c500 v. Blackberry

[Guest gmail]

I've got an E200 at the moment, and I really like it (for the most part). I like that it's Windows, it's easy to customise, and there's a lot of stuff available for it. I'm coming to the end of the 12 months contract and the obvious place to go is the C500. I can get a good deal and it basically seems like the E200 but faster and smaller. Is that a fair assumption or am I missing important differences?

However, I use email a lot and therein is the real sticking point. The messaging interface on the E200 is, imho, one of the worst pieces of user interface design I've ever come across. Non-intuitive, difficult to use and understand. If the C500 has the same messaging interface, I don't think I could cope with it. Does it...?

So the other option is the Blackberry, specifically the 7100t on T-Mobile. Does anyone have any experience on switching from the Smartphone to the Blackberry, or vice versa?

Thanks in advance... you lot are always so very helpful!

[Guest brykins]

Hate to say this in this particular forum, but you *could* consider the Treo600/Treo650. I had a 600 and although I now have a C500, I would definately consider a 650 if one came along at the right price. The email application is pretty good and there are third party alternatives.

Of course...you may not like the Palm OS....but compared to Blackberry, I think it's a far, far better choice.

[Guest gmail]

Hate to say this in this particular forum, but you *could* consider the Treo600/Treo650.

Yes... but I don't think the 650 is coming any time soon, by the sound of all the problems. Would the 600 be a passable alternative or is it too old now?

[Guest pierre]

I got a 600, and I find it's still nice and advanced (although I keep it in a drawer since I have a C500)

The only + of a Blackberry is the instant email' system, but rest it's a crap phone, and you have to pay a separate subscription for this service. On the other hand, C500 has a much longer battery' life than E200, so you could possibly synchronize e-mails every 5 minutes (for ex.) I belive there are third applications for e-mails too, try a search in the forum or wait till someone mentions it here.

[Guest brykins]

Yes... but I don't think the 650 is coming any time soon, by the sound of all the problems. Would the 600 be a passable alternative or is it too old now?

The 600 is a very passable alternative...depending on the kind of screen resolution you're used to. At 160x160 it's not that much lower than a smartphone. However, I came to my Treo after using an iPaq with the 240x320 screen I found that the 160x160 of the Treo was a bit limiting. However...if I'd never had the iPaq then I am quote sure I would have been more than happy with the Treo. As a combined phone/pda solution, I don't think that there's much that can beat it.

I did consider waiting for the Treo 650 but in the end I decided to go with two units once again and in the end I settled for the C500 combined with the Dell Axim X50v VGA pda.

But if I wanted to go back to a combined unit....I'd definately go Treo 650.

[Guest brykins]

The only + of a Blackberry is the instant email' system

I was under the impression that the "instant" mail was only instant for emails classed as urgent. I thought that all other email came through on a fifteen minute interval. If that is the case and you have a data plan that can handle it, you can easily set a Treo (or indeed any other smartphone device) to check for email every five minutes and get a better system than the Blackberry.

I think the only thing going for the Blackberry is it's intergration with Exchange in larger organisations. I think that for a personal/small business system it is lacking.

[Guest gmail]

I was under the impression that the "instant" mail was only instant for emails classed as urgent. I thought that all other email came through on a fifteen minute interval.

You're right, mostly. Instant email is stuff sent to an enterprise server (which is expensive and separate). All other email - normal pop accounts, for instance - are polled every fifteen minutes. Doesn't matter if it's urgent, it's still 15 mins.

I'm coming back to the C500 or Treo now - I think the Blackberry email + voice plans are too expensive for my needs. Intrigued by the Treo so will investigate, though I think the C500 might be a better bet... anyone know if a good MSN messenger client is available for the Treo?

[Guest brykins]

anyone know if a good MSN messenger client is available for the Treo?

Verichat (http://www.pdaapps.com/verichat/default.html) is better than most...supports Yahoo!, ICQ and AOL as well as MSN.

[Guest gmail]

The 600 is a very passable alternative...depending on the kind of screen resolution you're used to. At 160x160 it's not that much lower than a smartphone. However, I came to my Treo after using an iPaq with the 240x320 screen I found that the 160x160 of the Treo was a bit limiting.

Have been looking around for any Treo 600s on contract and no one's offering them anymore. It looks like they were phased out in anticipation of the 650 and with the delays in production of those, you can't get a new Treo on contract with Orange right now. Which is a pity - I'm pretty sure the 650 is going to be rather expensive when it does first appear, too....

[Guest brykins]

I'm pretty sure the 650 is going to be rather expensive when it does first appear, too....

I have seen it for £50 on a £30 per month Orange contract, though not direct with Orange and I can't actually recall the website that was offering that deal! You can get them from Expansys right now for £515 which is pretty good when weighed up against the cost of a decent phone and a decent PDA which this does the job of.

At £30 per month + £50 to buy, you're looking at £410 before any additional call charges and the cost to unlock the phone if/when you change from Orange.

[Guest Confucious]

I had a Blackberry (the 6230 I think) on T-Mobile in the UK and paid £10/month for data only and they provided the push email for ALL my email accounts and it was instant. As an email solution the blackberry is unbeatable and excellent,, but isn't the 7100 the one with 2 letters per key? The keyboard on the "normal" blackberrires made typing messages easy (even for a non typer like me). It also stred SMSs by user so they were "threaded" which was great.

As a messaging device I would certainly recomend the blackberry (my brother has the 7230 which is the colour version) and it has internet access as well.

The only minor drawback is trhe fact that as a phone it's crap.....

HTH