[Juan Sumluv]

Hi,I'm new to the forum cuz I don't have a blackberry yet.

In fact, I'm still using a cell phone from the 1950s.

I'm a constuction guy and I like flip phones because the screen and keys are protected...who ever knew that Blackberry made a flip phone!

Anyways,I'm thinking about the 8230.

But I need a phone that will hold up to more than what the average business dude puts it through.The flip looks pretty compact too,like I can slip it into a pocket nicely.I don't know much about the 8230,but reading through some threads I can't figure out if this phone is any good or not.I read about problems with it,but I don't know if that's just coming from a bunch of crybabies or not.

Number one for me,a phone has to do good voice,People still talk on there phones if you can believe it,especially on a construction site.I do some text and want to be able to view some web pages and do email.I guess as time goes on I can do more than that.

So,do you think this phone can work for me? I'm thinking about buying a used one locally,or Ebay for about $100 and trying it on PagePlus(not much data) for a little while then possibly moving it over to Verizon if I want to use a lot of data.I'm month to month right now at AT&T (contract is up) so I'm free.

[sookster54]

Yes I'd say it's a good phone for you, I like flip style phones as well and it's small that you can toss it in your safety jacket or utility belt. It has a decent speaker phone and voice dialing and you can pick up apps for it to do other things hands free such as drivesafe.ly to read your texts and emails out loud.

If you buy a used one, make sure it's unlocked, some places charge $100 to unlock it.

[ngilmore]

I'm in and put of a lot of shipyards and the flip works well in the harsh environment. I haven't had apronlem with my 8230. I would recommended putting on second skin to protect it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mostlydo]

recommended, if your working around alot of dust i may say otherwise. i noticed dust killed my first 8220 pretty quick. i was using a leather case on my hip and framing house and cutting all day long created alot of build up and eventually the trackball stopped working and my keys were getting build up in them. i would recommend if what ever type of case you bought to carry on your hip or what not enclosed the phone.