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However, the 7100i is arguably the most business- conscious device in the 7100- series. Not only does it support secure email access that consumers have come to expect from RIM, but the BlackBerry 7100i also provides push- to- talk technology and full-…

I love this machine! And IMO it beats everything else hands down on most subject. I come from the Nokia world, and as much as they are hyped, they just can’t compare. And not only in the most familiar Blackberry areas…
First, I got an N95-8, which was relatively nice, if somewhat flimsy in parts, but it did a good job. Deal breaker for me was the fixed storage memory. Once you’ve filled the 8 gb, you’re out of luck. As I’m a voracious music consumer, and was looking for a handset that would be a really good music player among other things, I could foresee the 8 gb becoming too small after a while. On the 95, music quality (through headphones of course) was correct, lacking a bit of punch, with the slightest hiss, but overall good enough.

Swapped it for the apparent ultimate from Nokia, the E90, and that has to be the most overhyped handset in recent times. It does suck, pure and simple. The keyboard, as good as it looks in the pictures and everything, is simply close to unusable, so stiff are the keys. There is practically no response from them, and it does take a while to correctly type any length of text with it. The internal screen was nice enough, but seeing as most apps don’t make proper use of it, except for editing word documents or about, it’s just there for show.
As for sound quality for music, let’s not even go there… Hiss a-plenty, weak basses, murky rendition, the works. And that is with a very respectable set of cans (Koss KSC75T). Ah, and the 2.5 mm jack sucks miles, too. Using an adapter is not exactly user friendly.

Sound quality regarding calls were acceptable on both devices, with an edge to the 95, sounding clearer and less muffled, but nothing to write home about.

The straw that broke the camel’s back as far as the E90 was concerned was when the genuises at Nokia decided to completely lock their firmware, rendering installation of many, many unsigned third party apps impossible on the phone. So far, this hasn’t been cracked, I’m told… Sorry, but if I pay the major bucks to buy a handset, I do intend to use it as I see fit, and not as the manufacturer thinks I should use it in its great wisdom.
So, I decided it was time for Nokia to go screw themselves, sold the 90, and decided to turn to other solutions, and never having had a Blackberry before, I got wind of the Bold and decided to look closer, and finally got one…

MYYYYY! What a wonderful piece of gear it is! I was extremely pleasantly surprised in every way, I must say. From first contact, the thing oozes quality, whether it is the feel of it, the incredible screen, the keyboard! Ahhh the keyboard… It does put to great, great shame, the E90’s…
The OS is a straightforward, no-nonsense affair, and one does get used to it pretty quickly, despite the vast number of options. I appreciate the level of detail and customization, it makes things much easier in the end.

Call sound quality is mindblowing. Apparently there were hiss problems with the first few firmwares, but this has obviously been corrected and I hear all my correspondents crystal clear, and they do hear me just fine too, whatever the environment. Anyway, a major improvement to what I was used to with both Nokia’s.

As a multimedia device, which can be surprising for a BB, it destroys everything Nokia and co have ever put out. No honestly. Sound quality via headphones is very, very nice, very precise, no hiss to speak of, and deep, solid bass that will make your jaw tremble It does sound better than an iPod (after comparing) AND an iPhone, which basically have the same audio circuitry, no matter what Jobs chants. And while the Media Player is simple and rather minimalist, it does the job more than adequately, and is very responsive and reactive, even with a (for now) almost full 8 gb card full of music.
I can’t quite tell about battery life for now (I’ve only had it for a few days), but while it seems good, it does not appear to exceptional. Good, but not fantastic. I think I’ll give a shot at the Innocell 1650 mAh battery from Seidio and see what gives…
I won’t relate all the other goodies the thing is capable of regarding push, email etc, they are well known, and they do work totally as expected.

I have to say the device gets snappier and snappier as FW updates roll out, and they do roll out a great deal, and it’s quite appreciable that RIM churn out bug fixes and improvements on such a regular basis. It does inspire confidence that you won’t be out of luck two or three months after the machine initial release when something better comes along (something a lot of other manufacturers could take as an advice… Especially in Finland. Ahem)
Plus, I do have the possibility of installing anything I like on it without having to say “please” and hearing “no” as a reply. Another hint here.

All in all, it’s so far a fantastic device to use, without any nasty surprise so far, and I’m not even thinking to go back to more so-called consumer oriented brands in any foreseeable future. This is exactly the device I wanted to have, and it does everything I need extremely well.

My only complaints so far: lacking applications, which is what the WM and iPhone are killing the market with, the browser is really good, but could be better, storage card easy accesibility (its a bitch and a half trying to get that sucker out), and whenever I try to sync the phone with my computer for pictures, videos, and music, while it does it, it tends to slow my computer down and has actually caused a 30 minute freeze!.

Other than that, it’s an amazing phone, and while its $30/mos. more than a typical cell phone, I can’t figure out how I went without one for such a long time!

wow! i cant wait to get mine!!