
Despite Cingular's
claim of being "the network with the least dropped calls," PC Mag's Sascha Segan finds that T-Mobile's version
of the BlackBerry 8700 smartphone, the
8700g, actually
outperforms its
8700c cousin in terms of call quality. Other
improvements upon the Cingular model are T-Mobile's addition of two key software features: the OZ semi-universal IM
client (no Gtalk, and AIM users are restricted to their small mobile buddy group) as well as the first implementation
of the
Yahoo!/RIM
partnership we heard about last month, in the form of a handy Y! Mail icon pre-loaded in the launcher. Besides
these small differences, however, Sascha finds the 8700g to perform almost exactly the same as the 8700c -- that is,
very well. Email and texting are a pleasure, attachment support is good for all but PDF files, and the crisp screen
delivers web pages cleanly (albeit at EDGE speeds), making this seem like the new go-to device for the Mob's business
clientele.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
doppler @ May 4th 2006 7:30PM
I think most BB users will freely admit that the OZ client is a total joke. There is a slew of great 3rd party IM apps.
Unrelated, anyone else on backorder for this thing? I'm coming up on a week. Grrr....
andy @ May 5th 2006 9:37AM
Ironic how the article mentioned Yahoo/RIM partnership, yet, the Google Local icon is shown in the image.
Lion Girth @ May 5th 2006 11:20AM
hello mac freaks. i am a mac user and figured out some mac users who are using the 8700 with their macs. just wanted to know if anyone has used it with Mail.app and .mac. i found some mac BB users here
http://www.macandmobile.com/blackberry-handhelds-vf20.html
does anyone know of any mac based themes for their BB?
you are stupid @ May 5th 2006 11:26AM
@2
you might want to look up the definition of ironic before you keep making stupid comments
Harry Myhre @ May 5th 2006 2:45PM
@1
My 8700G is scheduled to arrive on tuesday.
I agree with you about chat. I use the IM+ chat client for BB. Works great. It's very similiar to Adium on my mac. I can chat with MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, Google Talk and Jabber folks all at the same time from one app.
Jordan @ May 8th 2006 11:42AM
Sascha probably did not understand the differences between EFR, AMR-FR and AMR-HR codec. The Cingular connection more than like was at AMR-HR, which would explain the lower call quality. This is of course location and capacity dependant, and probably has nothing to do with the actual handset differences.
Brian C @ May 15th 2006 5:27PM
i got a 8700g from T-Mobile on 4.17m the day it was released. It is a great device.
One correction for the PPCMag review. It can be used as a wireless modem for your laptop using T-Mobile software. You will need to call customer care for correct setup as the defaults do not work.