Customer Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'm most definitely not a "pointy-haired boss" (see my About page), but overall I'm quite pleased with it.

If you're looking for a portable game machine I hear Nintendo sells them pretty cheaply--and with a far better selection of games than the typical cellphone. (Or there's always my personal favorite, the NeoGeo Pocket Color.)

The Blackberry is primarily a device for doing email/text messaging, calendar and to-do organization, and a little web browsing. It's really intended to be a personal organizer.

The unit itself feels quite sturdy, but keep in mind it has a quite large LCD screen. It feels pretty solid overall, but I bet it'll scratch pretty easily, and it isn't something that can be safely carried in a pocket without some sort of protective cover.

Battery lifetimes are good, and I seem to get about 7-10 days from mine (although I have it set up to shut itself off at night). It charges pretty quickly, probably in 2-3 hours.

The Blackberry happens to have a voice cellphone built in, but it's not the best choice for this purpose. It is NOT a cellphone in the usual sense and it's not really trying to be one, if for no other reason than its size and shape would make it really annoying to use without a headset. It works, but a dedicated cellphone will work better for that one purpose. (But I definitely haven't had the problems with feedback from the headset mentioned by one of the other reviewers. My headset works just peachy-keen.)

There are a couple of nice features in the address book I really like. There are extra user-definable fields for additional phone numbers/email addresses besides the usual home/office/cell etc. There's also a Notes field, handy for keeping track of who wants to be called when and such.

It also has a Java engine and I've found it reasonably easy to get my own applets running on it. (It doesn't appear to handle standard .jad/.jar applets, at least as delivered from T-Mobile. I had to rebuild mine to get them to run.) Again, it's not a games machine.

The UI is easy and intuitive to use, and I've grown fond of the wheel for doing menu selections. Occasionally it seems like I have to click the wheel one too many times to do something; it'd be nice if there were more (and user-definable) keyboard shortcuts.

The calendar book is OK. It works best if you're doing a standard 9-5 M-F workweek, as it only displays about 8 hours on the weekly summary screen and you need to scroll around to see the rest of a given day. It's been reliable so far with no lost appointments. The one annoyance is that reminders only appear to sound once, and if you miss one you won't be reminded again until you happen to look at the screen.

The web browser is so-so. It works best with WAP/WML pages of course. Some HTML/XHTML pages will display but there are going to be compromises because of the small display size, and not every page works (I've seen a number of strange error messages when trying to browse random HTML pages). However, I find it reasonably useful for reading news.google.com, maps.yahoo.com, etc., and it works for displaying pictures. In other words I've found the browser is handy when I *need* to use it, but I wouldn't use it to just "surf the web".

I find the mail reader easy to deal with, but I've only used it with T-Mobile's mail server. Any issues with email forwarding are between you and your current ISP; it's really not T-Mobile's fault if your ISP is incompetent. I also don't run Exchange or any of that nonsense.

I also don't try to sync with any desktop programs, as I rely entirely on the Blackberry for all that stuff. Supposedly the next major release of the Blackberry OS (an upgrade will be available, presumably for free) will make synching a lot easier and more reliable--so you may want to wait if this is an important feature for you.

Other nice features include AutoType (completes various abbreviated words on the fly while entering text, and you can add your own abbreviations), a simplistic but usable Todo manager, and an auto power-off feature for saving batteries (which is also a great way to stop people from calling at 3am).

In summary: it does everything I want, and does most of it very well. It doesn't run Windows apps... but for some reason I'd consider that to be a serious feature in its favor; I leave the software alone, it does its job, everbody's happy.

If you really need all the bells-and-whistles from a Pocket PC thingy (along with all the headaches, crashes, viruses and other typical Microsoft-delivered woes), then that's really what you should get. If you want to play games Nintendos are cheap and a lot more fun than a Java-based phone. There are much, much cheaper cellphones available.

But for what it is I find the Blackberry to be quite handy. It was a huge improvement over my Motorola T721. It's a compromise--most multifunctional devices are--but I can live with its limitations.

We had to reconcile 4 personal and 2 biz e-mail accounts, and wanted to be more mobile. Blackberry is the standard for wireless e-mail.

So we got two T-Mobile units. It took us about 12 hrs to get it all setup, and we got most of what we wanted, but not all of it. So count on spending quite some time figuring out the various e-mail options, and playing with them until they work.

What you really want is the e-mail redirector, which gives you full access to your mailbox. Unfortunately it runs only with corporate e-mail accounts (Exchange & Domino) and is useless with standard ISP e-mail accounts. That was the biggest setback and disappointment.

Trying to find out solutions to handle the ISP accounts took the longest. You can use T-Mobile's webclient re-direct, but it's not obvious how it is setup and does not have any forwarding filters (which is too bad with today's spam volumes).

Setting up forwarding rules on Outlook provides more flexibility, but you really need redirector software, not just forwarding - otherwise the from: address is always yourself. I found two pieces of shareware, but they required installation on both ends, and that didn't work out with the Blackberry.

So we went with the T-Mobile redirect and its working, but not ideal.

No complaints about T-Mobile so far. When I had to deal with them, they were easy to work with, and amazon takes care of most of the work, as the phones arrive pre-activated.

Summary: Probably still the best mobile e-mail solution around, but the software integration has plenty of room for improvement. The hardware is great though - the gold standard in terms of usability and features.

I had been waiting for prices to come down on these PDA-phone bundles. I'd seen the Pocket PCs and the Treo 600, and I love them, but they were way above my budget. The time came when I had to replace my "free" T-Mobile Nokia, and I figured this was the best time to jump into the long dreamed of PDA-Phone, so I got myself a Blackberry 7230. It's not without shortcomings, such as the "floating" cradle that is only used to charge it, though no cables run through it, so you charge the unit using a USB cable that hooks up to a wall AC adapter (odd, but it works), while the cradle just serves the purpose of holding the unit. The same plug you use for charging is the plug to synchronize your Blackberry with your PC.

The reception is outstanding, and the usability, superb. They've worked out quite a few shortcuts to allow you to use it with only one hand most of the time (except if you're typing something, where you can benefit from using two fingers -don't think of typing as you would with a regular keyboard, because your hands won't fit!) Setting up the synchronization with your Outlook (Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes) is a snap: almost all the default values need no playing with. Getting the unit to pick up your e-mail may take longer, depending on how receptive your IT folks are and/or whether you have Blackberry's Enterprise Server running in your company.

Overall, I am very happy with it. It's not perfect, but it's the best thing I found for the price range I was willing to go for. In case you are wondering, I didn't buy it from Amazon. I got it from T-Mobile directly as an upgrade to my current phone, which I'd kept for over one year. The option of switching numbers and opening a new account going with all the rebates that Amazon offered at the time of this writing wasn't appealing to me, because my wife and I share minutes in a family plan, and that was not an option with the phone-service plan options that Amazon offered. Still I highly recommend this little unit. The time is ripe for affordable PDA-Phone bundles!

Get the Blackberry and (comfortably) spend your time out of the office

I had decided to go with the Blackberry after my recent trip to China. I would see executives using the Blackberry everywhere.....at the airport, on the aircraft, in the hotel lobby, at the bar, even spotted a few using it at the Great Wall. And so, on my return, I decided to do a little research. I found that Amazon and T-mobile offered a great package and along with the rebate offered, it took me all of 2 minutes to decide.

I use to feel like I was balled and chained to my laptop. Speedy action and response to client's email was the key. In this day and age, no response to an email is equivalent to no operator manning the phone of a business. Even when I was out of the office and on the road, I would have anxiety attacks just pondering about what possible urgent emails have I missed or not been able to action due to being on the road.

Now all that has changed with the Blackberry 7230.......After working with Tmobile to setup my Blackberry......(just a comment about the TMobile CSD......I have had experience with AT&T, Sprint, and Tmobile, and hands down - zero competition, Tmobile's CSD by far has the best CSR out of all 3. Tmobile CSR have demonstrated their ability to effectively and courteously resolve all issues every single time that I've called, which was about 7 times within 4 or 5 days. Furthermore, it takes less than 1 minute to speak with a live person. ...Try that with AT&T - Ha ha !!. Anyway, continuing on about the Blackberry......after the setup and after 2 months of use, I give you the following...

The minor cons......

No speaker phone.....This is an issue because it looks way-more cool speaking into the Blackberry like a walkie-talkie, then having it pressed against your ear. Trust me on this; I've conducted a survey with male and female between ages of 20-50. So risk looking uncool, or just use the hands free which comes included and works very well.

No voice dial.....this really should have been a safety feature since there is no way that one can dial a phone number while safely operating an automobile. Don' do it fellow Amazonians...be safe!

The shape of the Blackberry is not ergonomically shaped to fit in a women's (or a man) small hand. For a female, I would say that you basically need both hands to use all the blackberry features such as dialing a number or email, etc.

The Message Icon contains both the email messages as well as the call log. It would be great if it was separated....and maybe it can be and I just do not know, so if anyone knows how to, please let me know - thank you.

There is not an option to keep the LCD light on.....but this is one of the reason why the battery is EXCELLENT. You can go for days without having to recharge.

The magnificent pros........

Feel comfortable out of the office. Email arrives instantly (even faster than my company server).

Keyboard is super easy to use and allow you to type any length messages with ease.

You can forward attachment onward even if you cannot open the attachment that you are forwarding.

The address book feature is great...and it even gives you the ability to enter "pause". So, say for example, you are calling a company with automated answer where you will need to dial the extension number of your party, well, program the telephone number, then add 2 "pause" then add the ext. number....it will dial for you. You save your self a step of having to dial the number, then after connection, dial the extensions.. Voila!! Also, this is a super super feature if you use a calling card with a pin number for dialing international (or domestic) on your blackberry.

So, in conclusion,I can only say, if you want to experience FREEDOM from your laptop. Get the Blackberry!!

I have an MSN email account and neither Blackberry, T-Mobile nor MSN - not on the phone or online - could figure out how to forward my email to the blackberry. It turns out that "full email integration" with MSN isn't possible which means you won't get fully synced email. I spent 1.5 days - 36 hours trying to make it work. I wasn't going to eat until I got it working. I've ended my fast and returned the 7230 to Amazon. I thought I'd try the Sprint model 7750 since I already have a cell account with them and it is advertised to work with MSN - but the Sprint customer service person confided that it would require an additional purchase of $400 software to make it compatible with MSN - making it a $900 blackberry. She said "they (Sprint) don't tell you that". If you get the T-mobile 7230, make sure you have the battery in on the first step, so that your desktop detects the hardware. If you attempt insert the SIM card under the battery into the SIM "bed", make sure you realize the bed flips up like a murphy bed and the sim card slides into the slot then locks down. The directions are very unclear and the photos are too small to see. A piece chipped off from inside from my attempts to put in the SIM card (my SIM bed was stuck - in fact, I didn't realize from the photos it was supposed to flip up). I now cry at the mention of "T-mobile". It got so bad that they credited me $80 or so, equivalent to one month of the service I signed up for.

I have had my Blackberry 7230 since about May 1, 2004. I have successfully used it for phone and email in a wide variety of locations --- many of the 48 states, as well as Paris (France), Prague (Czech Republic), Shanghai (People's Republic of China) among others. Only place it hasn't worked is Tokyo (Japan) - no coverage. Well, a few locations in the US - my basement among them - also produce failure. But if you're in a city or near a major highway in the US it appears that you're virtually certain to get coverage.

It took about 3 days to get the unit set up for email initially due to the network being down when I received my unit, and the people on telephone help not being able to find that out. As a result, we tried lots of options, and suddenly three days later it worked fine, and we later found out about the network problem.

Great --- email by push (it arrives, you don't have to check for it --- standard Blackberry stuff). Calendar is fine, as is rolodex, etc.. Phone is a good thing, though the minutes aren't cheap. I regard it as an emergency/rare use phone.

The unit is very sturdy, and small enough to fit easily into my shirt pocket (I use a holster most of the time).

Synchronization with Outlook was effortless - the default settings worked just fine.

All in all - I'm very happy with this unit. Very happy. Good choice.

I've had the 7230 from T-Mobile for about 4 months, and haven't had any problems (other than when I got my phone it took them 2 days and about 8 phone calls to get my enterprise service activated -- always ask to be directly connected to Tier 2 technical support -- no one else knows anything at all).

However, my BlackBerry suddenly gave me a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) error 523 and wouldn't do anything else. After going through the 4 layers to get to Tier 2 support, they tell me that it is a hardware problem (I think otherwise, but lets go with that). They assure me that for $15 they will overnight a new one to me. Two days later, no phone. I call them back. Oh, they say. Its not overnight, its three day shipping. And by the way, its on back-order so the earliest we will have them in stock is in 4 days (plus the 3 days shipping). I only got this info after going through 2 CS reps.

What kind of company (T-mobile) sells a device aimed at business users, doesn't seem to be able to ship warranty replacements out overnight, and doesn't even keep any stock for warranty repairs? Try someone else, don't trust T-mobile.

Simply put, this hardware device is amazing...Easy to use and intuitive.

That said T-Mobile is really annoying. I signed-up for the 29.99 plan with Enterprise Server Access, which worked for 2 months before I was informed by T-Mobile that I would need to switch to a $39.99 plan to maintain Enterprise Server Access.

The Blackberry 7230 seems like a great idea. You have a keyboard, color monitor, e-mail, phone, and a pretty good battery life. Now that I've provided the nice sales features, let me jump to reality. The Blackberry is too wide to hold when phoning or receiving calls. It will slip out of your hand and there's no safety strap. They did provide a nice click on holder but it would not allow the phone to be on standby because it was tight and pressed against the keys that control that function. Oh yes, you have to shift for higher case and also for numbers. I found the blackberry 7230 to be difficult to use as a phone or even a PDA. It is not made for average human hands or fingers. I won't even get into the way you have to hang up a phonecall and the options/menus. It only gets a 3 from me because it looks solid and the battery life is quite long. The color fades dramatically in low light situations. I would much rather have the newer, thinner, Blackberry.

I bought this device with T-Mobile service and then found out they have no service where I live (the coverage map was not detailed enough to see that). So I tried to switch back to the service I had been using for a few years.
Eventhough I cancelled the T-Mobile service within their 14-day "Buyer's Remorse" time-frame, they would not "unlock" my device from their service making it virtually useless. Therefore, the other wireless service couldn't activate the device. So, there I sit with a VERY fancy address book!!
The only way I could get T-Mobile to unlock it would have been to stay with them for 90-days (with no service, of course, because they don't cover my area) and then pay a substantial cancellation fee (I think it's about $200) for cancelling within a year.
So, now I have to send the device back to Amazon.com and start all over again.
WORD TO THE WISE . . . . Be sure to read the fine print (I still can't find the 90-day unlock fine print) about the "Package" you choose to buy. And, be darn sure you want to keep it for a while.