BB Bold 9700 - worth it? And a few noob questions.

[letmein]

So guys, I need a new phone. Currently I am on a Nokia N70 that has served me faithfully for 4 years. But now it’s time to change.

My budget is around Rs. 30,000. I need the following things in the phone:
-Full QWERTY Keypad
-Great Web Browsing experience
-Ability to view/edit World and Excel Documents and view PDF files.

I don’t care much about a touch screen.

That said, I’ve shortlisted the following phones:
1) Blackberry Bold 9700 (~29-30k)
2) Nokia N900 (~32k on eBay)
3) Motorola Droid (~27k in Mumbai, but I’m in Delhi, hopefully price is similar)
4) Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 (~32k on eBay)

Out of the four, I’m leaning towards the Bold 9700. Specwise, it doesn’t match the others. Yet there is something about if that is drawing me towards it. It is compact compared to the others, and gives off the ‘professional look.’

So here are a few questions:
1) To the BB users – is it worth it? How are you finding the experience? And most importantly, how’s web browsing?

2) The thing I’m most confused about – the BIS.

Now as I understand, you need to get the BIS activated for e-mails and internet browsing. Most service providers offer a light plan and heavy/unlimited data plan (for about Rs. 1,000).

I already have a prepaid Airtel GSM connection and would like to keep it. Would it be possible to simply insert the SIM card in the 9700 and get the BIS activated from the CC? And does that mean that I would have to pay Rs. 899 monthly for the unlimited plan? (Over and above my normal phone recharges)
So is Airtel a good BB provider? Also, (a really stupid question here) – Airtel does not offer 3G services right now, right? So would it be possible to get an MTNL 3G connection alongside the Airtel connection? And is 3G worth it? The cost on MTNL’s site for unlimited is 3,100 and Rs. 1,500 for 1GB.:O 3-4k extra per month is pretty heavy cost for me.

Thanks for reading.

 

[H2O]

I would recommend you not to go for a BB. Personally I feel BIS is all a scam and if you have Airtel Prepaid you can get 2GB of Data Usage for Rs.95/-

Now coming to your other options, maybe you should tell us your requirements in order of preference and what your final budget is.

Maybe you should open to touchscreen phones and take a look at Google Nexus 1, HTC HD2, iPhone or wait for the Samsung Wave.

 

[letmein]

I would recommend you not to go for a BB. Personally I feel BIS is all a scam and if you have Airtel Prepaid you can get 2GB of Data Usage for Rs.95/-

Now coming to your other options, maybe you should tell us your requirements in order of preference and what your final budget is.

Maybe you should open to touchscreen phones and take a look at Google Nexus 1, HTC HD2, iPhone or wait for the Samsung Wave.

I'm not even considering touch screen only phones...I NEED a QWERTY keypad.

 

[desiibond]

If you are not interested in flaunt factor, my suggestion for you would be Nokia E72. This is an allrounder and is successor to highly successful N71. Purely a business class phone. Since you have used N70, you will be comfortable using it right away as it uses the same OS that N70 had.

Also check Nokia N97, Samsung B7610 Omnia II.

 

[mathi_vadhanan]

I think E63 has the best QWERTY keyboard of all E-series phones. Its a no-frills phones, absolute VFM for 9k. Though its just 1/3rd of your budget it fits perfectly to your order of preference.

 

[viridian]

I would recommend the E71 over the E72. I own an E71 and got to use the E72 for a week or so. I've had annoying issues with the jog dial thingie that is newly featured on it.

On the E71, the default browser is shit (Opera works well on it), have used excel a bit and it is usable to an extent for very simple tasks (unless you're doing Pivot tables and other black magic things).

Oh and also the keyboard on the Droid is pathetic IMO. Have you fooled around with it?

You're in a minority as all the awesome phones as of now are heavily reliant on touchscreens. Have you investigated the Moto Devour? It does look promising compared to the Droid (for one, the keys look more usable)

 

[letmein]

Thanks for the replies...

I think E63 has the best QWERTY keyboard of all E-series phones. Its a no-frills phones, absolute VFM for 9k. Though its just 1/3rd of your budget it fits perfectly to your order of preference.

E63 is a bit too old.

If you are not interested in flaunt factor, my suggestion for you would be Nokia E72. This is an allrounder and is successor to highly successful N71. Purely a business class phone. Since you have used N70, you will be comfortable using it right away as it uses the same OS that N70 had.

Also check Nokia N97, Samsung B7610 Omnia II.

I would recommend the E71 over the E72. I own an E71 and got to use the E72 for a week or so. I've had annoying issues with the jog dial thingie that is newly featured on it.
On the E71, the default browser is shit (Opera works well on it), have used excel a bit and it is usable to an extent for very simple tasks (unless you're doing Pivot tables and other black magic things).

Oh and also the keyboard on the Droid is pathetic IMO. Have you fooled around with it?

You're in a minority as all the awesome phones as of now are heavily reliant on touchscreens. Have you investigated the Moto Devour? It does look promising compared to the Droid (for one, the keys look more usable)

I read a preview in Delhi Times a week or so back, that said the E72 was pretty buggy. I'll give it another look though.

Isn't the N900 superior to the N97 in almost every way? :huh:

And no, I haven't physically handled the Droid, I'm doing all my research online.
Engadget have been pretty critical of the Devour:
Motorola Devour review -- Engadget

 

[desiibond]

Problem with N900 is that it is very bulky and you can't use it in portrait mode. Also, not many apps are available. Nokia is looking to pull the plug on Maemo and integrate it into Meego (Intel/Nokia platform)

So, stick to Symbian or winmo or android for now.

 

[Ragin_Ice]

I have used all the phones you have mentioned and in the end it all boils down to what you are going to do with it:
If I were you, I would choose between the E63 or the iPhone 3GS. Reasons are as follows:

iPhone 3GS because it has the best browsing experience hands down, an awesome array of applications to keep you occupied and a large screen and good amount of storage to keep you entertained with movies and music while you are traveling and last and certainly not the least- bragging rights.

The only disadvantage is multi-tasking. I like to listen to music while I am browsing or chatting on Fring with my friends. You cant do that on the iPhone.

OR

The Nokia e63. This is the best VFM phone you can come across ever. Clear advantages are a decent QWERTY keypad amazing battery life and multi-tasking. Besides, free push mail by Nokia Messaging is also a plus, though there are third party free services like Seven (Beta Versions) and Emoze (free account is slightly restricted) for S60 V3 devices.

I suggest it over the e71 and e72 because I find its keyboard slightly bigger and much easier to use. Besides the small screen size is not so conducive to GPS usage. And yea, the e63 looks just as good and I find the matte back better than the fingerprint magnet steel back.

Trust me, a touchscreen keyboard is not all that problematic. Anyway with a qwerty keypad you will be only using your thumbs.

If I were spending 30k, I would add in a few grands and get an iPhone 3GS, it truly is a pocket computer .

 

[TechHead]

I have used all the phones you have mentioned and in the end it all boils down to what you are going to do with it:
If I were you, I would choose between the E63 or the iPhone 3GS. Reasons are as follows:

iPhone 3GS because it has the best browsing experience hands down, an awesome array of applications to keep you occupied and a large screen and good amount of storage to keep you entertained with movies and music while you are traveling and last and certainly not the least- bragging rights.

The only disadvantage is multi-tasking. I like to listen to music while I am browsing or chatting on Fring with my friends. You cant do that on the iPhone.

OR

The Nokia e63. This is the best VFM phone you can come across ever. Clear advantages are a decent QWERTY keypad amazing battery life and multi-tasking. Besides, free push mail by Nokia Messaging is also a plus, though there are third party free services like Seven (Beta Versions) and Emoze (free account is slightly restricted) for S60 V3 devices.

I suggest it over the e71 and e72 because I find its keyboard slightly bigger and much easier to use. Besides the small screen size is not so conducive to GPS usage. And yea, the e63 looks just as good and I find the matte back better than the fingerprint magnet steel back.

Trust me, a touchscreen keyboard is not all that problematic. Anyway with a qwerty keypad you will be only using your thumbs.

If I were spending 30k, I would add in a few grands and get an iPhone 3GS, it truly is a pocket computer .

Emoze Pro is now freeware

 

[manu1991]

HTC Snap? Seems like a pretty decent phone.

 

[Justinâ„¢]

iPhone 3GS because it has the best browsing experience hands down, an awesome array of applications to keep you occupied and a large screen and good amount of storage to keep you entertained with movies and music while you are traveling and last and certainly not the least- bragging rights.

If I were spending 30k, I would add in a few grands and get an iPhone 3GS, it truly is a pocket computer .

You obviously haven't used a Android, N1 specially, have you? I have used iPhone 3GS, the one I had is now being used by my wife and now I am using N1.

I would not like to add anything to this thread as it already has some good suggestions other than something on BIS. Always connected IMAP is better than BIS anyday for me. The only thing is, your battery backup will be shorter and your email server should support IMAP. Other than that, BlackBerry OS is the worst of the lot I have used. Even Symbian is better. Than comes iPhone and then Android.

 

[letmein]

So confused...:S IPhone is def out. Thing with Nexus One (And droid and N900) is warranty hassles. My heart really wants a BB, but my brain can't justify the BB tax. :'(

 

[desiibond]

HTC HD2 is supported in India and currently is the most powerful mobile available in India. if you are okay with Nexus One, this would be a very good phone to consider. But for your requirement, you can go for a 20k-24k phones with full qwerty keypad. No need to spend any higher

 

[NeXT]

Useless going with a WinMo device especially when it will be outdated in the coming months thanks to WP7 and why invest in HD2 when chances of it being supported by WP7 is still hanging in Balance.

Stick with iPhone 3GS and jailbreak it and grab this app called backgrounder which will allow you to run apps in background if that's the only thing you feel that iPhone is lacking and is not worth buying. I would suggest that you pick N1 over Droid because the specs are better but if you want keyboard than go with Droid. Also N1 is suffering from a plague of diseases so avoid going for it especially since warranty is not available.

Nexus One's multitouch confused more easily than Droid's? -- Engadget

Bad news: HTC says the Nexus One doesn't 'go in pockets' -- Engadget

 

[desiibond]

^^Dude. iphone 3GS, Nexus one, Droid all these phones are not yet supported in India and it can be a big problem if they get any problem. It's like 30k bucks down the drain and you can't do anything about it.

And judging HD2 by just looking at the name of OS it is running is not a fair thought. Those who have used it are very much happy and turned out to be loyal to the combination of HD2+winmo6.5

 

[Superfrag]

The BB 9700 + the upcoming webkit browser would have been the best choice. But again, there's no confirmed news as to when the browser will release, and the browsing is not that great on the BB.

For everything else it is brilliant.

 

[beanstalk_230]

I currently use the Bold 9000 (with the OS 5.0 of the 9700) and I feel BB has done work to improve the browser experience in the update. Connectivity is a plus for BB but on the other hand its expensive to work out in the end in India.

To be true the BB has just grown on me rather than impress with its specs etc coz when I bought it I was in quite a similar dilemma but I still went to buy the BB. I use it conjointly with the Nokia 5800 and that has actually left the 5800 a bit neglected on my part.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[harish_21_10]

I have been using BlackBerry Bold 900 for about 8months now...I dint wanna get a touchscreen phone nd nor a BlackBerry...but it just took one live demo of all the BB features and usage to swing my decision to Bold 9000...
I haven't used other phones that are mentioned here, so my opinion is based on my usage of the Bold 9000....

My budget is around Rs. 30,000. I need the following things in the phone:
-Full QWERTY Keypad
-Great Web Browsing experience
-Ability to view/edit World and Excel Documents and view PDF files.

-BB 9000's QWERTY keyboard is one of the best in business and its even better if u have larger fingers.
-Browsing is fun, thanks to the track ball of the 9000...am sure touch screens will offer better web browsing experience but then that wasn't my priority.
-Editing Word nd Excel documents is easy to do and PDF fiel viewing is no trouble either...

Out of the four, I’m leaning towards the Bold 9700. Specwise, it doesn’t match the others. Yet there is something about if that is drawing me towards it. It is compact compared to the others, and gives off the ‘professional look.’

BB does give a professional look and have good build quality...
The screen of my BB 9000 is awesome:hap2: and goos audio quality too..

So here are a few questions:
1) To the BB users – is it worth it? How are you finding the experience? And most importantly, how’s web browsing?

2) The thing I’m most confused about – the BIS.

1) For me, its worth the money spent..its really fast...comfortable keys...love the track ball on BB 9000...nd did I mention that it has an AWESOME screen web browsing is also pretty good...I am a satisfied BB customer..

2)I use Vodafone postpaid and currently using the 299 plan...it offers unlimited email access for 10email accounts and unlimited instant messaging..Earlier I used to have the unlimited plan for 1099 and used it mainly for Google Maps and sometimes web surfing..

I already have a prepaid Airtel GSM connection and would like to keep it. Would it be possible to simply insert the SIM card in the 9700 and get the BIS activated from the CC? And does that mean that I would have to pay Rs. 899 monthly for the unlimited plan? (Over and above my normal phone recharges)

BB service is provided over EDGE and that results in faster browsing speed or even faster download of attachments from an email for that matter...
I am not sure if BB service is provided on a prepaid connection, u will have to check that..
I haven't used BB 9700 but I heard that its track pad is not as good a option when compared to BB 9000's track ball...everything else is pretty much the same..but do use the track pad of the 9700 and track ball on 9000 to see it for urself...

People keep talking about how amazing a touchscreen is and how a BB sucks coz of its plain interface, price and stuff but if u looking for a hone that offers AMAZING push email option, then look no further than a BlackBerry...

In the end it boils down to ur priority..I knew mine and BB suited the best for it...

Hope I was able to help...

 

[babhishek]

the trackpad on the 9700 is slick

for some it might take 2 hours to get used to it - but its wicked ass after that!