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"MUCH MUCH Better!" on by mdforsyth
Pros: WiFi-Speaker-Construction
Cons: WiFi & Battery Life and NO YAHOO IM again!
Summary: I gave up my 8800 Friday for this phone and have been using it for 2 days now. First off the side panels don’t creak anymore and the roller button works much better. The Wi-Fi was easy to get up and running and have been using the phone with it on and see that I will need to be charging it as often as possible. Now the edge over 3g, ok should they have 3G YES but they don’t and it still goes out to the web when I need it to, and really if I want faster downloads I would rather do it from my laptop anyway. The speaker sounds much better as well with voices coming in much clearer than the 8800. As far as a camera option missing who really cares this phone is an email tool, not to update Pics on MySpace. I have had almost every version of BB and I can say as a business user this is the best yet. Great Job RIM,, but AT&T you still suck! If you have an 8800 DUMP it you won’t regret it.
Updated
Ok I have had some of the same problems as some users lately. The 8820 doesnt work with ALL wireless routers for some reason. So far I see that is supports WPA(but not using AES) and WEP works fine on certain routers. I have used 3com and it seems to work with them but I know that it wont work with Belkin N1 routers(the new (lcd screen N1)N1 router hasnt been tested yet), your phone might try to connect to it and then reboot for no reason. Updating the firmware from RIMS website through AT&T wont fix this issue, they dont have any info coming out on when RIM will have a fix for this. SO connecting the WiFi will be hit or miss for now. ALSO if you do run into the reboot issue when trying to connect, try powering off your router or ap and once the phone boots up remove the wifi profile it will then act normally again. -
"Great device that lives up to the BlackBerry legend. But who cares about WiFi? (I'll explain)" on by themacdaddy
Pros: GPS. Love the form factor! Good battery life. The best email device you can get (and I've had them all)
Cons: No camera. Somewhat lacking in email features (I'll explain...)
Summary: I've had a blackberry before. So I don't know what more to say about the BlackBerry in general that I haven't said already. It's the best email device you can buy. Better than Treo (and I like the Treo, but the BB is better for email). Better than any Windows Mobile device, hands down. I say "Better" because it's reliable and fast. You can always trust that it's working; email is getting pushed to your device, sent emails are pushed up to the server. No nonsense, no clogs....it just works. If you rely on email, this is the device to get. But I wish it were more capable, like desktop email applications. I'd like the ability to search as robustly as I can on my desktop (Search for particular sender, or subject line, etc). I'd also like better handling of attachments. The process and function of downloading and viewing attached images is something out of the early 90s. I also wish it could display HTML encoded email instead of displaying it as plain text.
I love this form factor. It's a little larger than the Curve, but I found the curve to be a little too small. The bigger 8820 feels more comfortable to me. And the GPS is great to have
It annoys me that this BB doesn't have a camera, because it's nice to have from time to time, even for my business purposes.
Finally...WiFi. I found the WiFi to be pretty useless. The BB browser is slow, no matter how you're connected. I found myself waiting.....WAITING for MediaNet to load!! I found myself waiting for other simple sites to load. I mean it got to the point where i wasn't even sure my BB was using the WiFi connection. But it was. What's the point of WiFi on a BlackBerry anyway? You havea WiFi connection in your house, maybe one or two spots around town, and that's basically it. So what's the big deal? How fast do we really need to download these text-only emails? How much web surfing are we gonna be doing on our BlackBerry devices that we need WiFi? I dunno....just seems like a ridiculous feature to me. WFi coverage is SERIOUSLY limited, and all that bandwidth on a device like the blackberry is overkill. So I wish people would get over the gimmick. If you have a need for all that speed, you need to be using a computer to do whatever it is you need that speed for. Not a phone. I mean, get serious.
Anyway....I love this blackberry. If you need a solid phone and an even more solid email device, you really need to get this thing. There's a reason they're called "CrackBerries" -
"RIM BLACKBERRY 8820 AT&T WI-FI ,GPS" on by cspacek
Pros: nice looking,works well,gps,wi-fi capable,loaded with features
Cons: wi-fi issues on at&t service,
Summary: While RIM is once again on the cutting edge of technology with the Blackberry 8820 AT&T doesn't seem to agree with their marketing strategy.In my particular case I recieved the 8820 by FedEx and charged the unit.After Using the setup wizard and setting my own preferences throughout the various menu options, I tested the wi-fi function and it worked great!!
Next came the GPS function.With the proliferation of street navigation units on the market I was somewhat disappointed at being limited to the Telenav service option offered by AT&T.I decided there had to be a better option than paying a subscription fee every month to use the GPS function in addition to being charged download fees everytime the map updated on a route.
I downloaded Blackberry Maps and it functioned very well.I still get billed for downloading every map on my route but at least I'm not getting double billed.
Then came the shocker after connecting the 8820 to my laptop to download Blackberry Maps using the program disc from AT&T I found the Wi-Fi function suddenly inoperable.Apparently there is a conflict(?)
with the AT&T software and the 8820 wi-fi function.(AT&T supplies internet access through their GSM network for a fee per kilobyte)
The only fix I have found is to install whatever extras you desire on the 8820 then enable the password security function.Next, repeatedly enter the wrong password until the unit shuts down,resets and goes through an erase function which takes about 45 minutes.When completed the Blackberry Maps add-on was still in place,the Wi-Fi worked and the GPS functioned, and will until I have a need to use the AT&T software again,after which the whole password violation sequence will have to be repeated to get the Wi-Fi function restored.
Tech support at AT&T and RIM claimed to have no clue as to the cause for the wi-fi failure.AT&T also claimed only Telenav will work with the GPS.
All this being said the 8820 is a very impressive unit.Even when out of cell coverage areas or out of the country. information can still be sent and recieved at any internet cafe or wi-fi hotspot.Mine was going back for a refund today until I discovered the fix.If the unit had performed as advertised without all the trouble,if customer service had done their job I would have given the unit a higher rating. The bottom line is the unit functions under the limitations of the service provider not as it is advertised.It took 4 very frustrating days to crack this problem. -
"I think it is great" on by garyosburn
Pros: talk time, standby time
Cons: no VOIP (ATT Issue, not Blackberry issue, the phone is capable), Wi-FI reduces standby time alot.
Summary: Up front, my ideal cell phone would be just a plain phone that worked well every time - good voice quality, universal coverage, no lost calls. No MP3, No Camera, No GPS.
The balckberry 8820 is a long way from that ideal, but my boss said get a blackberry. The good news is that I can get my email wherever I am. The bad news is that I can get my email from wherever I am.
So I chose the 8820, mostly due to the Wi-Fi. But to be honest, I don't think that is such a big deal. I can access the internet via wi-fi from coffee shops, etc, but I usually would rather have coffee in a coffee shop.
I do want to correct an error made in the original review. There is a Blackberry only chat, but you can also get a universal chat client (for money) or download Yahoo Messenger or Google Chat (for free) they both work just fine either via cell or wi-fi.
Also if your company uses IBM Sametime, there is a (free) Sametime client as well.
You can pay for the GPS service pre-loaded on the unit or download Google Maps for free.
I would like to see a simple clock screen saver so I could see what time it is without logging on (security requriement at work. No coundown timer, no stop watch, just a clock. (in case you havn't figured this out for yourself, I am a pretty simple guy) -
"Perfect device" on by 208GadgetGeek
Pros: Everything is great on this phone!
Cons: Nothing yet
Summary: I purchased a Blackberry 8310 (Curve) about three weeks ago. It was my first Blackberry. after taking a few days to get used to the OS, I loved it.
I ended up taking my 8310 back to the AT&T store because I wasn't happy about the battery life. I paid $53.00 more and got the 8820.
The 8820 is an awesome device! I really don't care about a camera so I don't mind not having one on the 8820.
Everything just flat out works on this phone! The Blackberry OS is brilliant! You get your emails instantly, phone calls sound good and the person on the other end can hear me just fine. The 3rd party applications like TeleNav, ESPN and Google maps work flawless!
If you need a real business device, don't think of getting any other device... Get the Blackberry 8820. It's the Best one on the market!
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