vB Easy Archive - Help me decide b/w BB 8700 and Nokia E61

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Help me decide b/w BB 8700 and Nokia E61
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Posted by: Razor1973

I am torn b/w these two for my next phone.

I have always been a Nokia & Series 60 guy, plus the Nokia's specs are obviously more impressive than those of the BB. However, I really like the trackwheel design on the BB much better than the joystick. And the BB O/S seems to be very stable and solid, which cannot be said about Symbian on my experience.

I would not be getting the E62 from Cingular. Instead, I would be getting an unlocked E61 with WiFi and UMTS. (I wonder if that will work with Cingular's HSDPA network. How can I tell? This could be a deciding factor for me.)

Can you guys help me decide by telling me what you think are pros and cons of each of these two devices? By the way, this is only for personal use, but I like QWERTY keyboards and cannot afford an E70 (which also disappointed me on the RAM factor).

TIA!

Posted by: KlamshellKing

i just got the nokia e61, and it wont work with the 3g cingular network. honestly this is my first nokia s60 series since the 6600 and i dont like it to much. i think im just gonna stick to pocket pc forever. ppcs IMO are the future. ive never tried the BB, but the e61 is not for me... but it depends what you wanna do with your phone. i want to just browse the web, email, and do rss feeds. e61 does all well except rss because of the lack of third party apps, i wanted something that downloads the full feed (headline does this) and the picture completely offline. the e61 would be amazing if it just had WM 5.0, the speaker, screen, and keyboard are all so nice. but the os sucks IMO... well atleast until some thirdparty apps comeout

Posted by: Razor1973

I thought I read somewhere that all Series 60 applications (and there's tons of those ou there) will work on the E61/62, although I found that hard to believe because of the different form factor, screen size and landscape orientation. Have you tried installing any of the RSS readers made for Series 60 out there to see if they work?

What don't you like about the O/S? The UI should be quite similar to that of your 6600, as they both run on Series 60. I mean, did you like the 6600 O/S to begin with? I personally do like Series 60.

Thanks for you input.

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

...it wont work with the 3g cingular network...

And this is a really big bummer for me! Do you know what to look for in a phone as far as specs if I need support for Cingular's HSDPA network?

Posted by: KlamshellKing

Only series 3 programs will work on it... and theres only like 300 applications, most of them on handango are crappy java rss readers. i think i may wait it out, because it is reliable, slim, and the speaker is amazing. so i may hold on to it

Posted by: Razor1973

I see. OK.

Posted by: KlamshellKing

wait, why dont you like your 8125??

Posted by: mikemj23

For what it's worth . . .

I had the E61 for about 1 day. I know, I know . . . I didn't give it much time, BUT . . . it was pretty bad IMO. I was very excited for the E61, but the O/S on it was pretty bad. Mine was sluggish and I thought that things were unecessarily difficult to find. Also, the joystick was pretty bad . . . not nearly as practical as the scroll wheel on the BB. The keyboard was ok, I wouldn't classify it as any better than other PDA phones. I have the 8700 and I think the keyboard is excellent.

For me, the BB is the way to go. I used the 8700 for awhile and now have the 7130. OS is straightforward, browser works well, email is obviously great and the scrollwheel is very, very functional IMO.

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

wait, why dont you like your 8125??

A couple of reasons, the main one being its performance. It's really, really sluggish and when you have just a couple of applications open, the refresh rate gets really bad. I have quick hands and can't stand a slow device. The latest firmware helps a bit, but, for the most part, everything remains just as slow. It might be a low RAM problem.

Another reason is that it's first a PPC and only then a phone. Dialing is a pain in the behind, as you have no number keys, so it's all touch-screen and not very acurate, to say the least. Nothing like actually feeling the key and the press. The only thing that makes this bearable is Microsoft Voice Command.

One more... The keyboard looks nice, but it's not really as useful as it initially seems. The keys are pretty flush and it takes a hard push to get them to press. Typing on it is somewhat of an energy-consuming, stressful task.

And speaking of keyboard... The nice, back-lit keys have a light timeout of only 5 seconds and this is not adjustable. What's worse, there's no dedicated button to light these up, so you have to press any key and then undo its result, whether it's deleting a letter or number you wrote, undoing the CAPS you just enabled, etc.

I paid good money for this phone the first week it came out. In total, I may have used it for about 1 month. I will take it out, dust it, turn it on and take it to work with me. By the time I get home, I'm already switching back to my Nokia 6682.

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemj23

For what it's worth . . .

Thanks for your valuable input.

I have been pretty much set on the Nokia. Not only because I am a Nokia guy or because its feature set is much better than that of the BB, but also because I would be getting an unlocked E61 with WiFi and UMTS for $350, whereas I couldn't afford an unlocked BB and would instead have to get tied to a 2-year contract and still pay $300 for a BB locked to Cingular.

See, I want to be out of a contract by the time Cingular rolls out HSDPA in Miami (before the end of the year, from what I've read), so that I can get an HSDPA phone. The initial idea was that the E61 would be that phone, since it supports UMTS, but I've learned it doesn't work with Cingular's HSDPA network. At this point, there's no Cingular HSDPA phone I like, so I was hoping there would be one towards the end of the year (the Lennon or the Hermes, for example). That's why I was trying to avoid the BB.

Posted by: KlamshellKing

what i would do if i were you is stick with the 8125 and 6682 for now. theres no point in not buying a 3g device so late. i regret getting my e61, but i got it for 285, so i couldnt complain. im gonna sell it this week probably wait for the hermes... the 8125 is nice, but you just gotta tweak it

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

what i would do if i were you is stick with the 8125 and 6682 for now. theres no point in not buying a 3g device so late.

So late? You mean so early? As in waiting for Cingular to have the network deployed and a good number of devices to choose from? Yes, I could do that, but I really want a new phone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

i regret getting my e61, but i got it for 285, so i couldnt complain. im gonna sell it this week...

You are? Where and for how much? Inquiring minds want to know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

the 8125 is nice, but you just gotta tweak it

And tweaking I've done. I read on XDA-Developers.com a lot. Also on here. I still think it's really sluggish and bad as a phone.

Posted by: briareus

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor1973

I have always been a Nokia & Series 60 guy, plus the Nokia's specs are obviously more impressive than those of the BB....

Can you guys help me decide by telling me what you think are pros and cons of each of these two devices?

Going by specs isn't always accurate for real-world performance and usability but it seems you're pretty set on Nokia anyway. I'll confirm that the BB is rock solid and is unbeatable for email. The other features are pretty good but if you're looking for a ton of whistles and bells of dubious usefulness (like most people) you'll be disappointed.

Posted by: ktwildchild

Hello, All.

I'm kinda in the same "boat" as Razor1973, I too have a Cingular 8125 and I am seriously looking at the Nokia E61. I need the speed for the type of things that I do with the phone/PDA.

My question would be (because I can't find clear information), Why won't this phone/PDA work well in the US? I have heard about some network incompatibilities but doesn't Cingular work with the UMTS/HSPDA? Is it not the same as what the phone is setup for? Any help to clarify this for me would be appreciated as I can't see much past the "fog".

Thanks in advance!!

Posted by: eimajuno

The phone in itself will work in the US, I have one. What will not work is the 3g. It has the 2100 umts band in it and Cingular will be using the 850/1900 umts band. Since that phone does not have those, the 3g is not supported. A plus for the E61 is that finally Nokia did put a quad band antenna in it so no matter where you are using it in the US, you should be covered with the GSM bands. Also this phone does have edge in it so you can use the browser but it just will not be the faster 3g bands.

Posted by: ceebz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor1973

Ditto. The thing was such a chore to use. After about a week, when I had hacked everything there was to hack, that thing went on ebay.

I've owned a ton of phones and had to deal with a lot of poor UI''s, but WM5 takes the cake. It's a horrible experience from start to finish and I'll never understand how people stick it out just for a few multimedia novelties.

The blackberry will give you everything useful that the other devices will, sans the wifi. Honestly though, I used the wifi on my wizard and even though the connection is faster, the memory and processing power of the device prove to be substantial bottlenecks.

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by eimajuno

It has the 2100 umts band in it and Cingular will be using the 850/1900 umts band.

From my research, the LG CU500 is the only device available (not just in the US, but anywhere) with the HSDPA 1900 band. Am I correct?

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceebz

The blackberry will give you everything useful that the other devices will, sans the wifi.

I just learned you can only use the BT on your BB to connect to keyboards and headsets. So no computers or other phones for data transfer. This is a deal breaker for me.

Posted by: ceebz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor1973

I just learned you can only use the BT on your BB to connect to keyboards and headsets. So no computers or other phones for data transfer. This is a deal breaker for me.

Wait a little bit for the new qwerty device that's coming out. It should have the same bluetooth capabilities as the 8100.

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceebz

...the new qwerty device that's coming out...

What new device? And how much will I have to wait?

Posted by: ceebz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor1973

What new device? And how much will I have to wait?

No information is really out about it yet but, you can expect an 8100-type device in a qwerty skin by the end of the year.

Posted by: mareklab@yahoo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor1973

I am torn b/w these two for my next phone.

I have always been a Nokia & Series 60 guy, plus the Nokia's specs are obviously more impressive than those of the BB. However, I really like the trackwheel design on the BB much better than the joystick. And the BB O/S seems to be very stable and solid, which cannot be said about Symbian on my experience.

I would not be getting the E62 from Cingular. Instead, I would be getting an unlocked E61 with WiFi and UMTS. (I wonder if that will work with Cingular's HSDPA network. How can I tell? This could be a deciding factor for me.)

Can you guys help me decide by telling me what you think are pros and cons of each of these two devices? By the way, this is only for personal use, but I like QWERTY keyboards and cannot afford an E70 (which also disappointed me on the RAM factor).

TIA!

If you like Qwerty keboards you might consider HTC TYTN, SPV M3100, O2 XDA TRION or older version with 200mhz and without umts band. They are both WM 5.0 both doesn't have sirfstarr III built in but all other the goodies you maight find useable, but the keyboard is the best. It is way much better than symbian(I know some of you dissagree). You may also check mio 701 or eten G500 but whatever you like, its your money. Good luck, Marek

Posted by: Razor1973

Quote:

Originally Posted by mareklab@yahoo.

...you might consider HTC TYTN, SPV M3100, O2 XDA TRION or older version with 200mhz and without umts band...

I currently have the HTC Wizard and I hate it. It's way too slow and you need both hands to do almost anything. That's the beauty of a BlackBerry, a Palm device or this new Nokia E61. One hand is more than plenty to do most operations, even if it's not as fast.