I've got a very nice new 8820 and whilst there are seperate forums for other models there doesn't seem to be one for the 8820 - do I just post in the 8800 one or will I be chastised as a newbie for posting in the wrong forum?
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I've got a very nice new 8820 and whilst there are seperate forums for other models there doesn't seem to be one for the 8820 - do I just post in the 8800 one or will I be chastised as a newbie for posting in the wrong forum?
Not that many people are lucky enough to have a 8820. Here in the states we are still waiting for AT&T to drop one.
What is the 8820 like? Tell us about it! :D
First off I come from a long line of XDAs (o2's name for the HTC brand of Windows phones) and the 8820 is the result of me switching my company from the XDA line to the Blackberry setup.
Firstly it's easy to be dismayed by the lack of well presented programs on a BB. Take the calendar as an example. It's functional but doesn't look all that pretty. Then, if you look at the movie player you could be forgiven for thinking that it's made by a different company and I think this is what struck me about the BB and how it is completely different from an XDA.
The XDA's run on an MS OS. These OS's are application-laden operating systems first, phones second. Microsoft never started out to build phones and run apps on them. RIM however started out to build phones and then thought about putting apps on them. The calendar on a BB may not look nice but it works, every time. The 8820 actually lets you take a call when it comes in. It actually synchs with your Exchange server everywhere there is a signal, and it does it reliably.
Anyhow, what do I think of the 8820? I love it, as does my MD. I asked her today if she had a magic wand and could turn everything back would she go back to the XDA setup? She said no, not a chance. Why? Becuase the BB does everything the XDA didn't do.
The trackball feature is an excellent idea. Takes away the pain of a touch-screen device and stylus. The convenience key on the left side of the phone is far too convenient and keeps getting pressed every time I take it out of the holster. And that's something else too - the holster - whoever thought of actually getting the phone to realise when it's in the holster, and automatically turn itself off, or realise when it's being taken out of the holster - usually becuase it's told you there is a new email, and then automatically displaying that email because it's the sole reason you took the phone out the holster - frankly it's brilliant.
For me the 8820 was worth waiting for. It was worth the trouble of waiting for it to be passed through testing by the contract supplier. What I don't know, and this is largely due to a lack of experience of any other BB device, is what makes it so different from an 8800 or indeed an 8830, which by my own mind should be more advanced than an 8820 just by the model number.
Right, read up a little more and the big difference seems to be that the 8820 was WiFi built in.
This works really well and is already working with my home WiFi, my office WiFi and my friends WiFi. In all cases if there is a WiFi connection the BB will use this instead of EDGE/GPRS for outgoing and then incoming data transfer if it can. (My friends house has no mobile signal on my carrier yet I was still getting new email notifications and was able to download attachments)
Personally I wouldn't have thought for a second that the WiFi was a new introduction and had assumed it to have been through a few phones already as it does look tried and tested.
The 8800 forums will be the place to post about the 8820.