Customer Reviews

RIM BlackBerry 7130c - Smartphone - GSM - bar - BlackBerry OS

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have always been a fan of the Palm Treo line, but when upgrade time came around this time I opted to go with the BlackBerry 7130c from Cingular. Honestly, I couldn't be much happier.

It took a bit of work to get the SIM activated, but once done it's been smooth sailing since then. With the BlackBerry Internet Service I can check up to 10 of my own POP/IMAPv4 accounts, and the web browsing is about as good as one could expect from a small screen.

The one thing that is missing is the ability to add expansion cards, SD or otherwise. That would make this thing a 5+ rating. It's nice to find a phone that doesn't have a camera (I already have a digital camera thanks) or acts as a wanna-be MP3 player (I have an iPod too, thanks again). The phone call quality is excellent as are all the included apps and tools, and with plnety of third party applications available, this 7130c will be with me for a long time.

I was originally interested in the Blackberry because it is one of the few devices with Bluetooth capability and NO CAMERA!! Many of us who actually use phones (including smartphones) for business have been repeatedly forced to leave these multimedia toys in the car befor entering a courthouse, high tech lab or many other locations that do not allow cameras. Treos and most CE machines suffer the same fate. The camera-free Blackberry is a godsend.

Afer looking into the 7130c, I found a lot of terrific business features in a nice package. The phone quality and battery life are excellent, and the email works perfectly. The menus are very intuitive, and the suretype is a decent compromise for a comfortable size. My wish list would be for voice dialing and an external keyboard. However, there is not a whole lot to improve upon for the business user.

I got this phone for work and its by far the best phone I've ever used. First and foremost for me is the sound quality. I've used so many phones that were cool looking but had terrible sound quality like the Razr and the Treo. This one is actually a good sounding phone.

In regards to email, blackberry is the best in the business. I find myself using my notebook less and less since I can respond to most emails on my blackberry. The suretype keyboard took about 30 minutes to get used to but now, I actually like it better than the normal keyboard. Since there are less keys, the spacing is quite good compared to other phones with full qwerty keyboards. Its also easier to type with one hand which is very convenient for me when I'm in the airport.

The only drawback is the smaller screen, but you can't have it all. If you want a great phone with a very good email experience, get this phone. If you want something mostly for email, get the full sized Blackberry.

If you want something that looks cool and does alot things poorly such as making phone calls, get a Treo.

I've had the 7130c for almost a week now, hands down it is a great phone! Now this is not a predominately PDA that just happens to be a phone. This is a phone with a great organization and email package implemented in it. I mention that because this should not be compared to a Palm Treo or even the Cingulr 8125. This phone is what I would say the bridge between the regular cell phones and perhaps the more PDA-centric phones out on the market.

I never owned a PDA-phone or a BlackBerry. I've had a PDA in the past and most of my cell phones have been the flip-up variety, the last being a motorola V551. I can say that the 7130c has very strong characteristics of both.

As a phone, I haven't had too much troubles except sometimes people may not be able to hear me clear. This is because I'm use to having the flip phones where the mic is directly at your mouth. I'm a very soft talker, a mumbler if you will, so I need to learn to adjust my inflection so that it goes into the mic, which sits a few inches from mouth with the phone to my ear. I tested the speaker phone and it's greats.

The speaker is better than the V551 and is actually usable.

The USB desktop-to-phone connection works flawlessly and fast. I was even able to download an OS with yahoo messenger already installed (cingular does not allow yahoo messenger to be used on the phone, but there is a work around).

I have yahoo mail service on the phone so I get messages in real time. Tried Hotmail, which i use predominately, and found that it requires a subscription of 19.95 I believe, which is illogical.

The suretype is easy and intuitive, it's very good if you are typing a professional message not so good when you want to just cyber-chat with your friends and use "ebonics" or shorter derivatives of the English language.

The screen is very rich especially with different themes, the standard one makes the screen looks bland but it is much better than what the pictures show.

SMS/MMS is what it is and it is very good, I like seeing what was previously written when i reply to a text message...something that wasn't on my previous phone.

The web is good, I don't expect much from a phone so some pages are very hard to read but the regular sites you go to to check stocks, weather, sports scores etc etc work very well on the screen.

No problems with battery life so far, I do recommend draining the battery and re-charging 3 times to break the lithium-ion battery in. I also think you can charge the unit VIA usb connection. Not too sure but I did notice when I had the unit plugged in to my computer that the charge icon lit up.

I like the flashing LED at the top, might get on some peoples nerves as it constantly blinks but I find it gives the phone character.

Just got lotus organizer as well, which I do recommned as it is the best for personal (not business) use of the phone.

The phone comes with a case, usb cable, ear piece, and the desktop manager. I have not used the ear piece and probably will buy a bluetooth after I break the phone in some more. The case is okay, the only downfall is the belt clip is stiff. I almost broke a finger trying to put it on my belt.


I also recommend buying scratch proof film to put over the phone. You can buy them from shieldguard. Cingular does not offer insurance on this phone, so you want to keep it in the best of health. 1 Year manufacturer warranty though.

The last phone I had was the Sony Ericson 500z. A great phone but I wanted to upgrade because I wanted a PDA organizer that was a bigger then what my old phone had to offer and I did not want to lug around another organizer.

So after looking at HP, PALM, and a few others I checked out the reviews of what they all had to offer and after reading up on the Blackberry 7130c I went to get it. It was one of the best purchases that I could have made.

The phone quality is awesome (both speaker and as a handheld). The keyboard takes a bit of getting use to as some have said but that is so easy to overcome it is hardly worth mentioning. The features like a password manager are invaulable, screen quality is perfect especially since the screen changes depending on the light you are in. And the look and feel of this phone are great.

Others have mentioned what makes this phone a good buy as well is the fact that there is no camera. I could not agree more. I already have a digital camera so do need for that on my phone.

And using the Blackberry internet services is great too. You can do all your e-mail on the phone without have to worry about running to a computer. There is a down side here since some e-mails have all kinds of graphics on it you make not get the entire message but if you are like me and those kinds of e-mails are junk it is no big deal.

Bottom line, if you are looking at this phone as a possible replacement for what you have then stop and just get this one. It is well worth the money and getting to know this phone is a snap as well.

For three months, i researched and researched and researched tons of phones looking for the perfect one. The one thing that i was looking for was a phone that had a loud volume and excellent call quality. I was so frustrated with other phones (razr, treo, nokia) that threw in a crappy camera and mp3 player at the expense of sound quality and volume, which is what a phone is supposed to be for in the first place. The 7130c has the best sound quality that i have ever heard, it has barely ever dropped a call and i can hear everything in crystal clear detail. The menus and interent browsing are extremely organised, fast, and uncluttered, another thing that frsutrated be immensly with other phones. The internet is very fast, the ringtones sound great, and basically the whole phone is flawless. The only minor things that can be frustrating is sometimes the phone feels somewhat cheaply made, creaks a little bit, but not too much, and only sometimes. Another thing is that you cant do to much with attachments in media sources, such as video. To get pictures on your device, you must email them in the correct pixel format which can be a pain. Also, the backlight has three stages or automatic which adjusts to the light, but it can only default to the 2nd stage and i wish it could go to 3rd because it looks better. you have to press the backlight button to go to third stage. Besides those minor flaws, this phone is the best phone you will ever purchase and i highly recommend it.

I was VERY weary of moving to a blackberry.. Boy I was wrong. This is the BEST.. Hands down.. Best phone I have ever owned.. Sound quality is great. email is perfect.. and it's SUPER fast.

The time when I got this phone I was really happy with it. The phone was all I wanted it to be... It works great, good batery life, great fitures...
But hey! wait before you buy this phone..
I used this phone for a couple of days it worked great and one day while going to work I decided to use the handsfree while talking to a friend of mine. The moment I get plug the headsets the call gets droped.
First I thought I pressed a key on mistake, I try it again.
I reliased, its not me its the phone..
I called Amazon and kept them informed about it and they were quick in replacing the phone. I got my new phone and it has tghe same problem, it does not work either.
Its basicaly a bug with 7130c, it does not work with a headset.
So I recomend people who use the handsfree on regular basis, to be careful, other than that its a cool device.

Nash

As a former 4 year customer of Tmobile, I was very pleased with the deal I got on here with this PDA. With Tmobile, I have been using the same phone for the last year. I wanted to upgrade to a PDA. I was willing to extend my contract, and the best they could do is give me $50 off on the Tmobile Dash. With Cingular, I have found a better rate plan, and I got a brand new PDA for free. Being a faithful customer doesn't always guarantee customer appreciation!

I've struggled with getting one piece of electronics that can just do it, keep me in touch with the email, handle all my calendar, phone book, etc. etc. that the Palm used to do.... and be a good quality phone. I had the 7100 and it came close, but really problematic phone quality made it half an answer. Had the Q and returned it same day. Now, the 7130 just.... does it. Blissfull Blackberry push email, easiest in business. Keyboard is no hassle to write on, I regularly type away while my partner only answers the shortest emails on her treo650. So don't be scared by the Suretype stuff, I'd pick it any day to keep the small form factor. Oh, plus, my partner never carries that Treo in her pocket, just too big, while this one is just small enough to always have in the jeans, whatever. And finally, they fixed the phone quality, so I can chat away there too (unlike on the 7100 when no one would talk to me). It just... works. Compare away until you die, but this is the perfect hit for anyone who's work-oriented and more mobile than fixed.