Dash (Windows) or Pearl (Blackberry)? Coming to T-Mobile in April!

Hey All...I'm pretty sure at the end of April I'll be switching over to T-Mobile! I tried a year or two ago, but it was a no-go due to no signal in my apt. Since then they've added a tower in my neighborhood, so I've gone from pale green to dark green! Yeah!!! :highclap: Can't wait! :hyper: A friend who's on T-Mobile came over and confirmed it now works...she gets a full 5-bars in our apt!

At 1st I was ready to get the Dash...but the reps/friend's I've made at the T-Mobile store have been swaying me more towards a Blackberry. They tell me a BB is more "user-friendly". What's your opinion on this? What can a BB do that a Window's based phone can't and visa-versa? :headscrat They tell me that with the Dash, if you have open too many window's, it can slow it down...then you have to go into some "manager" to close them? It was further stated that I wouldn't have the same issue with a Blackberry. Has anyone owned both?

For that reason, I may be patient and wait longer for the new 8800-Crimson to come out. If not, then I would probably go for the Pearl.

Oh, and just to let you know, this is for personal use, not business. I just want a phone with a full QWERTY board on it, or close to it (as in the Pearl) versus just a standard numerical keypad. I find it takes to long tapping out words on a std keypad. I also want a phone that I can enter street or PO addresses in, and keep appointments/birthday's, etc., which is why I'm getting a Smartphone. I do a little texting as well.

Thanks in advance for any replies!
Chris

 

Hey Mike...Yeah, I was the one who "won" the SDA phone from T-Mobile. But I gave up and abandoned the idea when I couldn't get a decent signal in my apt, or neighborhood! I and a couple of other T-Mobilers in the area had put in a trouble ticket...well, they repsonded! Now it's a full 5-bars...even in my apt!

My contract w/VZW ends in June, but plan to get the phone at the end of April, because I'm traveling down to the San Luis Obispo area to see my Aunt the 1st weekend of May and want to see how well T-Mobile will work down in her neck of the woods, as well as up here in the Bay Area.

Was considering the "Q", or the UTStarcom-6700, or a BlackBerry with VZW, but their Smartphone or BB plans are so expensive! I also want to add a text plan, which through VZW is $10...T-Mobile $4.99. Basically all together, whether I go with the 300 or 600 my faves, I can save $15 to $25 with T-Mobile's plans.

With T-Mobile, I'm considering the Pearl very heavily. If not, may look into the new 8820-"Crimson" when that comes out, but would have to be more patient and wait. I'll check out the MDA and see how that is. Is it better than the DASH? The reps @ T-Mobile store I go to have been trying to steer me away from the "Window's" products...for they claim the BlackBerry's are more "user friendly". Also, both the Pearl and the new Crimson have this noise/echo reduction technology which sound's interesting.

Anyway, thanks again Mike...you were very helpful to me before, when I was going through all my stages of indecisiveness!! :biggrin:

 

Yeah...you might be right there Mike. I went to T-Mobile yesterday to play around with the phones...had a little trouble entering a new phone #/address info into the Pearl. And yes, the keypad of the Pearl has been of some concern for me...I would really like a full QWERTY, but I would be willing to learn and work with it if everything else about the phone checked out OK.

I asked the rep I've been dealing with about the MDA...he said it was a good phone, but they had some come back due to "freezing" problems. Have you ever had this happen? And again, he still favored the BB. Now the rep has the larger one, not the Pearl. He did mention another rep in the store has the MDA and likes it.

I'll go today and look at the MDA and play around with it. It was mentioned to me that the new version of the MDA is supposed to be coming out in the future.

I was also advised from the reps that T-Mobile abandoned the 8800-Crimson for the moment. They're replacing it with another BlackBerry similar to the Crimson, but it will have another model #.

How's the call quality on the MDA? That's another thing I'm considering. The BlackBerry's seem to have that built-in background noise/echo filter.

Thanks again!

 

Also have to be concerned about the size of the phone...I always keep it in my front pocket. Not too fond of the belt clips...afraid it could be stolen when riding on public transit.