vB Easy Archive - 8310 Curve or 8925 Tilt

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8310 Curve or 8925 Tilt
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Posted by: Ramblin Man

I would love to hear from those with some experience with each as to the relative merits of each device. My principle applications are the phone and e-mail from my company. Apart from those two, I do a little surfing, have a few third party applications, occaisionally use the WiFi (I know the 8310 does not have it, but not essential). I have an 8525 which I have generally enjoyed (haven't upgraded to the WM6 yet), but have to have a device now that will enable me to receive e-mail from my company's BB Enterprise server. I like the 8310 form factor, but miss the touch screen and scroll wheel. I have never had a BB. Your thoughts.

Posted by: Cementups

I had never had a smartphone till 2 months ago. I initially bought the TILT. After 3 weeks, I took it back and bought the Curve. The Tilt OS was too slow. it took 10 minutes to do anything. With the blackberry I have what I want to do immediately when I request it. Plus having the keyboard available with the extra movement of slliding the top and then turning the whole phone is way more convenient. And it is hard to type on the Tilt as well.

Posted by: davistld01

I have had three friends that have forsaken their BlackBerry devices and run to get the Tilt...only to return it in less than a week, and go back to their BlackBerrys. The comments were mostly about slow OS, poor build-quality, difficulty in typing and just a general dissatisfaction overall.

Take it for what it's worth...

Posted by: Bigbmc26

I will tell you I've used both BB and WM6 for sometime now and I love both. Neither is perfect. There are things I love about HTC and WM6, like the huge keyboard and the way goodlink email looks & reads on the device. I've never really had any problems with the OS running slow, but you do have to reset it from time to time. There are also things I love about BB. The OS is rock solid and the device is small and compact, but I hate the way the emails read and I want HSDPA on it.

The bottom line is, which device are you comfortable with. Many people that have used BB for years won't like the Tilt simply because they are used to BB. WM takes some getting used to if you haven't used it regularly. The same is ture for switcing from windows mobile to BB. I say try both out. You have 30 day return/exchange policy. Hope that helps.

Posted by: PPCMD

I was a diehard WM Touchscreen user and moved onto the WM non touchscreen Smartphone OS. I learned to live without the touchscreen and actually found it a much better user experience.

I have used the Tilt and wanted one but honestly in the end the 8820 does a much better job of email, contacts generally what you need your smartphone to do. The WiFi is nice at my home since Edge service is tough (country area). I have also found the phone integration on the BB side is much nicer but I am still trying to figure out what is going on with Voice Signal.

I also own the 8310 and its a nice smaller phone for weekend use but will actually be turned on at some point in the near term as my corp BES device leaving my 8820 as my personal device. I actually think the 8820 is worth the increase (not much of an increase) over the 8310. Trackball, keyboard are much more solid feeling.

Posted by: turbonamja

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPCMD

I was a diehard WM Touchscreen user and moved onto the WM non touchscreen Smartphone OS. I learned to live without the touchscreen and actually found it a much better user experience.

I have used the Tilt and wanted one but honestly in the end the 8820 does a much better job of email, contacts generally what you need your smartphone to do. The WiFi is nice at my home since Edge service is tough (country area). I have also found the phone integration on the BB side is much nicer but I am still trying to figure out what is going on with Voice Signal.

I also own the 8310 and its a nice smaller phone for weekend use but will actually be turned on at some point in the near term as my corp BES device leaving my 8820 as my personal device. I actually think the 8820 is worth the increase (not much of an increase) over the 8310. Trackball, keyboard are much more solid feeling.

I was wondering the same thing ... if you had to choose b/w the two berrys, you would opt. for the 8820 b/c of more functionality and a more robust design? I like the way the curve looks and I am in debate in which one to purchase. I have an iPhone now but need more from my phone although I do love the full web browser, I need something else besides the touchscreen, it gets rather annoying.

Posted by: PPCMD

Its always tough to decide. Once my company goes BES and the have to travel the curve will be my BES device but to me the GPS, WiFi, more solid feel I would go 8820.

Posted by: Tobyus

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPCMD

Its always tough to decide. Once my company goes BES and the have to travel the curve will be my BES device but to me the GPS, WiFi, more solid feel I would go 8820.

I agree. I've had my hands on an 8300 (not the 8310) for a short time, and a Tilt for a short time, but I own an 8820, and so far I must say I am glad I picked the 8820. You may miss the camera (so far I've not needed it, though there are times I would like to have one just because of the convenience). The GPS works great (I've installed Google Maps, BB Maps, and amAze and all 3 use the GPS wonderfully). The WiFi is very fast and works great with Opera Mini once it has decided to use it instead of Edge. For that matter, I've been rather impressed with the speed of the Edge.

The keyboard feels/works great. I think the keys are the perfect size. The trackball is very nice as well. The only thing that I really wish my 8820 had that the 8310 has, and it almost made me change my purchase, was the 3.5 mm headphone jack. I've ordered an adapter so I can use my regular headphones to listen to music on my BB, so soon that won't be an issue hopefully.

Oh, and as far as looks go, the 8820 is gorgeous in my eyes.

Posted by: turbonamja

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobyus

Thanks for the detailed response. For me, it will be the BB Curve or the 8820 it seems ... what to pick ... what to pick.

Posted by: PPCMD

Pick me, pick me (says the 8820) WiFi & GPS is much better than GPS and a camera you will hardly use

Posted by: turbonamja

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPCMD

Pick me, pick me (says the 8820) WiFi & GPS is much better than GPS and a camera you will hardly use

Hahaha nice. Hey just curious, what kind of data plan do you have and what is the total bill if you don't mind me asking? I'm up in the air on the phones and on what I should get. Maybe I should go to the store and just play with them and try them out.

Posted by: Tobyus

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbonamja

I have the $59.99 (550 minutes) family plan + $29.99 Blackberry Internet Service plan (unlimited data, but no texting, though you can use Google Talk, RambleIM, JiveTalk, since they use data instead

).

My total bill according to OLAM will be $101.22 after taxes and fees have been added.

Oh, and I'm not sure where you plan on buying your phone, or if you are still under contract, but if you are thinking of buying new and don't mind signing a 2 year contract, I would recommend Amazon.com. I got my brand new (not refurb) 8820 from them for $99 shipped. I think the 8310 is the same price on Amazon as well.

Posted by: Ramblin Man

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on the Tilt v. the 8310. I am using the BB and seeing if I can get use to all of the differences (I was using an 8525, but my company shut down the mechanism I was using to get my e-mail off the MS Exchange Server and forced me to operate off of the BES, which the Tilt can do as well). One problem I have had is that the Voice Dialing feature doesn't seem to be able to identify what I am saying if I am in my car, even if I am not moving very fast. In my office, it seems to work fine. On my 8525, I had Voice Command and never had any problems in the car. For reasons of safety, that is a very important feature. Has anyone else had problems with that feature, or have any ideas as to how to improve its performance? I called AT&T and got the dept that handles the PDA phones, but the guy I spoke with didn't have any ideas how to resolve. He then gave me a number at BlackBerry that he said was technical support but it wasn't. When I went on BB's website, it only offered pay per incident support (other than some other more costly plans) and I could not find anything in their on-line resources that even remotely dealt with this issue - that was pretty disappointing in terms of keeping the BB. Any ideas out there or other experiences regarding techical support from either BB or AT&T?

Posted by: PPCMD

I have the 1400 Minute plan and BIS on both the 8320 & 8820, the 8320 will need BES at some point but not right now.

As for the Voice Signal it is a pretty good program, but the issue I have run into is I can't hear any voice prompts ore responses in the car when its tied to my BT HFK (Pioneer Head Unit with BT HFK) nothing. This is odd but its what I use. Any other thoughts on this.

Posted by: Tobyus

I've not used the Curve's voice dialing feature, so I am not sure if it performs the same as the 8820's, but I will say that the 8820's voice dialing seems to work great at times and not-so-great at others. I can't think of why it wouldn't work in the car besides road noise. I know PPCMD said he is using Bluetooth, but I didn't catch if you were Ramblin Man? I don't have a BT headset yet, just a wired headset, and it seems to work in the car, though I can tell that the more background noise there is, the harder time the voice dialing program has understanding me.

As for support, I am just as shocked as you that there isn't a number to call for Tech Support.... I didn't realize you had to pay per use for support.

Posted by: Ramblin Man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobyus

I've not used the Curve's voice dialing feature, so I am not sure if it performs the same as the 8820's, but I will say that the 8820's voice dialing seems to work great at times and not-so-great at others. I can't think of why it wouldn't work in the car besides road noise. I know PPCMD said he is using Bluetooth, but I didn't catch if you were Ramblin Man? I don't have a BT headset yet, just a wired headset, and it seems to work in the car, though I can tell that the more background noise there is, the harder time the voice dialing program has understanding me.

As for support, I am just as shocked as you that there isn't a number to call for Tech Support.... I didn't realize you had to pay per use for support.

I do use a BT Hands Free system in my car, but I am not using it when I try to use Voice Dialing. I suspect it is the road noise, although, as I said, even when I am stopped at a red light, it won't pick up my voice, and my car is very quiet. As I said before, however, Voice Command on my 8525 worked very well regardless of where I was, and if I can't get the Voice Dialing to work any better, I will go to the 8925. I will probably go ahead and call BB's tech support, even though I have to pay for it, and try to find someone who can confirm that my technique is correct and that the Voice Dialling is working as well as it is able, assuming there is not something wrong with it.

Does anyone know anything about using the BT Hands Free system in conjunction with Voice Dialling - ideally, I would prefer to use that rather than the handset, itself, to initiate calls.

Posted by: Ramblin Man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramblin Man

I tried unpairing the 8310 and then using the Voice Dialing, and it worked. Now the question is, is there a way to make it work while it is paired? In fact, I thought I read that you should be able to use a BT device to communicate commands to the handset using Voice Dialing. Does anyone know anything about that, or at least how to eliminate the conflict caused by having the 8310 paired with the handsfree system (which is an OEM system in my 2006 Lexus IS 350), other than unpairing and the re-pairing the two?

Posted by: suthurnlatino

I got rid of the bloatware that AT&T put on the tilt. I only have a few programs installed and it runs better. Also, Blackberry Connect on the Tilt eliminated my need for the Curve. The voice quality of the Tilt is one of the things that really won me over too. It feels like the person I'm talking to is in the same room.

Posted by: TrilawND

Ramblin' Man - did you ever resolve your voice dialing issues? My issue with the Curve II is that I cannot understand the voice repeating back a name to me and I have yet to figure out how I can train it to understand my voice. Anyone have any input on this?

Posted by: civicboy

I currently Own the Tilt and the 8310. Personally I love the BB better then the tilt after using it. It so much easier to txt on. The only things i dont like is that it doesnt have wifi like the tilt did. Also i dont like how the browser is ont he bb. The tilt browser looked alot better due to the WM6. Overall they are both great phones.

Posted by: ptukhar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramblin Man

I would love to hear from those with some experience with each as to the relative merits of each device. My principle applications are the phone and e-mail from my company. Apart from those two, I do a little surfing, have a few third party applications, occaisionally use the WiFi (I know the 8310 does not have it, but not essential). I have an 8525 which I have generally enjoyed (haven't upgraded to the WM6 yet), but have to have a device now that will enable me to receive e-mail from my company's BB Enterprise server. I like the 8310 form factor, but miss the touch screen and scroll wheel. I have never had a BB. Your thoughts.

My 2 cents

I have both but prefer the 8310 mainly becuase of stability and ease of use.
The tilt in my opinion is hard to use with a single hand.
But it really comes down to stability. I'd rather have a phone that I know will ring or can make a call without any issues. My tilt will lock up once in awhile after I make a call or during the night. My curve howver has never locked up once.

It really comes down to what you prefer.

Posted by: tnok

i have a curve that i use, and i have a tilt that i use as a paperweight......

Posted by: plz_kill_me

Wirelessly posted (something real serious.: BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I sold my Tilt and bought an 8310. In my experience (which I have an exceptional amount of--) I find Blackberries to be not only the most functional and aesthetically appealing devices on the market (as far as my preferences are concerned) but also, they become an addiction. I enjoyed HSDPA and Opera Mobile. The Curve however, is just perfectly practical & offers easy, intuitive options to suite my needs. No hassle, no extensive modifications required and no huge restrictions. It's features like the spell check, the 3.5mm headset jack-- the push e-mail-- You can't beat it.

Posted by: nvisi0n

Quote:

Originally Posted by plz_kill_me

Wirelessly posted (something real serious.: BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I sold my Tilt and bought an 8310. In my experience (which I have an exceptional amount of--) I find Blackberries to be not only the most functional and aesthetically appealing devices on the market (as far as my preferences are concerned) but also, they become an addiction. I enjoyed HSDPA and Opera Mobile. The Curve however, is just perfectly practical & offers easy, intuitive options to suite my needs. No hassle, no extensive modifications required and no huge restrictions. It's features like the spell check, the 3.5mm headset jack-- the push e-mail-- You can't beat it.

I agree just about everything here. I had an 8525 and consider myself to be a power-user and the AT&T 85xx/89xx form factor is like carrying a dorm room refrigerator with you. The 8310 does everything I need and does it faster and more reliably.

Posted by: steph280

I have both the Tilt and 8310. IMO they cater to different crowd. The Tilt is almost like a full blown Windows PC. It is a hacker/tweaker's wet dream since the stuff you can do on it is limitless. But just like its big Windows brothers, some tasks are overly complex and difficult to do, like making a simple phone call. Trying giving the Tilt to a newbie and asking them to make a call. But there are features which I need, such as remote terminal to a work PC, or ssh to our Unix servers.

Curve on the other hand is much more "elegant." It was designed with ergonomics in mind. Things are much better laid out and easier to use. It's not some hack job by a phone manufacturer trying to get it to work with Microsoft's crappy Windows Mobile. They keypad is a dream to type on, perfect feedback and spacing.

Comparing the two is very much like comparing Windows Vista to Mac OSX....