[waterskier0]

Hello fellow crackberry abusers. I have been lurking on this site for a little over 3 weeks now. I was introduced to the world of blackberry 30 days ago. Many of you already guessed it, today is my last day to change my mind and I am not quite sure what to do.

I now have the curve 8310 with AT&T.

When I got this phone I knew nothing about smart phones (former flip phone user) and had no idea what pricing was like. I paid slightly over $120 (after mail-in rebate) for my curve. Come to find out that typical pricing is $100 with regular 2 year contract (i was out of contract at the time). Since then I have become a blackberry addict. I use it as my calendar for both my e-mail accounts, view files, play mp3's and the list goes on and on. In either case, I feel like I bought an outdated device given that the curve does not support AT&T's highly praised 3G service and also does not offer WiFi. Further shortcomings of this phone (in my opinion) are no video recording, no streaming music or video and no document alteration (only view docs). Now don't get me wrong, most of the time I am at a desktop or carry a laptop with aircard with me but lots of times all I have with me is my beloved blackberry. Its those few times that I get very anoyed with the very very slow edge network. It won't even stream a youtube video. ???!!?? C'mon, my friends 8330 does, how come mine wont.

Anyways, to make a really really long story short, here are my questions.

Considering I had to sign a 2 year service agreement which means no new phone for 2 years,

should I stick with the Curve as nothing significantly better will come out within the next 2 years and I will have to cope without 3G and WiFi? Is WiFi really that much quicker?

should I fork over the extra $125 to get the bold which would offer WiFi and 3G amongst some other features? How bad is the batery life compared to the curve?

should I return the berry for now and wait until they drop the price of the bold some or until they introduce a new model?

Thanks a bunch for any input.

[xliderider]

If you can afford it, I'd go with the Bold. As you said, you will be stuck with the phone for the next 2 years.

Amazon has the Bold for 249.99 with a $100 rebate for a final price of $149.99, but it might be only for new activations. Since you are already an AT&T customer, I'm not sure you can get this. You can always call Amazon and ask if you qualify.

[MrP]

The Bold is pretty awsome! The biggest thing for me when it comes to 3g is call quality. It is sooooooooo much better than Edge. However I don't see a huge difference in data speeds unless I'm using the WiFi. But the Bold is much nicer to look at as well, and the qwerty is the best I've ever used on any phone (I came from an 8310 as well). I'd pull the trigger on the Bold you'll love it!

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[eds817]

With device software 4.5 you get video recorder and Docs2Go which allows minimal Word, Excel and Powerpoint modification. If you buy the upgrade to Pro for $70 you get a lot more. That being said I would still elect to go with the Bold. The Curve only has 64mb of ram and the Bold comes with 1gb. As a Curve owner memory is everything. Even though I can install many more apps then I currently have they will eat up the memory and slow the BB down. I have about 9 months before I can upgrade. And if TMO doesn't get the Bold or something similar I might have to look elsewhere.

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[waterskier0]

HMMMM......sounds like I'll just need to get the bold. How is the batery life? Is it really that much worse? With the curve I can go about 1.5 days to 2 days depending if its weekend days or work days (more data usage). Is the WiFi really fast or is is just slightly faster then 3G?

Thanks a bunch for everyones input.

Marc

[waterskier0]

Went to the store yesterday to upgrade to the bold and was told that not only would they have to charge me a restocking fee for the curve but since it was the 31st day, that there was nothing they could do for me. Stupid me thought I bought it on a Saturday. Come to find out I bought it on a Friday instead. This was at an AT&T authorized dealer which is where I bought the curve.

As you can imagine, I am extremely happy with this situation. The only answer they had for me was to call RIM and see if I can trade up (is that even possible?). Now I am stuck with the curve for two years which I paid way too much for.

Go figure, I guess this is what you get if you drag your rear hind and don't make up your mind a little quicker.

Anybody have any suggestions? What is the value of a new curve (unlocked) compared to a new bold without a contract. Has anybody actually sold/bought a curve or bold for the prices that they are asking?

Thanks for your input.

[tae_254]

Most of the things, besides the 3g can be fixed by upgrading to 4.5

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[waterskier0]

Most of the things, besides the 3g can be fixed by upgrading to 4.5

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

but it still will not be WiFi ready or be able to stream videos correct?

[legendofdon]

You can stream videos when you upgrade to 4.5 but no you won't have wifi on an 8310.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[waterskier0]

You can stream videos when you upgrade to 4.5 but no you won't have wifi on an 8310.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

well, looks like we have eliminated two of my original complaints.

is there any cons of upgrading to 4.5? will the additional features (if not in use) drain the battery quicker?

[legendofdon]

Not that I have noticed, and I've had 4.5 for a while now. It operates just the same, but with the added features of video recording, streaming videos and such.

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[toomuchgame441]

Sucks man, I think the 8330 (besides the 8900) is the best of the curve models. The 8320 comes close because of wifi but because it has less memory and no gps. I'm very happy with my curve. Sorry of this made you less happier about your situation, lol but a bb is a bb. You'll enjoy it.

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[elvin1983]

well, looks like we have eliminated two of my original complaints.

is there any cons of upgrading to 4.5? will the additional features (if not in use) drain the battery quicker?

I upgraded to 4.5 on my 8330, and the only thing that I noticed is that for me the battery does drain slightly faster (and by slightly, I do mean slightly! before after a whole day of average use, i'd have say 80-85%, and now i've got about 75-80%, so it's not that bad). The benefits that I found to 4.5 is that you get HTML e-mail, the browser is better (even though I haven't noticed much of a difference) plus the Docs2Go, which I think is a great program, even though I rarely use it. On USCC, I don't have 3G, but I don't do any streaming music or video on YouTube, so it's not really a big deal to me, and I primarily stick to mobile websites just for the convenience. Is the need for 3G that important? You did say that you carry a laptop w/ broadband?

I don't really have any cons to list here, 4.5 is just upgraded from 4.3, I can't see where that's a bad thing! I haven't noticed any negative aspects of 4.5

I would upgrade to 4.5 if it doesn't have it already, I think that it's going to have most of the important things that you required. Sorry if this wasn't as helpful as needed!! Good Luck, I think you'll end up being satasfied by your curve!