don't get the touch screen on such a small (relative to the torch) screen. I'm told it's effectively a scroll wheel.

I was going to go with the torch but am having second thoughts. What would you say to make me go with the 9900 over the torch?

Please don't take this as a trolling. My 8800 is cracked, the screen is scratched and I need a new phone. It's a free upgrade so help me make the decision asap.

Cheers

[FuzzyB]

Well, the only downside to the 9930 would be the screen size...you can pinch zoom really fast though. You'd be surprised how well the touch screen on this device works and how much you will use it. It is a very unique device for sure and the keyboard is unreal. I am not one bit sorry I bought one and I am a former full touch screen user.

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[rrrebo]

The touchscreen is completely reachable one-handed, corner to corner, makes it much faster to switch text fields in a single click rather than having to use the trackpad, but the trackpad is there for precision selection. Pinch-zoom is simple, either a double-tap with a thumb, or just shift both thumbs up from the natural typing position. It's a perfect complimentary combo. I actually tend to use the trackpad for scrolling more than the touchscreen.

Typing on this keyboard is like...licking whipped cream off a 20-year-old starlet's behind. It's the roomiest keyboard RIM has ever made, and the keypress pressure is so light it makes every other keyboard feel like a plate of rocks, even my beloved 9700! If you stuck with an 88 this long because of big fingers and hands, there is no question: you WANT the 99 keyboard. Hands down. The Torch keyboard pales utterly in comparison.

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[calicocat2010]

Those are all Good points but perhaps maybe he should know a little more like the fact that the battery Can be horrible. I said Can be, I didn't say Is horrible. There's different OS versions that give horrible and great battery life. Second, there's no Autofocus. if the OP doesn't mind The battery life or doesn't use his phone to take close up pics then the 9900 sounds great. Not hating, I would love to get the 9900 because of that Keyboard! I just wanted to inform the OP of those Other minor disadvantages.

[FBA]

...and you think the NEW Torch battery life is as good or better than the 9900? When you actually OWN one, maybe then you could offer up some relevant comments on it that would be at least somewhat meaningful to this thread.

@the OP...take opinions from non-owners with a grain of salt, as they're generally akin to trolls.

[industrial revolution]

Typing on this keyboard is like...licking whipped cream off a 20-year-old starlet's behind.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

LMAO. irrefutable.

[phonegeek#AC]

So I have used all the devices you speak of and my opinion is the 9810 is best suited for those with smaller hands, narrow fingers, etc... I don't like the 9800/9810 keyboard because if feels so much smaller and harder to type on. Strictly from a keyboard perspective you'll probably be much happier with a 9900.


Hope that helps,

PG

[Pilchard]

I currently have the 8800 and the primary reason I held on to it this long is its keyboard (mostly used for email). I have big hands

I think with big hands the 9900 is the only option. I tried a Torch and didn't like the keys - too small and nowhere near as lovely as the 9900. Also I couldn't be doing with flicking the screen open and closed, and it felt heavy.

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[jcp007]

Posts about bricked 9900's are making me nervous about the one I ordered for work. I have a 9810 as my personal phone and do not recall any instances of bricked 9810's.

[calicocat2010]

...and you think the NEW Torch battery life is as good or better than the 9900? When you actually OWN one, maybe then you could offer up some relevant comments on it that would be at least somewhat meaningful to this thread.

@the OP...take opinions from non-owners with a grain of salt, as they're generally akin to trolls.

Excuse you, I am not a troll! I am CB member on here. Look at the number of my posts. I have read reviews and complaints about the Battery life. I am Not saying the New torch is better. Re-read my post. I said the 9900 Can be horrible or great. Some people battery life is not a big deal others it IS. I want to get a 9900 because of the Keyboard. So don't get your underwear all twisted up. I am getting frustrated with my Torch because it Is acting up. I have had great battery life. I can go Two days without charging. Now I know the Newest OS .474 gives great battery life on the 9900. I was simply trying to be honest and warn the OP if battery life is a problem as Well for him even if he didn't list it. I think People wanting to check out the 9900 should know the Pros AND Cons since they don't Hit Search Lol.

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[Vijik]

Another difference between 9800 and 9810 (the new Torch) and Bold 99xx is that 9900 & 9930 models have NFC.

[BlackBerry Guy]

Reason to get a 9900 over a Torch? One word: keyboard.

Typing on this keyboard is like...licking whipped cream off a 20-year-old starlet's behind.

Best analogy ever

[totallygone]

Posts about bricked 9900's are making me nervous about the one I ordered for work. I have a 9810 as my personal phone and do not recall any instances of bricked 9810's.

Yip, I am back with my 9700. Although I loved the keyboard on the BOLD I will be waiting for a red or white 9810 to come out. After my Bold got bricked after 3-4weeks. Even after repeated tries of redownloading OS. I think I will sacrifice my keyboard for a device that WORKS.....

[FBA]

Excuse you, I am not a troll! I am CB member on here. Look at the number of my posts. I have read reviews and complaints about the Battery life. I am Not saying the New torch is better. Re-read my post. I said the 9900 Can be horrible or great. Some people battery life is not a big deal others it IS. I want to get a 9900 because of the Keyboard. So don't get your underwear all twisted up. I am getting frustrated with my Torch because it Is acting up. I have had great battery life. I can go Two days without charging. Now I know the Newest OS .474 gives great battery life on the 9900. I was simply trying to be honest and warn the OP if battery life is a problem as Well for him even if he didn't list it. I think People wanting to check out the 9900 should know the Pros AND Cons since they don't Hit Search Lol.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

1) Read the definition of the word "akin".

2) The NEW TORCH, which is what the OP would be buying, sports the same 1.2GHZ processor as well as a LARGER touch screen than the 9900. Since you've been doing so much reading about the 9900 battery life, it might actually behoove you to do the same reading about the 9810 and its battery life, before you offer your "opinions-based-on-nothing-more-than-reading-and-not-actually-experiencing-a-9900".

3) Until you own one and have actually got seat time on it, you'd be better suited offering opinions on your Torch - and only that. You haven't got a clue about 9900's and I don't care how much reading you've done here on it. Opinions are like , everyone has one.

Sorry to be so blunt, but I can't stand when posters offer unqualified opinions - and while you may be qualified to offer a fact based opinion on a Torch, you certainly aren't regarding the 9900. Please come back and tell us more when you have and are using one!

[rrrebo]

Play nice, people. This is an opinion thread. Help the OP out with real-world points (first-hand or not) and stop getting in each others' bidness, or STFU and GTFO.

Yes, numerous reports of bad battery life have been noted. Telus got a bad batch of batteries and exchanged them. I've had Agent 99 since September and have averaged 12-16 hours of usable battery life with 4 email accounts, telecons, Socialscope, WhatsApp, BeWeather, Google Maps, and games. This is decidedly NOT horrible. It is not on par with my 9700, but we knew that would not be the case going in. To expect differently would be foolish.

Also, my device has not bricked once since I shrank and loaded .353, and it only did that once before (and it wasn't NIB). Many of us are quite satisfied with our 9900s and highly recommend them. Dissenters are free to offer their opinions, as well. Let them.

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[calicocat2010]

To the OP...9900 would be a good choice for You because of your circumstances. Hope you get Great battery life.

There everyone is civil now.

[rrrebo]

Calicocat2010, I'm a Libra. I appreciate both sides of the story. You weren't trolling. My own success with the 9900 is anecdotal, just like those with battery troubles. It's just MY side of the story. I also have friends whose 9900s have bricked multiple times.

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[BigBadWulf]

Question is, after all this time waiting for another BlackBerry, with a spectacular keypad.....

What would make you get anything else?!?

[calicocat2010]

Calicocat2010, I'm a Libra. I appreciate both sides of the story. You weren't trolling. My own success with the 9900 is anecdotal, just like those with battery troubles. It's just MY side of the story. I also have friends whose 9900s have bricked multiple times.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Thank You. I'm glad You understood where I was coming from.
I'm a Scorpio and you know how Those sting, lol.

Sucks how there is many posts about the 9900's being bricked, a majority of them and I really hope AT&T has got This issue figured out. Though, I am not going to check it out anytime soon since there will be mobs of crowds in the store. I will wait until there is a stable OS. But, since there are other phones coming out I might check into those since I do like Auto-Focus, have no intention of using NFC because we have the ATT Scanner App to take pictures of the bar code, and Idk if I can handle a screen size not par to the Torches. I've spoiled myself. If BBX's 1st generation phone was to have the big screen like the Torch 1, And the keyboard of the 9900 I would totally go for it....idk how long I will be waiting, but I will keep an eye out on the 9900 Issue.

[Elite1]

My own success with the 9900 is anecdotal, just like those with battery troubles. It's just MY side of the story. I also have friends whose 9900s have bricked multiple times.

� the 9900 can be horrible or great. Some people battery life is not a big deal others it IS. I want to get a 9900 because of the Keyboard�. I am getting frustrated with my Torch because it Is acting up. I have had great battery life. I can go Two days without charging�

Opinions on battery life are very much anectodal. My 9800 going 2 days on a charge is inconceivable. .666 is the best OS for me so far (haven't tried 668) and I still often need a battery top-up in the evening to make it through to bedtime.
And there can be so many contributing factors to battery life. You'll virtually never find another poster with identical usage & conditions to you.

From what I've read & heard, 9810 & 9900 have comparable battery lives. I know multiple people who had or have both these new devices. There's no unanimous winner on battery life between the two.

[jcp007]

Another difference between 9800 and 9810 (the new Torch) and Bold 99xx is that 9900 & 9930 models have NFC.

I thought that ATT and TMO disabled this feature so is it an advantage. I am trying to keep an open mind about the 9900 as I was thinking of waiting but ended up with the 9810. My company is issuing me a 9900 so I will get a chance to test. Is it possible that NFC is at the root of the problem? Does the antenna cause a conflict?

[synmag]

The touchscreen is completely reachable one-handed, corner to corner, makes it much faster to switch text fields in a single click rather than having to use the trackpad, but the trackpad is there for precision selection. Pinch-zoom is simple, either a double-tap with a thumb, or just shift both thumbs up from the natural typing position. It's a perfect complimentary combo. I actually tend to use the trackpad for scrolling more than the touchscreen.

That's a great description thank you.

Typing on this keyboard is like...licking whipped cream off a 20-year-old starlet's behind.

That's a classic! Having tried the keyboard of the 9900 now I have to get my hands err...tongue on a 20 year old starlet to fully appreciate your analogy. I have the whipped cream, can you supply the 20 year old starlet? .

Wow this thread really ballooned while I was away. Thanks all for your responses. I have read through opinion threads on both devices and I am aware of the battery life issues. Those seemed to have been worked out on new versions/OSs. I haven't heard of the bricking issue but that shouldn't be an issue for me as this is a work supplied phone and I can always get a replacement if this is something that happens through regular use. I wouldn't be tinkering with the OS unless I want a new version that provides the better battery life.

I'm leaning very much towards the 9900 now. A good keyboard is a need to have and a large screen is a nice to have, bordering on need to have as my eye sight has started going, however the 9900 maximizes the screen size (edge to edge) on the wide form factor which should be a good compromise. I am aware that only the 9900 has NFC but not having used it I would not miss it on a torch. After the objective items I also appreciate the sleek design of the 9900 which would also help swing my choice.

I will have to try both phones after one another one last time to make my decision. Thanks again.

[terreos]

I've held and used the 9800 torch's. The big thing for me was the keyboard size. The fact that the 9930 has a larger keyboard easily won me over. More often than not I'm typing away on this device. But, if a better camera is what you want then the Torch might win you over.

I don't think you'd go wrong either way.

[Vijik]

I thought that ATT and TMO disabled this feature so is it an advantage. I am trying to keep an open mind about the 9900 as I was thinking of waiting but ended up with the 9810. My company is issuing me a 9900 so I will get a chance to test. Is it possible that NFC is at the root of the problem? Does the antenna cause a conflict?

NFC antenna apparently doesn't cause an issue because other carriers have left NFC enabled for months now. And Verizon, the carrier that had NFC disabled at launch, also enabled it later on with a new BB OS update.

So the antenna is not an issue. What is exactly the reason why carriers disable NFC is yet to be announsed by some parties, but I don't get surprised if it turnes out that this has to do with carrier's wish to take part of the pie related to NFC access control, payment and transit apps.
(This is a biiiiiiig pie everyone is trying to own part of it)

[jabraunski]

Fat fingers like myself!