We all love instant messaging. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and it’s great for people on the go. The creators of Blackberry Research In Motion (RIM) have released a free Google Talk application for the BlackBerry.

Google Talk runs on all 7100, 7200, 7500, 7700, and 8700 series BlackBerry devices running BlackBerry OS version 4.00 or higher. One more thing, unless you have a cell phone service provider from the United States or Canada, you unfortunately won’t be able to download the Google Talk client on your Blackberry. Be sure to stay tuned for more updates and additional releases in the meantime.

To download, you can visit blackberry.com

by Stewart wolpin – via digitaltrends.com

The 8700c is the most advanced full QWERTY Blackberry available
Highs: Large bright display: EDGE and world capable; removable battery, lots of internal memory
Lows: Tightly-packed keypad; no external memory card slot; short talk time

Introduction
Blackberrys are not toys. You will not find a Blackberry with a digital camera. You will not find a Blackberry that plays back music. Blackberrys are serious devices that are designed to keep people in touch via either voice or email. However, Blackberrys are addictive, which is why they are often referred to as “Crackberrys.” The 8700 series devices, primarily the “c” model available from Cingular, are Blackberry’s most advanced models yet, making them even more “Crackberryish.” The quad-band 8700c is the first broadband Blackberry, operating on Cingular’s EDGE network in the U.S., which results in even faster email downloads. The 8700 also has twice as much internal memory as any other Blackberry. But RIM (Research in Motion) has introduced a little amusement into the 8700 — it can play MP3 ringtones. We’d like to be a fly on the wall as you attempt to explain 50 Cent rapping to alert you to an incoming business call!

Features and Design

Blackberry’s raison d’etre is its secure push email, either from your individual POP3 or IMAP account or connected through Blackberry’s Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange and all other major email server programs. For the sake of brevity, we’ll assume that you have at least a passing familiarity with Blackberry’s rich font of email and PDA features, benefits, and its intuitive interface and controls. The 8700c contains all these usual Blackberry attributes, so we’ll concern ourselves with how the 8700c compares to other Blackberry models. If you need more basic Blackberry info, see Blackberry’s own site (www.blackberry.com).

The 8700c has a few extra features that set it apart from both previous Blackberrys, with full QWERTY thumbpads, and the new “NURTY” keypads (an expression we just made up). QWERTY keypads cleverly compressed into and around a standard numerical array found, such as included on the new 7100 series models. One prominent advantage of the 8700c over other Blackberrys is its copious 64 MB internal memory, which enables you to download and store more ringtones, applications, and (horrors!) games from Cingular’s online store.

While fattening up its digital storage capacity, RIM has trimmed the 8700c’s waistline. At 4.3 x 2.7 x .77 inches, the 8700c is nearly a half inch trimmer than the 7700-series models, and almost a quarter inch trimmer than the 7500 and 7200 series models. This may not sound like a substantial difference, but anyone who’s had to maneuver around their belt clipped Blackberry to get their hand into a pants pocket or wiggle the phone out of a suit breast pocket will appreciate the 8700c’s heroin chic thinness. For folks with hands smaller than an NBA player, the thinner 8700c is also a bit easier to palm and operate with one hand.

In return for this handier size, however, the keyboard keys have been smashed closer together when compared to other full QWERTY models. While still roomier than the keyboard on other popular QWERTY PDA phones such as the Treo, 8700c’s tighter thumbpad does raise the chubby thumb/typing mistake ratio.

The 8700c is also squatter than all other Blackberry models, which means a little less LCD screen real estate. But the 8700c’s 320 x 240 pixel LCD is far brighter and more colorful than previous Blackberry models. It also includes RIM’s light sensing technology, which brightens or dims the display and thumbpad backlighting depending on ambient light.

One unfortunate thumbpad ergonomic anomaly also has been added. Like all Blackberrys, the numerical dial keys are integrated into the left side of the QWERTY thumbpad, with the “S” and “4″ sharing one key adjacent to the “D” and the “5″ key. In previous Blackberrys, these keys were two-toned, with the numbers appearing white-on-gray atop the gray-on-white letter. The 8700c eschews this edifying two-toning and leaves the co-alpha/numeric keys all white. Normally not a big deal, except that RIM’s sans serif font renders the “S” under the “4″ nearly identical to the “5″ over the “D” on the neighboring key. If you’re one of those folks who use the center “5″ on any numerical key pad to unconsciously orient your fingers before dialing, the momentary confusion over the neighboring “S”/”5″ keys could cause continual disconcertion.

Performance

Their size and shape make Blackberry’s inherently awkward for phone calling. Although a bit thinner than other models, the 8700c still feels as if you’re holding a bar of soap up to your cheek. Fortunately, you can connect either a wired or Bluetooth headset and keep the Blackberry in its belt clip.

RIM has endowed the Bluetooth 8700c, as it has many Blackberry functions, with a high degree of intelligent functionality. Once you’ve paired a headset, for instance, the 8700c automatically recognizes it each time you power the headset up. As long as you’ve turned on the Bluetooth connection from the 8700c’s top menu, you don’t have to re-pair it or drill down to the Bluetooth connection menu to make the Bluetooth connections (as you have to do with most other phones). A large notice appears on screen to let you know in no uncertain terms that you’re wirelessly connected.

Calls themselves are crisp and clear, with or without headphones. As long as you keep the earpiece located precisely at your ear, there is plenty of volume controlled conveniently by the familiar Blackberry all-purpose jog wheel. The rear-mounted speaker also produces generous volume for a quiet conference room or office with only a slight hint of speakerphone gurgle, but positioning may be a problem. You have to lay the 8700c on its face if you want to hear anything, but this position blocks the front microphone.

Thanks to the EDGE connection and the new powerful Intel XScale processor, email downloads and replies transmit nano-swiftly and Web pages fill swiftly most of the time; only network glitches hold things up, not the 8700c.

The 8700c’s rated 16 day standby time is the most robust of all the Blackberrys, but the four hour talk time is about an hour shorter than other models.

Conclusion

The 8700c is the most advanced full QWERTY Blackberry available. While it has its minor quirks, for the world traveling mobile professional with moderately sized thumbs there is no better way to stay in touch while on the road.

Pros:

• EV-DO network capable
• Quad band world phone
• Bluetooth
• Speakerphone
• 64 MB internal memory
• MP3 ringtones

Cons:

• No external memory card slot
• Tightly packed keypad keys

via thetravelinsider.info

RIM’s new Blackberry 8700 is slimmer than their classic series of units, but larger than the 7100 series (which has half as many keys).
Some people feel it is the worst of both worlds – bulkier than the 7100 but with keys that are too small to conveniently use.  Others feel it to be the ideal compromise.
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The Blackberry 8700 series of phones (different letters after the 8700 simply designate the different wireless companies that sell it) represent the latest and greatest from RIM.
Reverting back to the full QWERTY layout, but using narrower key spacing than in ‘classic’ model Blackberries, this unit sensibly spurns the ‘two letters per key’ approach used in the 7100 series phones.
The unit has limited Bluetooth connectivity for some data synching and for headsets, but lacks a camera.  It supports higher speed EDGE data connections, but does not have Wi-Fi capabilities.
If you choose to take the time to master the Blackberry’s interface, it can be an amazingly helpful unit, but not without occasional regrettable limitations.
————**–**–**———–
The Blackberry 8700 – What you get
The Blackberry 8700 is sold in the US as the 8700g by T-Mobile and as the 8700c by Cingular.  As supplied by T-Mobile, it comes complete with a multi-voltage charger, a data cable to connect the phone to your computer, a hard plastic belt holster, and a wired earbud headset.
The supplier I ordered the phone from also included a very nice Bluetooth headset for free.
In addition to this hardware, the phone came with both a 63 page Welcome Guide introduction manual for the 8700 and a 132 page warranty book.  Yes, the warranty book is twice the size of the instruction manual, but this is due to repeating the warranty information many times in different languages.  The ‘warranty’ is nine pages long.
I put quotes around the word ‘warranty’ because it is actually an un-warranty rather than a warranty, and is full of disclaimers reducing the liability of Blackberry manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), rather than creating any obligations on their part.
The warranty period isn’t mentioned in this nasty nine page document.  To find out how long the phone is under warranty for, you have to look in the other manual, where it tells you there is a one year warranty on the phone.
In addition to this extraordinarily long ‘un-warranty’, 23 of the 63 pages in the Welcome Guide also contain terms and conditions and restrictions and other legalese, rather than helpful information about actually using the phone.  The other 40 pages of the Welcome Guide are overly simplistic and insufficient to enable you to learn how to effectively use the unit.
A CD-Rom is also provided.  This has software that can be installed on your PC to enable the Blackberry to synch its data with your Outlook contacts and scheduling data.  It also has a more comprehensive manual.
The Blackberry 8700′s capabilities and specifications
The unit measures 2 5/8″ wide by 4 1/4″ tall and is 3/4″ thick.  It weighs 4.9 ounces.  The screen measures 2 1/16″ wide and 1 1/2″ tall, and has a 320 x 240 pixel resolution, displaying 65,000 different colors.
The screen is wonderfully bright and clear, and has an automatic light sensor that varies the screen brightness depending on the light level in which the unit is being used.
By comparison, the 7130 (with two letters per key on a 20 key total keypad) measures by 2 1/8′ wide by 4 3/8″ tall and is 3/4″ thick.  It has a 1 5/8″ wide by 1 3/4″ tall screen, with a lower 240 x 260 pixel resolution.  In other words, there’s very little size benefit (but quite a lot of design compromise) to the 7130 and other model 71xx series phones compared to the 8700.
The traditionally designed 7730 phone is appreciably larger but thinner.  It measures 3″ wide by 4 5/8″ tall and is 1/2″ thick.  It has a much larger screen – 2 1/8″ wide by 2 1/8″ deep, but although the screen size is larger, its resolution is lower – 240 x 240 pixels, and it is not nearly as bright as the 8700 screen.  The 7730 shows less data and less clearly.
The Palm Treo 650 measures 2 1/4″ wide by 4 3/8″ tall, plus an extra 5/8″ for the antenna stub, and is 7/8″ thick.  It weighs 6 oz and its screen is 1 7/8″ x 1 7/8″.
Although the 8700 has the best screen resolution of all Blackberry units to date, its 320×240 resolution is not as good as a Palm Treo 650′s 320×320 resolution, and not nearly as good as my Palm Tungsten T3 which has a massive 480×320 resolution.
The 8700 has an internal antenna with nothing protruding, and seems to have managed this without any perceptible loss of sensitivity.  It receives at least as good and perhaps slightly better a signal as does my Motorola Razr V3.
The 8700 has 38 buttons on its front , two side buttons, and a control wheel.  The Treo has 41 keys on its front plus a cursor rocker/key and three side buttons.  The keyboard layout of the 8700 is slightly more spacious, but the Treo is perhaps a bit easier to use due to its extra keys, an observation confirmed in our Blackberry reader/user survey results.
Happily the Blackberry is a quad band GSM phone, meaning it supports all the four different frequency bands used by different GSM services around the world.  This is the very best type of phone to get, with maximum flexibility, no matter where you travel.
The unit has 64MB of user memory plus an extra 16MB for its firmware and standard software.  This is much more than earlier units (which had either 16MB or 32MB) and I am using only slightly more than half the 64MB, even with most of a month of emails held on the unit (I don’t download all of each email).
The extra memory may come in handy later on when users add extra programs and store more data on the unit.
Unfortunately, and unlike the Treo, it doesn’t have any removable expansion memory slots.
High Speed Data Support
The phone supports regular GPRS Class 10 data services and also the new EDGE high speed data service too.  GPRS data is slow; typically averaging about 15k – 20k bps (slower than most dialup modems, which vary from 28.8k – 56k bps).  EDGE data is much faster, with theoretical maximum speeds of 236.8 kbps, and real world speeds probably no more than 100 kbps.
EDGE data is basically just an improved form of GPRS, using the same equipment and protocols, merely offering a slightly higher degree of data encoding into each status change in carrier phase.
Almost all GSM networks support GPRS data, and because adding EDGE support requires very little extra investment, most (especially newer ones) now support EDGE too.  In the US, T-Mobile has EDGE coverage in over 75% of its network and Cingular is believed to offer EDGE on almost their complete network.  What this means is that EDGE equipped devices will be able to enjoy the extra data speed of EDGE networks most of the time.
Internationally, EDGE support is a bit haphazard.  For example, I found no EDGE in London or Moscow, but I did find EDGE in St Petersburg and some smaller cities in Russia.
The unit sends and receives emails perfectly well using regular GPRS service, but if you’re doing some web browsing, or downloading large email attachments, the extra speed of EDGE makes a big improvement.
Bluetooth
The unit has the latest Bluetooth 2.0 built into it.  But RIM (the manufacturers of the Blackberry units) have dumbed down the Bluetooth capability so it only supports headset and handsfree operation and some very limited file synchronizing.
Strangely, the 8700 won’t work with either of the two Bluetooth units in my vehicles (other phones have worked with no problems) and the audio quality when using a Motorola headset is unacceptably disappointing.
Most other Bluetooth functions have been disabled, although it is possible to patch the phone’s firmware to enable it to support a Bluetooth keyboard.
Battery Life and Charging
Earlier model Blackberry units offered very impressive battery life, with some of the 6xxx models giving as much as two weeks of regular usage between charges.  But the new 8700 with its big bright screen and much faster processor goes through its battery much more quickly.
The official specification suggests the phone can provide up to four hours of talk time or up to 384 hours (16 days) of standby time.  This may well be theoretically possible, but there is a catch which greatly reduces the battery life for most of us.  Every time the phone is receiving an email, it is using up its battery at a rate close to the talk time rate rather than the standby rate.  You might have your phone sitting untouched, but as long as it is receiving messages, it is using up its battery at an accelerated rate.
Real world battery life depends on how much email comes to your phone, as well as obvious other factors such as how much time you spend talking on the phone and how much time you spend with the screen on, eg, reading and composing emails (as well as sending them).
When I’m using my Blackberry intensively, I need to charge the unit every day.  Yes, there’s still a bit of charge left after 24 hours, but not nearly enough to get me through a second day.
If I’m using the Blackberry less intensively, I can get two or even close to three days of use (I turn it off every night).
This is a relatively short amount of life compared to a regular modern day cell phone, of course, but the Blackberry is not a regular cell phone and should not be compared to a cell phone for this measure.  Compared to a Treo 650, it seems the Blackberry 8700 gets similar battery life, but it is close to impossible to find a fair comparison with exactly the same usage patterns on each unit.
The phone has a regular 3.7V Lithium Ion battery inside and uses a standard mini-USB plug for the charger.  Like most phones these days the charging intelligence is inside the phone rather than inside the charger, so if you have any other chargers with the same plug and for the same type of battery, you can probably use it with the Blackberry too.
A related very nice feature is that if you connect the Blackberry up to the USB port of a computer (or a powered USB hub) it will charge through the USB cable.
It charges quite quickly and takes about three hours for a full charge, and it seems to take less time when charging in the car.
One company sells a high capacity battery that gives twice the life of the regular battery.
Using the Blackberry as a Phone
A common weakness of earlier Blackberry units has been their poor performance as a regular cell phone for voice calling.  The 8700 seems to have addressed these limitations, and gives you a fully functional phone as part of its integrated capabilities.
This means that it has all the latest and greatest phone related features.  Yes, you can download ring tones to the phone.  It has a speaker phone capability.  It can be used with Bluetooth headsets and in-car units as well as with regular wired headsets (and it takes standard 2.5mm headset jacks with three connectors – body, sleeve and tip) making it compatible with many headsets on the market.
Sound quality and volume levels were reasonably good.  The sound quality improved noticeably when used with the supplied wired headset, and if you use a headset, you can simultaneously access the rest of the phone for things like referring to emails, checking your calendar, or anything else.
It can have different types of ring for different callers, and has a sophisticated address book modeled on the Outlook Contact format that allows for multiple phone numbers, email addresses, and other information to be stored for each contact.  There is no limit to how much contact information can be stored (other than the phone’s internal memory limit).
Large ‘Send’ and ‘End’ keys make it easy to place and answer calls.  One slight issue is that the phone number keys don’t have the letters on them that one uses when dialing vanity phone numbers that are shown as a word rather than as numbers.  So if you want to call, eg, 1-800-2VANITY, it would seem you’re left having to guess which letters correspond to which numbers.
Fortunately, there’s a solution to this.  When dialing the number, you enter the digits as digits, then press the Num key before each letter you want converted to a digit, and then enter the letter.  This is easy and quick, and I prefer it to having to hunt around the ten keys on a regular phone to try and spell out a vanity number.
In the past, many Blackberry users also had a separate cell phone for regular phoning.  With the 8700, this is no longer necessary, and most people will find the 8700 is perfectly satisfactory for regular phone calls.
Using the Blackberry for Email
The Blackberry can handle up to ten different email accounts simultaneously.  This gives you tremendous versatility – you can have a couple of work email addresses and a couple of personal email addresses all on the unit, and still have more accounts left over.
In addition to the special Blackberry type email service which requires expensive additional software, ordinary regular people can use their Blackberry to get ordinary regular email (ie POP3 and IMAP4).  The Blackberry will also get email from Yahoo and Gmail accounts, but not from Hotmail accounts.
It can also interface with Exchange, Notes, and Groupwise mail servers.
Receiving Email
The Blackberry can be set to either receive just the first part of every email or to receive the entire contents of every email.
I suggest you set it to receive only the first part of each email.  This seems to bring in about 3k of message which is often the entire message, and if it is not the entire message, it is enough for you to know if you want to then bring in the rest of the message or not.
There are two reasons for downloading just the first part of each email.  Firstly, it greatly speeds up getting your emails.  Every so often I get a huge email (and usually it is a useless stupid email) which would terribly slow down getting emails if I were downloading the entire contents of every email, but this way, even the biggest email takes no more time to download than the smallest.
The second reason is to avoid overflowing your Blackberry’s memory.  Although the Blackberry intelligently manages its memory, and will start deleting old emails if you run out of storage, it is best not to have to do this and so by keeping your emails small rather than large, you shouldn’t have a problem.
Because it is just downloading a small part of each email, my Blackberry typically gets a large batch of email faster than my main desktop.
An important issue with the Blackberry is how often it goes to check for new messages on your email server.  If you’re using the special (ie expensive) Blackberry Enterprise Server software, emails are ‘pushed’ to the Blackberry the instant they are received with no appreciable delay at all.  This push technology also applies to Yahoo email and to email sent to your special Blackberry email address, but it does not apply to regular POP3 and IMAP4 email.
Instead, for these types of email, the Blackberry checks for email with a variable frequency, depending on how busy the network is.  At its most infrequent level of checking, it will check every 20 minutes; if the network is not congested, you might get email every 5 – 10 minutes.
Maybe I’m obsessive, but I don’t find this frequent enough.  Sometimes I’m having an exchange of increasingly important emails, and being forced to wait up to 20 minutes, with no way to force an earlier manual check for email, is terribly frustrating and completely unsatisfactory.
Spam
Unfortunately the Blackberry has very little spam control or filtering.  It is possible to create some very crude filters on their server (which you access through a web page) but it is usually best not to do this, for fear of losing real email in with the spam that might be filtered.
A Simple Strategy for Managing your Email
If you have a regular POP3 type email address, you might want to consider having all your normal mail be copied to a second email address which feeds all emails to the Blackberry.  That way your regular mail goes normally to your normal email account (eg on your main computer) and a copy of everything also goes directly to the Blackberry.
This makes it easy to read emails in both places.  As for sending emails, you should change your email ‘From’ address on the Blackberry so it looks the same as your main email identity, not the duplicate identity on the Blackberry.  That way when you send emails back to people, it looks like your normal email address and – very importantly – if they then reply back to you again, it goes to your normal main email identity.
One last step – arrange for blind copies of all the emails you send to also be sent to your main email account.  This way, on your main computer you’ll have a record of any replies you send from the Blackberry.
By way of example, say your main email account is John@Test.com.  You would arrange for a second email account, let’s call it JohnBB@Test.com to be created and for all mails sent to John@Test.com to be copied to the JohnBB account as well.
Your Blackberry would then log in and get all the mail sent to JohnBB.  But you’d change its settings so that if you were replying to an email, or creating a new one, it would show your email address as John@Test.com, not as JohnBB.  The JohnBB account is a ‘secret’ internal identity only.
Lastly, you’d set the Blackberry to automatically bcc all messages you send, passing on a copy to the John@Test.com account.
Having done this, all email gets originally sent to the John account and is copied to the JohnBB account, and copies of all emails you send from the Blackberry get sent to the John account.
Using the Blackberry as a Wireless Modem for your Laptop
In theory, it should be possible to use the Blackberry as a modem to enable your computer to connect to the internet.  Just as a computer would normally connect, via a serial cable, to a modem, which then connects through the regular phone line to the internet, it should be possible to connect, via Bluetooth, to the Blackberry and then from the Blackberry, dialing out to the internet.
Unfortunately the Bluetooth support for this type of connection has been disabled.  But the good news is you can still connect to the internet through the Blackberry, simply by using the supplied USB data cable.
I successfully used this method to access the internet while cruising through the rivers of Russia, and never had any problems.  Connection speeds were noticeably faster when EDGE service was available, of course, but even with regular GPRS it was usable, although much slower than desirable.
Blackberry Usage Costs
T-mobile’s costs for their Blackberry service are generally lower than the costs levied by Cingular.
With T-mobile, you have two choices – you can either choose any regular voice plan and then pay an extra $20/month for unlimited Blackberry email and data service, or you can choose a Blackberry only plan for $30/month and pay extra for any minutes of voice usage.
If you’re going to be sending SMS messages (or using the IM client, which communicates via SMS) then you should consider buying a pack of text messages, too.  400 text messages every month cost $4, and larger packs of messages have even lower per message costs.
International Usage
T-mobile have a wonderful service if you’re traveling internationally.  A flat extra fee of $20/month gives you the ability to send and receive unlimited email, pretty much everywhere in the world.
If you’re planning on traveling internationally, you should add this feature to your account a few days before you start your journey, and then turn it off again as soon as you return, so in effect it costs you only 60¢ for each day you’re away to stay connected.
Note that this $20/month flat charge does not give you unlimited voice calling – that is all extra.
When you’re roaming internationally, you don’t need to change any of the settings, the phone just automatically switches to the best available network and continues to work as if you were at home.
Notes on Using the Blackberry 8700
I’m left handed, so the first thing I noticed was that the Blackberry is designed for right handed people.  Both the scroll wheel and the escape button are on the right of the unit, where your right thumb would naturally lie if holding the unit in your hand.
Carrying the unit is something to be careful about.  You don’t want to scratch the screen, and you don’t want to accidentally be pressing keys (as may happen if the phone was just loose in your pocket).  There’s no lanyard loop for a neck string, and so you need to have some sort of holster or wallet to carry the unit in.
The 8700 comes complete with a solid plastic holster that clips onto your belt.  This is a good carrying solution – at least for people wearing belts (but not too large a belt or else the holster’s belt clip won’t fit – maximum belt thickness shouldn’t exceed 1 3/8″), and the 8700 intelligently recognizes if it is in its holster or not.  You can set it to make different sounds for different events depending on if it is in the holster or not.
Some of the ‘logic’ of the unit was frustrating.  To enter an upper case letter, you first press the key labeled ‘Num’.  But to enter a number value, you don’t press the ‘Num’ key, instead you first press the key labeled ‘Alt’.
Dismayingly, and inexcusably, the email reader often would get tripped up by html formatted emails, and instead of presenting either a neatly formatted message or just a basic unformatted version of the message, it would instead show all the raw underlying html format commands.  This would make the message close to unreadable.
It is inexcusable that a device with its prime justification for existence being its ability to supposedly do a good job with email can’t display regular normal formatted emails correctly.  Shame on RIM.
There are also limitations on the unit’s ability to display email attachments.  I’ve had regular problems getting pdf files to display correctly.
There is no folder system for email messages – you can’t have a series of folders within each email account to store messages in.
Be sure to set a password lock on your Blackberry.  Much more so than a regular phone, your Blackberry potentially contains a huge amount of very personal information (in your emails).
Cleverly, if an incoming call rings while the Blackberry is in locked mode, it will still allow you to answer the call without first having to unlock the phone.
The battery meter is quite accurate, and there’s also a helpful charge level shown as a percentage in the Status screen.
Another interesting item in the Status screen is showing the actual signal strength the phone is receiving, as a dBm level (the bigger the negative number, the weaker the signal).
Limitations
The Blackberry unit is reasonably fully featured, although it does have some annoying, albeit generally minor limitations that a top of the line unit should not suffer.  These include the following points :

• The Bluetooth functionality is unnecessarily restricted and either doesn’t work or works poorly with many headsets/car kits
• There is no removable memory option.
• The phone doesn’t have a built in camera.
• Battery life, while typical for this type of device, is short.
• Learning how to use the unit is challenging, although the rewards from having done so are appreciable.
• It can’t take an external antenna connection.
• No Wi-Fi connectivity.
• Email limitations include problems displaying some html coded messages and pdfs, too slow email checking intervals, and lack of folder hierarchy to manage received and sent messages.
• Doesn’t display many web pages correctly (or even at all)
• Doesn’t play video clips.
• Doesn’t play audio clips and MP3 songs.

How best to buy a Blackberry
Amazingly, the best prices for Blackberry 8700s and other model Blackberries is generally to be found on Amazon.  Click the link in the left hand column to go find their current specials, which usually see new 8700 units being sold for close to free in conjunction with new service signup.
Summary
My Blackberry saves me an hour or more a day on those days when extra time is most precious – when I’m out of the office and traveling.
So, is a Blackberry suitable for you or not?  If email is an important part of your life, too; the answer is probably yes, although you might want to have a look at a Treo unit as well to see if you prefer the look and feel of the Treo to the Blackberry.
And increasingly, new devices such as the Motorola Q or the Cingular 8125 are snapping at Blackberry’s heels, providing similar or possibly even better functionality.
Please also see our comments about The Blackberry Mindset which puts how one uses a Blackberry into its proper context.

Before you start downloading all software below, make sure that you have below required programs:

Java Virtual Machine Software, click here.

Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0, click here.

Blackberry Java Development Environment 4.1, click here.

When you have all of the above software, you are only a few steps away from starting to build your own themes…. you only need the, Plazmic Developers kit:
Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit v4.1, click here.
Now lets get started building/editing Blackberry themes!

Step 1:
Make sure you’ve already Downloaded the Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit v4.1 for BlackBerry!

Step 2:
Download the Smoothie sample theme for Theme Builder (ZIP). Unzip it then open the smothie.thm files using Plazmic Content Developer Kit v4.1.

Step 3 (Also see: How-to: Plazmic theme builder):
Edit themes (font size, colors, menus etc) then click ‘Export’. Now save themes as *.alx and install using desktop manager.

First thing is first: the users guide. This will most likely be located in C:\Program Files\PlazmicCDK 4.1\docs\user_guide\, depending upon where you have installed the program.

1. Filesize
2. Icons/Images
3. Theme creation walkthrough
——————————————————–
File Size’s both in appearance (pixels) and data (kb)

The Plazmic Theme Builder will adjust for your mistakes if you are using an image that is not exactly the right size in pixels. It will resize the image and then anti-aliases the picture, which will increase the filesize. This will do one of two things: simply not appear, or else be a huge issue while attempting to export the theme. The best rule of thumb is to use files that are already correct in pixel size and filetype (32-bit dithered .png), so that the PTB will not have to resize them.

Below are standard dimensions for images used directly out of the users guide:

Component Element Standard size (in pixels)
7100 7200/7500 8700
Banner Background 240×76 240×38 320×76
Home Screen Icons; underlay/overlay 60×56 36×36 64×48
background 240×260 240×160 320×240
background mask 240×260 240×160 320×240
Dialog box Icons 32×32 32×32 39×41

Everything else can vary. There are still some pitfalls you want to avoid. Particularly there is one which if you make the dialog background too large, not all of the symbols will show up. This is something that you will not be able to notice until you have installed it on your phone and are in the testing phase. Try to stick as closely as possible to the original size (in pixels) of the default themes files for each of the varying components, such as dialog, menu, incoming call, title bar, and messages list backgrounds.

The theme, once exported, can be no larger than 600kb. The PTB will inform you, of course, if the theme is too large. Each varying component cannot be larger than 60kb, or they will be dropped from the theme once exported. This can be very frustrating in regards to a Home Screen background that just refuses to get any smaller.

Icons/Images – where to find, how to create, etc…

Depending upon where you have the PTB installed, the first place to look for icons (and other image files) will be something like: C:\Program Files\Plazmic CDK 4.1\samples\Themes\Images. There you will find four folders: one for each supported line of Blackberry handhelds, and a fourth one named “Sample Icons.”

Another great way to find images is good old-fashioned net-surfing. Lots of people just use google image search and modify images from there; I have to articulate, however, do this at your own risk since you will most likely be dealing with copywritten material. You will need some means of modifying the pictures to conform to the appropriate size in pixels and filetype.

The other safest and most original way to create themes with PTB is to create your images and icons from scratch. There are ultimately an infinite number of ways to do this. You will need a graphic program capable of transparencies and saving in a .png file format. Use the above listed guidelines, think outside the box, and get down right creative.

Transparencies: you will need the ability to do this for two reasons. One, no one wants all square icons (well almost – depends on design I suppose); the other reason is associated with the most commonly asked questions about theme creation: “How do you make invisible/partially visible icons?” You need to be able to set the opacity (level of transparency) of your icons. Zero percent opacity for invisible and your desired percent between zero and 99 for the partially invisible ones.

Walkthrough for Theme Creation from start to finish

I. Open Plazmic Theme Builder

II. From the drop down menu, choose which model of Blackberry for which you will be creating a theme.
7100 Icon
7100 List
7200/7500 Icon
8700 Icon

III. Go to view, change plastics to display a different model phone if you like (such as 7100G vs 7100T). You can also choose not to show the plastics at all.

IV. Notice there is the screenshot of the handheld display on the left, and what PTB calls the “Inspector” is on the right. This is where you will navigate the different areas of modifiable visual displays within your theme. If you go to window; catelog, the catelog will appear on the right hand side and reveal thumbnails of images for use while building. These can be edited and new catelogs can be created to make the whole process more effecient as well.

V. Theme the Banner:
The first selected inspector is for the banner. Set the background image and colors for date, time, battery meter, signal meter, network, carrier, and other indicators.

VI. Theme the Home Screen:
This will most likely consume a majority of your building time. Here you will set the homescreen font, font color, bold, italic, and anti-aliasing (takes away “jaggy” edges for the letters). Next comes the background, background mask, and all icons both normal (unselected) and focus (selected). This is also where you will be able to customize the icon overlay.

VII. Theme the controls:
The third Inspector screen has a whole slew of options. From top to bottom you can modify the dialogs, buttons, menus, titlebar, and lists. Each one has somewhat different options; however, they are all very similar and should most likely be setup with some sort of uniformity. When setting the background for the dialogs, menus, buttons, and titlebar, you will have the ability to set the “tile” area. Since you will be using a fairly small file (in pixels) that will cover differently sized areas depending on the situation, you have to tell PTB how to resize the background so that it will always look the same inside the tiled area. Another way to put it would be: you can set all four boundaries around what PTB will repeat — both across and down the display — for that menu or dialog to be the appropriate size for the given dialog or button. This will ultimately come with practice, but it is easier than it seems! Regarding the dialog background, if you make the file too large on the outside of the tile selection, then some may result in an unproper display. The symbols dialog will cut off a portion of those symbols and thereby be rendered useless. So, you see how truly important the testing of a new theme really is. Another tip to look out for is that some fonts will force your unselected and selected text to be the same color. This can be an issue if you are designing a theme using a limited amount colors in the scheme. Another mistake to avoid is setting the curser to be the same color as the background. This is a mistake that will not appear until you are testing and in the browser after selecting the “go to” option.

VIII. Theme the message list:
There is not a whole lot to do here. Just like all the previous fonts, choose them and set your desired bold, italic, or anti-aliased. The only other modification to do here is to set the background for each date’s heading. This is just like all the previous background selelctions as well. Pick the image, and then set the tile area.

IX. Theme the phone screens
The fifth and final Inspector is divided into three tabs: Phone Hotlist, Active Call, and Incoming Call.
Phone Hotlist: The only selection you can make here is the color for the number you dial as they appear on the display.
Active Call: Here you set the text and volume colors. This is also where you put in your “phone call icons” such as bluetooth, or active call, or speakerphone. These will show during an active call.
Incoming Call: You can set the text color, background image, and tiling area for the incoming call screen.

X. Export the finished theme.
Lastly, you need to export the theme so you can test it and hopefully share with others as well. Click on the fourth button from the left (green circle) to open the export window. You now have a choice: ALX or JAD. It all depends on how you will be installing the theme. ALX is the format you would use for desktop manager installs. The JAD is, of course, then going to be the format for over the air installation. You then decide the name of your new masterpiece and the location where you would like it saved. The PTB will save ALX exports in two files. One is the .alx, and the other will be the .cod file. Each ALX export you do will automatically be saved with the .alx and .cod needed to instal Plazmic Theme Reader on the handheld. This should be included in the ZIP file with the theme when sharing with others. The JAD option, on the other hand, will save with one .jad file and sometimes multiple .cod files. They will also be accompanied by a .jad and .cod file for PTR software, too.

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( via blackberryfreaks.com )

By John Brandon

Small in size and price, this smart phone is an intelligent choice

Smart enough for most business workers and soccer-moms, the BlackBerry 7100T is a worthy pocket accessory to the Mac, if only because it gets one thing right: off-loading complex chores. That’s right, the BlackBerry 7100t is one of the first smart phones that lets you use your Mac for configuration and personal information management. To configure email, you just go to www.blackberry.net, login and configure your account. To add contacts, phone numbers and other data, you can use Mac programs such as Mail and iCal to enter all the data (typing on that soft and responsive Mac keyboard), and then sync with the 7100T. This wouldn’t normally be that impressive (many phones let you sync), except for the quick and elegant data transfers.

We used PocketMac for BlackBerry ($30; www. pocketmac.net), which is required for syncing. A BlackBerry handheld lacks the overhead of a similarly-equipped PocketPC or Palm device, so there are no extra graphical features and games are simplistic. You use a scroll dial to select the program you want to run and click down; there’s no stylus at all. We connected and synced the 7100T to an iBook 700MHz over a USB connection and found that syncing completed much faster than with other handhelds, transferring all of our data in about three minutes.

After configuring our email and syncing for the first time, we found that the BlackBerry worked well as a mobile gadget. The device lasts about four days on one charge if you use it occasionally, or about four hours of constant use. The big selling point is adaptive text (a.k.a., SureType). The truncated keyboard puts two characters on one key (with one character on the outside keys). As you type, the 7100t interprets what you want to type. It works better if you don’t think about it. So, if you start typing the word “anyone,” the 7100t accesses a dictionary and knows, based on your key combinations, to use that word. Adaptive text doesn’t work as well if the word you are typing is not in the dictionary. So, if you type “Anaheim,” you may have to start scrolling through the characters, almost like you would on a cell phone keypad.

This can be frustrating, but the smaller keyboard does have some distinct advantages. For example, unlike the Treo 600 or just about any Pocket PC or Palm handheld, the 7100t–which measures only 2.3″ wide–is small enough to tuck away in a shirt pocket. The slimmer design makes it feel more like a traditional phone. At 4.2 ounces, the 7100t is also lighter than most pocket organizers. Amazingly, even with some high-end features such as polyphonic ringtones, AOL instant messaging, a 65K color screen and built-in speakerphone and headphone jack, the 7100t costs about as much as some standard cell phones. The low price may seem less attractive once you realize that T-Mobile only offers two calling plans, one at $60 per month for 1,000 minutes and the other at $80 for 1,500 minutes. T-Mobile coverage is a bit lacking in some states (see “Mobile Warming,” page 27, for details), but BlackBerry does make several other versions of the 7100 series for other cell phone carriers (such as the 7100g and 7100r).

So should you rush right out and buy one? We’ll say this: you won’t find any other smart phone with all these features at such a low price, and it’s more portable and Mac-friendly than some. Adaptive text worked well for simple messages, and that’s about all we needed. We loved managing most of our contact information on the Mac and configuring email in Safari. Unless you want the coolest games, type long messages or prefer a bulkier handheld, the 7100t is a top pick.

BlackBerry 7100t:
BlackBerry |  www.blackberry.com  |  519-888-7465  | $200
Pros: Light, Mac-friendly, adaptive text, excellent price/performance ratio.
Cons: No 3D games, requires PocketMac for Blackberry to interface with a Mac.
Requires: T-Mobile service plan (7100g available for Cingular and 7100r available for Canadian Rogers Wireless)
macHOME recommends: Mac with USB and OS 10.3 or higher, Pocket- Mac for BlackBerry ($30; www.pocketmac.net)

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( via machome.com )

By Dave Conabree

• The Good: A Blackberry with a phone form factor, quad band, impressively accurate intuitive text software, excellent display, USB charger.
• The Bad: No Bluetooth file transfer, camera, voice recording, memory expansion, caller ID ringtones, voice dial, picture caller ID, music capability or IR.

• The Verdict: A compromise Blackberry that’s looks and feels like more like a phone.

REVIEW:

Over the years, I’ve had several Blackberry devices and have been pretty pleased with them. That first pager-style Blackberry really revolutionized mobile messaging and their subsequent forays into cellular products have built up a cult-like following.

That said, they’ve had a tough time penetrating the general user market. For many, the very PDA looking Blackberry phones just didn’t appeal as a consumer mobile.

RIM decided to take this on with a whole new design in the Blackberry 7100R. Available for $400 (Cdn.) on a plan at Rogers, let’s see how they did.

Look and Feel:

As size goes, the Blackberry is bigger that a standard candy-bar phone, but comes out thinner and lighter than the Treo 600. The 11.9-by-5.8-by-1.9 cm frame and light 121 gram weight keep it well within the comfortable range.

The phone’s blue, gray and white coloured plastic shell is well put together and offered no give when squeezed.

Holding the phone in your hand, it definitely strikes you as a tad odd, though. Rather than the familiar 12-button setup of a standard phone, you are greeted with 20. The additional keys spread out the alphabet making each key stand for one or two letters rather than three. This ties into RIM’s Sure-Type technology — more on that later. Also included are your traditional green and red call and end buttons and a dedicated Web key.

The 65,536-colour, 240-by-260 pixels, 5.3cm (2.1-inch) display is beautiful and very brightly lit. It looks awesome indoors but gets pretty washed out in direct sunlight.

A look around the unit reveals the USB port (also used for charging), standard headset jack, power button, back key and scroll wheel. The back sports the speakerphone and user replaceable lithium battery.

As a Mobile E-Mail Device:

I was a hardcore “crackberry” fan for years and can’t say enough about the euphoric fix of always-on e-mail. Like all the Blackberries that came before it, the 7100R constantly checks for e-mail and delivers it to your phone. You can even view (but not edit) Word, Excel and PDF attachments. This anytime/anywhere e-mail application is the bread and butter of every RIM device and it worked beautifully as always.

The question now becomes one of how to write e-mails on this funky new keyboard.

As noted, this incarnation does not have the familiar and oh-so-geek-beloved full QWERTY layout. Without enough keys to cover the alphabet, some compromises are needed. This usually means having to tap keys several times to scroll through each possible character choice or letting intuitive software take a guess at what you are writing and fill it in for you. I’ve spent years typing messages on cellphones and I can’t say I’ve ever found either system to be particularly efficient.

After a few weeks of using RIM’s new dialpad layout and Sure-Type system, I have to say that it’s definitely a step ahead. Although still nowhere near as fast or satisfying as a full QWERTY thumb board, the 7100R’s software does a heck of a job at good guessing. As you write, the device runs probable letter combinations though it’s built in 35,000-word dictionary, adding new words the first time they are used. After about a week of constant use, it had most of my vocabulary down pat. I spent hours typing away on it and found its guesses to be accurate over 90 per cent of the time when using general language. That’s leaps and bounds over T9 and other intuitive text software. When it does err, there is a dedicated key for selecting alternate letter combination options.

This was OK for message writing, but I really missed the old QWERTY goodness when entering non-standard stuff like Web addresses or non dictionary words for this first time. In those cases, you need to switch to the old tap method. Even this is an improvement of standard dial pads however, since the 20 button layout means fewer you choices per key.

As a Phone:

The 7100R definitely does a better job of being a phone than any earlier Blackberry models. For the most part, it feels, dials and operates like a normal phone. Here are some of the highlights:

It’s a quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 so you can take it all over the world. The only limit to its phonebook is the memory available and multi-key searches make pulling up any number in your directory a snap. You have a copious collection of address fields to choose from and space for notes.

Ringtones are polyphonic and can be set to good and loud when needed. The rear mounted hands free speaker is pretty decent but, like a lot of phones, can only be activated once you are already in a call. Switching sound profiles is as easy as holding down the # key.

All these things said, the designers seem to have skipped a few features that seem essential in a phone at this dollar value. Notably absent were caller ID ringtones, voice dial, picture caller ID and Bluetooth file transfer.

With regard to the latter, yes, it has Bluetooth and will hook up with headsets. For reasons unknown though, you can’t use this feature to synchronize or transfer files to other Bluetooth devices. Seeing as that is how I get a lot of ringtones from people, I found this omission a little annoying.

The phone is rated for 240 hours of standby time and 4.5 hours of talk. I left it on standby in my drawer for almost an entire week before I got the low battery warning so that part is definitely up to spec. Talk time is tougher to nail down, since Web browsing and other non phone activities can really wear the battery down and I do a whole lot of that.

As a PDA:

In this category, I find the 7100R to be lacklustre by today’s standards. Yes, it synchronizes with Outlook and you can create full featured calendar, contact, notes and task entries on the go. So in this sense, it’s a PDA. Unfortunately, its a no Infra-Red, No Bluetooth File Transfer, No Music, No Video, No Touch Screen, No voice Recording, No Memory Expansion (32MB built in), and no camera PDA.

On the software side, the number of titles available for RIM devices has increased over the years, but it’s still no where near the thousands available for other platforms. A quick check of the Handango.com software site (RIM links directly to them) shows 90 titles for this device. That’s just a tiny fraction of what’s available for Palm devices and to a lesser degree, PocketPCs.

Let’s look at some of the few programs included on the device.

BrickBreaker: This is the only pre-loaded game and it’s a pretty good Break Out type clone. The phone’s scroll wheel lends itself well to this type of game and I had a tough time prying the wife off of it.

Web Surfing: The 7100R supports both Java and flash and comes equipped with both HTML and WAP browsers. Running it on the Rogers network, using the HTML browser with images on, I loaded Globetechnology.com in two minutes and 56 seconds. With the images off, it took one minute and 47 seconds. That’s a considerably long time. Although the screen resolution makes Web pages very easy on the eyes, the formatting left quite a bit to be desired. For this review, I had the browser setup in either Blackberry or Internet Explorer emulation modes (there are four more). In both of these, I had regularly found that entire sections of some pages were displayed as a single vertical row of one or two characters. This, combined with the wait time, pretty much ruled out this function for me.

Calculator: This is an application I tend to use in most of my phones, as it gives me a one-handed calculator when shopping. Unfortunately, the implementation in the 7100R largely precludes this. You can punch in the numbers easily enough however you then need to roll to each math operator with the scroll wheel. This would not be bad if you could roll to the plus sign and leave it there. That way you could just press “5″ then click the wheel for “plus” and then press “5″ again to get “10″. Instead, it forces you to roll back through the numbers to the math operator after every selection. This is far too time consuming and I just avoided it. Also of note, the application appears to be an afterthought as it only takes up half of the screen real estate leaving the rest as a blank white background.

Pictures: The 7100R comes with a stunning set of landscapes to use as wallpapers and you can install more via the provided software. There are no zoom or orientation options.

Alarm: This is a pretty handy app and I made regular use of it. I set my daily wake up time, asked that it ignore the weekends and I was good to go. You even get a snooze command. You can pick from a list of tones and volume levels to suit your preferences.

Call Log: This is your basic list of incoming and outgoing calls with timers.

Search: This allows you to search for a word in any message, calendar entry, address contact, memo pad or task. It works pretty quickly and is intelligently laid out in expandable groups.

General Navigation:

The 7100R’s operating system is visually attractive and easy to find your way around. I had no difficulty locating any option I sought. Although zippy on the front menus, I found navigating to be a bit slow when moving from some menus. Sometimes I would click on an option and have to wait one to two seconds to see the corresponding response.

Another, albeit minor, issue is the way menu scrolling is set up. If I come to a long list of options and scroll my way down to the bottom choice, I can’t just keep scrolling to pop back to the top of the list. Instead, I have to scroll all the way back. This is not a deal breaker but does tend to slow navigation a bit. Of course, you can offset this somewhat by re-ordering applications to where you need them.

Conclusion:

In the hierarchy of cellphone data entry, the full QWERTY thumb-driven keyboard still reigns for ease of use and speed. Although I found the Sure-Type software and keyboard layout to be a vast improvement over standard dial pads, it’s still an act in compromise.

If you are looking for a good Smartphone and are willing to sacrifice Blackberry’s signature push e-mail, the Treo 600 has a lot more to offer to tech driven consumers. It’s also about $100 (Cdn.) cheaper. If you love your Blackberry but really wish it looked and felt like a phone, this unit is it.

( via .theglobeandmail.com )

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BlackBerry 7100r Technical Specifications

General

Status
Available

Introduced
January 2005

Network (2G)
GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900

Form factor
Block

Antenna type
Internal

Size

Weight
120 g (with battery)

Dimensions
119 x 58 x 19 mm

Display

Type
Graphical

Coloured
Yes, 65K colors

Size
240 x 260 pixels

- Backlit QWERTY layout keyboard
- Wallpapers
- Thumb-operated trackwheel and ESC key
- Intuitive menus
- Password protection and keyboard lock

Memory

- 32 MB flash memory- 4 MB SRAM

Ringtones

Polyphonic ringtones
Yes

- 32 channels- Customization: Download

Networking

GPRS
Yes

USB
Yes, port

Infrared
No

Email client
Yes

- Compatibility (Email Integration)
- POP3/ISP; IMAP; AOL Mail;
- Yahoo Mail; MSN

Features

Vibration
Yes

SMS
Send / Receive

MMS
Send / Receive

Java
Yes

Games
Yes

Games list
BrickBreaker downloadable

Clock
Yes

Alarm
Yes

Calculator
Yes

To-do list
Yes

Handsfree
Yes

Standard Battery

Type
Li-Ion

Standby time
GSM: 200h

Talk time
GSM: 5h

By Jeff Cutler

Since the first Palm Pilot came out, I’ve been drooling over ways to take all my information with me and be able to connect to other people via the same device. No, the first Palms and other PDAs were woefully deficient in their ability to keep me in touch. But then came the BlackBerry.

Let’s skim over the original clunky RIM (Research In Motion) brand BlackBerrys that were standalone devices using a sparse communications backbone for email and text messaging. Then let’s gun the engine forward to today as I sit holding a brand new, NEXTEL-branded BlackBerry 7100i.

Four words. The future keeps coming!

Initial Impressions

The BlackBerry box came stuffed to the gills with

- The BlackBerry phone
- The battery
- Battery charger
- A SIM card
- A headset
- Carrying holster
- USB-to-USB cable (for syncing the device)
- A documentation kit (very complete manuals, software agreement)
- BlackBerry software CD-ROM
- A NEXTEL welcome guide
- A comprehensive manual

I may have just found the perfect way to leave my laptop at home when I travel. Instead of carrying around up to 12lbs of technology, I can load the 7100i with my info and then use it as my lifeline to the wired and unwired world. This device is topnotch.

Right out of the box, the BlackBerry is only three steps away from being ready to go. All you have to do is load the battery, charge it up and make sure the phone is set to your email account. The phone came with a SIM card loaded and started right up when I plugged it in.

If you’ve already used a BlackBerry for work or leisure, you might want to gloss over the next few sentences as I gush about how great this thing is.

Based on the booklet and everything I’ve heard about these neat communications tools, they’re so cool and functional that you’ll be floored! Everything I might need to do and everyone I might need to contact can be loaded into the 7100i and taken with me anywhere. The additional NEXTEL walkie-talkie feature is just a bonus.

As everyone says, and as nobody believes until they see for themselves, “You have to get one of these. Your life will not be the same.”

**Grain-of-salt moment: You can definitely enjoy more functionality by carrying your current laptop, a wireless-enabled phone and a PDA, but as more functions are jammed into the ‘smartphone-style’ PDAs and BlackBerry-type devices, your attaché of electronic goods will get lighter and lighter.

Additional first impressions were the stylistic touches on this Nextel/Sprint BlackBerry. It’s only a little larger than my current LG phone and the keypad looks easy to use, while the screen is full-color and large enough for even those folks who need ‘cheater’ glasses from the local pharmacy.

Support

The BlackBerry, as mentioned, works on the NEXTEL/Sprint network and can operate as a regular cell phone, as a walkie-talkie, as an MMS device, as an email machine and as a Web access point (the browser window gets jumbled depending on the sites you visit, but you can still surf the ‘Net and enjoy unfettered access from nearly anywhere).

The 72-page manual is comprehensive and clear. It starts you right off with loading the battery and SIM card and then brings you right into syncing your files, contacts and using the phone and email functions. *As with most manuals these days, the last 20 pages are all disclaimers and legalese.

Finally, when you first set up the BlackBerry to receive and send email, your box immediately receives four emails that welcome you to the network and give you some helpful tips on typing and on managing your information – definitely a nice touch.

Functionality

I am not a dolt. I’m an early-adopter of many technologies and gadgets, but the one thing I failed to jump on board with years ago was the BlackBerry. On some counts I am kicking myself, but on others I’m glad I waited. The devices are not so streamlined, functional and fun to use that I would have probably complained for two years if I had to keep a clunky, oversized BlackBerry in my pocket or briefcase just to stay in touch with the world.

Let’s look at this device from three aspects: phone functions, record keeping and Internet/Web.

As a phone, the NEXTEL/Sprint BlackBerry 7100i gets better reception in some spots than my Verizon phone. It features the walkie-talkie functionality of NEXTEL and the 7100i must have a stronger antenna than earlier cells because reception was good everywhere I used it. In fact, I just drove my father’s car to Florida from Boston and the 7100i got a strong signal the whole trip.

Some of the limitations you might face with a NEXTEL/Sprint contract seem to have been alleviated. In 2000, I had one of the first Sprint flip cell phones and if I was more than 42-feet from a major highway, the reception was ZERO. The combined networks have fixed this issue through a larger collection of towers and better technology.

Additionally, the handset fits nicely in its included holster, fits neatly in my small hands and is easy to listen to and speak into. It even has an extendable antenna for increased reception. I kept the phone volume on medium the whole time even though I constantly change the volume on my own phone depending on background noise and reception.

Coordinating your contact list, your information and your life. The BlackBerry does it simply and efficiently. Through the USB to USB sync cable, this puppy can grab your calendar, your phone list and other info right from your PC. Unfortunately, BlackBerry isn’t Mac compatible out of the box (Pocket Mac for BlackBerry required), but I’m still tempted to abscond with this device for all its other features.

It has a calculator, task list and even a game called BrickBreaker as nice other touches. In fact, if you were going away for a while and needed to remain connected to an office or to your appointments, you could do it with just this device. After a while the typing might get bothersome and the little screen could bug you, but you would certainly survive.

Internet and the Web are the two things this device handles that amazed me the most. I’m guilty of Googling myself and visiting my own Web sites frequently (helps boost traffic), so the first thing I did when I got the 7100i running was jump online and go to my sites. Just plain neat.

It was seamless. All I had to do was turn it on, select the icon that looks like the earth and type in my URLs. Maybe the most difficult thing was getting used to the two modes of typing offered on the BlackBerry – SureType or Multi-tap.

With SureType, you just type away and the device tries to guess the words you’re spelling. It’s entirely useless for Web addresses. When I tried to put in jeffcutler.com/jblog, I stymied the unit. No matter how I tried, it wasn’t going to guess my URLs. But, when using the Multi-tap method (and you can switch between the two with one button press) it was simple. Even symbol use is almost intuitive.

As for email access, it’s great. My parents’ house is on an island just off the coast of Florida. They only recently got high-speed Internet access and I’ve been unable to get my iBook to play nice with their connections down here so I frequently WiJack around the island to check my email. With the BlackBerry, I can sit by the pool and find out who’s trying to get in touch with me.

Just jump into the email (set-up takes only a few minutes) and you’re cooking with gas. Emails come right to your handset. I’m already trying to justify giving up my ordinary cell that only has text messages and picture messages. How can they compare to full-on Internet?

Overall Impressions

If you’re sick of me piling praise on the 7100i, here’s your comeuppance. The only drawback to having the Internet in your pocket is price. As with any cellphone or Internet plan, access costs money. But if you’re going to spend money on a cell and use it for wireless Web and/or extensive text messaging, go the whole way and get a BlackBerry.

I found the 7100i easy to use, fun to set up and a great way to stay in touch with civilization while away from my office. It sells right now for $199 through Sprint Nextel.

Important Specifications

Dimensions: 119.2mm (L) x 58mm(W) x 23.4mm (D), not including antenna
Weight: 145g (5.1 oz)
Battery Information Secure 1000mAh removable Lithium Battery
~170 minutes talk time
~90 hours standby time

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( via mobilemag.com )