[costanza]

*I use a Treo 700P as a personal cell phone/toy...not for/through a business*
My 700P annoys me, but yet I LOVE IT! It reboots itself about once ever couple weeks, usually while I'm trying to make a call or surf the web. I've had to do a hard reset a couple of times over the last couple years. It's kind of chunky and is heavy. I rarely actually keep it on me because of this. I usually keep it in my hand or set it down wherever I'm at. I'm not a "power user". I really only use it for making calls, e-mail using "wireless sync" (it forwards my home e-mail account data from "bellsouth.net") and surfing the web using Verizon's "Broadband". I'd like something a little smaller and more reliable, but I don't really want to lose any functionality. I've played with the Storm, but I like a real querty keyboard.
Can I use the same type of e-mail system I'm using now (wireless sync) on the Verizon 8330 or will it be a lot different? I usually get the email on my 700p about 1 minute after I get it at home
Any issues with surfing the web on the Verizon 8330? Can I download short videos? Mpeg/AVI/WMV/etc? Does it display flash media, like mobile YouTube? The 700p's browser lets me surf in either "optimized mode", which rearranges the web page so I only have to scroll up and down to see the whole page. If I select a picture to view, it resizes it it to fit the screen. It also has "wide" mode that lets you see that actual page you'd see on a PC, but you must scroll left/right and up/down. Does the Verizon 8330 do all this?
The only programs I downloaded onto the 700p was Google Maps and something that would cause the LED light to light up if I missed a call/text (so a quick glance at the phone would tell me if I missed a call/text vs. picking it up and turning the screen on). Can I use Google Maps on the Verizon 8330? Does it have a light on the outside to tell me if I missed a call/text?
How do the photos taken with the camera look on a big PC screen? The 700p's look like washed out/blurry crap! The camera in my daughter's friend's tiny Razor KILLS my Treo's camera!
I do think I will miss the Treo's touchscreen
I was using bluetooth with the 700p and my 2007 Camry, but it drained the phone's battery too much. Is that an issue with the Verizon 8330?

thanks for your comments!

[rampage537]

I can't compare the 700P, but I had the centro and hands down the blackberry 8330 is far better in every way except for the threaded text.

[m4gician]

Hey there,

I think I'd love to help you with this. I loved my 650 and desperately tried to find a 700p before I finally moved the the curve.

Here is what I found:

Being a Palm user, expecting a touch screen (for simplicity, shortcuts, etc) is really overestimated or over-hyped. Not having a touch screen is not so much of an inconvenience to me.

Calendar: This is where I miss my palm the most, the palm sync'ed with outlook and was colourcoded, the BB scheduler SUCKS.

Address book: syncs well, but the BB interface looks better, however the Palm's is much simpler.

NO menu button --> unlike the home screen or menu buttons found on the palm to just go to the app you want quickly, the menu button on this phone is similar to the "file-menu" button on palm phones that you use to locate "properties" of the phone, so it takes some getting used to.

This also means you have to backspace out of every menu or press the Red button.

Less SYMBOLs, when sending messages you could press the "ALT" key and see a menu of symbols or characters that looked like that symbol (e, accented e, etc.) or ($, yen, pound, euro).

No INFRARED, or SD


Now... having said all of that, I will buy the Palm Pre when it does become available. However, this curve is a great email device, great at making calls, and the media player is somewhat comparable to POCKET tunes but without a touch screen it's a little limited. I like using the Opera mini loophole to browse and send e-mails (which my provider didn't offer before for my Treo or it was too expensive vs unlimited e-mail for Blackberry's).

The camera is better, and lets face it, it's thinner. The buttons are VERY similar to the TREO in terms of key placement.

Try it out, get used to it. It took me 2 - 3 days to get used to everything on this blackberry and it's a fun phone, not a palm but still good.

[roeod4]

I switched from a Verizon 700P which I loved to the Verizon Curve 8330.

The 700P was my first smartphone and what made me realize I would never be able to use a dumbphone again. I spent a lot of time and energy setting up my palm to get it just how I liked it. I had launchers to make the phone look better, media players to make it more fun, games galore and many different applications to keep it running just right. I loved the fact that the Palm OS actually allowed me to bend the phone to my will and do what ever I wanted with it. Then I dropped it and it started to act up like a four year old in a grocery store.

I ended up with the Curve because the insurance through Verizon could not offer me another 700P and would not pay for the next level up. They gave me a choice of a BlackBerry or a WinMo phone. I took the Curve.

Like I said, I loved my palm, but BlackBerry is so much better IMHO. I realized that I had been spending a lot of time and energy bending the phone to my will and I really just needed a different device. The Curve is better than the palm in so many ways that it isn't even funny.


Crash/resets - I have not had the curve crash or reset even once. When I am making a call or surfing the web it does just that and doesn't fall apart on me.

Size - It is just about the perfect size. I keep it in my pocket at all times.

Phone - The call quality and reception is infinitely better on the curve.

Email - The push technology is great and actually functions better for me than active sync ever did. The best part is that it doesn't abuse my battery do it either.

Web - The web is a little different on the Blackberry than it is on the Palm. You can change the browser configuration in many ways. The pages look a lot better to me on the Curve than they did on the Palm.

Media - You can watch You Tube on the Curve. You can also load video to the media card. There are not as many file types that will work with the BlackBerry as there were with the Palm, but I understand that there are a few 3rd party programs that will play more file types. There are also several different applications for music if you want that as well. Slacker just came out with a great app that allows you to listen to streaming radio right on your phone.

Maps - You can download Google Maps for the Curve. You can also get VZ Navigator and an app called BlackBerry Maps that actually uses GPS on the 8330.

LED - You can set the LED to light up for different notifications and there are programs that will set the notifications to different colors too. The cool thing with the Curve is that you don't really need to do that though. You get visual notifications right on the home screen for missed calls, sms/mms, Blackberry messenger (another program that is like Instant message for the Blackberry community) and email.

Camera - The camera is really good on the Curve, as far as cell phone cameras go. Much better than the Palm.

Battery life - My battery usually lasts for 1 to 2 days after being fully charged. I am a pretty heavy user (maybe not compared to some of the people on here though ) and it does me just fine.

m4gician is right about the calendar function of the palm being better. This is the one area that I wish BlackBerry would correct. It serves it's purpose, but could really use a refresh. The other main thing that Blackberry could learn from palm is how to get applications to run of the memory card. This can't really be done on the Curve, but it isn't a big loss overall.

My suggestion is to go in and take it for the 30 day test drive. I have a feeling you will love it.

[costanza]

Thanks for the detailed replies! I neglected to mention that the ONLY time I ever sync'd the 700p to my PC was to recover lost data when I had to do a hard reset or to transfer a new app to the phone. Otherwise, I only use the phone for calls, personal e-mail, texting and web surfing. Thanks again!

[vinndy]

short answer: yes

[SevereDeceit]

I have no doubt you will like the Curve, all the info you want to know on the device is here. There is some fantastic guides here that will make the whole transition alot easier...

[sahaller]

I had a VZW Treo 700wx and traded it in for the Curve. At first I was sad to see the Treo go, but that was before I knew what I was missing.... I LOVE my BB and will never buy another WinMo phone again.

Unlike my Treo, my Curve never crashes, never resets and the battery life is great. Although, I do agree the calendar could be better.

Now I'm hooked on BB's and am eagerly waiting for VZW to get the Bold.

[J.R. Squire]

I switched from the 700p approximately 7 months ago. I am liking the BB 8330 more each day. I am still trying to work bugs out on displaying images in hotmail not provided as attachments but it will come. I also liked the multifaceted calculator that the 700p has. It allowed me to convert liters to cubic inches This is beneficial to old car buffs as myself and what I do

[V of HB]

i had the 700p then the 755p then the centro and finally i'm with blackberry. i currently have the storm and the curve 8330. i love them both. you'll for sure love the curve 8330. the only thing i miss from treo is the threaded chats.

[V of HB]

try it out for 30 days and see if you like...i bet you will !!

[ok4a56]

I left my 700P for my curve, and I have never looked back.

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