[Affiliated]

I've had my 8520 for three days now and overall am very pleased. With one exception, it is definitely an upgrade from my Pearl 8120. I had it with my one year old Pearl's small screen and frequently stuck trackball. Given that I was not eligible for an upgrade and had to pay full retail, I wasn't willing to shell out $499 for a Curve 8900, so I decided to get an 8520 at $299 knowing that this will hold me over until early next summer when I will be eligible for a full upgrade. The best news was that today I received a text message from T Mobile saying I can get $75 back if I send in my old Pearl.

PROS: This phone is better then the Pearl in so many ways. Bigger screen, full Qwerty, and much faster processor. Everything just works very fast on this phone. Applications load quickly and the best improvement seems to be the UMA performance. My phone logs onto a Wifi network and the UMA symbol appears instantly. With my old Pearl, I would often have to do a manual network scan or sit and wait several minutes for it to finally access the wifi network on its own. Finally, the trackpad is great!

CONS: Despite the many complaints about the Suretype on the Pearl, I could actually type much faster with Suretype. I find that my typing speed is slower on the 8520, I make more mistakes, and my hands are cramping up. The Suretype on the pearl was certainly a royal pain sometimes when it couldn't determine the correct word OR there were several words for the same key combination BUT the main advantage was the actual keys were quite large and had a nice feel. The keys on the 8520 are small and very clicky. Also, the 8520 lacks a camera flash but I don't find that to be a problem since even with the flash, my pearl took lousy pictures anyway. I use a real camera for any serious photography. The internet browser on the 8520 is awful, as is the case with all BlackBerries but I corrected this by downloading Opera Mini 4.2 (if only there was a way to make that the default browser)

VERDICT: I will keep this phone for the reasons mentioned above. I am hoping that I will get used to the keyboard and improve my typing skills. Only problem...that will only warrant an exchange for the same model is that my trackpad is a little loose. I noticed on day 1 but just haven't had time to go back to the TMobile store to exchange it for another 8520.

[Armando175]

I'm actually considering buying the 8520 due to its faster processor and more memory. Currently, I have an 8320. I've dropped it so many times that my flash doesn't work anymore. Also, the pricing is better than $500. I think it would be a good decision because I'll be buying it for the retail price since I'm nowhere near my full discount. By the time my full discount kicks in, a better phone will be out there. I just can't seem to dig that trackpad though. I was trying out the phone briefly a few days ago. My 8320 seems to freeze every other day since I don't have enough memory so more memory on the 8520 is good.

[Bla1ze]

I love my 8520, I have a Bold, Storm and 8900 and I still consistently use 8520 over all of them.

I'm not saying it's "better" then any of said devices, but..it's my device of choice atm.

[Affiliated]

I'm actually considering buying the 8520 due to its faster processor and more memory. Currently, I have an 8320. I've dropped it so many times that my flash doesn't work anymore. Also, the pricing is better than $500. I think it would be a good decision because I'll be buying it for the retail price since I'm nowhere near my full discount. By the time my full discount kicks in, a better phone will be out there. I just can't seem to dig that trackpad though. I was trying out the phone briefly a few days ago. My 8320 seems to freeze every other day since I don't have enough memory so more memory on the 8520 is good.

I actually had the exact same thinking. Besides not wanting to shell out $500 for an 8900, I just don't think it is worth it for an Edge only device and for one with such a lousy internet browser. I too figured that by next summer, I'll be eligible for a full discount and by then, hopefully, I will be able to get a 3G Blackberry on T Mobile, the T Mobile 3G network will finally be turned on here in Hawaii (still Edge only), and maybe, just maybe, RIM will finally have a better browser.

Regarding the trackpad, I too was a bit uncomfortable with it in the store, but quickly adapted to it within a day and now prefer it to the trackball.

Don't forget, if you pay full retail, there is a 30 day return policy (versus 14 days if you get the phone subsidized under contract). So why not get it, try it out, and if you don't like it, you'll have 30 days to return it.

[Bajanbastard]

I played with a 8520 this afternoon and i was impressed. The trackpad was a joy to use and wow was it light! Made my 8900 feel like a brick.

[crystinonfire]

are the shortcut keys if you have dial from home screen turned off different on the 8520? I'm having issues with mine, because "C" isn't compose like it is on other bbs.