Noob Q: 8900 Curve and 9000 Bold users, how do they compare?

[exzibit3]

Hello all, am completely a noob at BB but have been doing a lot of reading on the internet about the Curve and Bold as I'm interested in getting one of them. Apologies if this was covered before, but I couldn't locate it. For all of you who have had the experience of using them, how do you compare them?

Battery life?
Speed of dls?
Performance?
Voice calls clarity/loudness?
Significant difference in reception on 3G network?
Preference?
Best network/worst network to use?

Thanks all!

[Gregmyers]

Originally Posted by exzibit3

Hello all, am completely a noob at BB but have been doing a lot of reading on the internet about the Curve and Bold as I'm interested in getting one of them. Apologies if this was covered before, but I couldn't locate it. For all of you who have had the experience of using them, how do you compare them?

Battery life?
Speed of dls?
Performance?
Voice calls clarity/loudness?
Significant difference in reception on 3G network?
Preference?
Best network/worst network to use?

Thanks all!

Hi and welcome to the forum,
1) Battery life: on the 8900 Curve seems a lot better than on the Bold (running the same applications on both). The reason for this is the difference between a 3G and 2G device. (A 3G device (Bold) will always burn more battery life than a 2G device (8900)
2) Download speed: on the Bold is quicker (again, the advantage of 3G over 2G)
3) Performance: Same, same. (in the real world). Processor on the 8900 is quicker but not by a noticeable amount.
4) Voice call clarity: Clear winner here... 8900 by a long shot.
5) Reception: (on Optus network anyway) is about the same on both GPRS (2G) and 3G. But this is in and around the Perth metro area and this result would vary greatly across Australia.
6) Preference: I'm not going to make a call either way on this. The 8900 is a great device and a lot more compact than the Bold. But the 3G capability of the Bold is a big plus for it.
7) Network: Again this is something that comes down to cost, coverage in your area and offered products. To break it down a bit (and I will cop some flak for this from others):
Telstra: Widest and fastest (but most expensive) *8900 Curve will not support Next G network.
Optus: Slower speeds, smaller network with midrange pricing
Vodafone: Cheap pricing with limited network coverage
3 Mobile: Cheap pricing with very limited network (but have roaming agreements).
Hope this clears up a few questions and please feel free if you have any more.
Kind Regards,
Greg Myers

[exzibit3]

Thanks Greg, post replied to in the Bold forum

Noob Q: 8900 Curve and 9000 Bold users, how do they compare?

[muck]

as a device, i find the 8900 a lot easier to live with day to day, due to its size and weight. the now bold feels like a brick compared to the 8900.

the faster processor in the bold, definately helps it zoom along, my 8900 is noticably slower than my bold.
the browser in the bold seems to work better/faster also. i link this to the extra speed the bold has over the 8900.

the screen res on the 8900 might be nicer, but the bigger screen on the bold means more to me.

the extra application memory on the 8900 is also very welcome.
the autofocus 3.2mp camera is also pretty handy for those quick snaps. i ocassionally use the camera now, as opposed to never touched on my bold.

luckily i have the best of both worlds, bold for business, curve for personal.

[harps]

muck, how do you cope carrying around two devices?
Do you notice the speed difference between 2G & 3G?
You comment re the screen resolution is interesting considering the 8900 has a larger screen (480*360) compared to the Bold (480*320).
Does the 8900 have 1GB on board (not RAM) memory like the Bold?

[muck]

Originally Posted by harps

muck, how do you cope carrying around two devices?

its livable, one in each pocket it is a little overkill i admit, but it allows me to ditch work after 6pm.

Do you notice the speed difference between 2G & 3G?

the bold runs on telstras next G and the curve on optus. there is noticeable difference. however, i run the bold on 2g purely for the extra battery distance.

You comment re the screen resolution is interesting considering the 8900 has a larger screen (480*360) compared to the Bold (480*320).

the screen on the curve is smaller and packs in more pixels hence higer res.
but the bold has a larger screen with less pixels. more pixels on the 8900 makes it nicer to look at, but the wider screen of the bold allows me to see a bit extra.

Does the 8900 have 1GB on board (not RAM) memory like the Bold?

the bold has 64mb for application data and 1gb for storage.
the curve has 256mb for application data only.

[exzibit3]

Ended up going with the 8900 which came in the post yesterday, and it's been pretty good so far but way too early to tell right now. Battery life is really solid, so it's really interesting how so many users had been bashing it in the Crackberry forum. I've had it on since 11pm last night and its 7pm now, battery's at 80%, now obviously I'm not a super heavy user, i.e. WiFi, surfing, music, but compared to my Nokia E65, I reckon it's done exceptionally well...basically comparing apples to apples, that was my typical usage in a day on both phones, and I'd say the Blackberry did better than the Nokia. Will post results in the upcoming days.

[Gregmyers]

Even with heavy usage, the battery life on the 8900 Curve is outstanding when compared with the Bold.
KR
Greg Myers

[exzibit3]

Greg, thanks for your advice earlier on getting the Curve or Bold! Went from .114 OS in the original packaging to .250 OS, no significant findings, volume perhaps a bit improved in .250 on voice calls. I did notice that it takes 5 seconds longer to load a video on .250 compared to .114 which was instant, I may downgrade to .114 just for that

Here's a short review of my findings so far:
PROS:
- Good battery life!
- Excellent video quality and pictures. P.S. Can anyone post the original BMW car demo that came with their device please? I got mine from overseas.
- Outstanding screen, just beautiful to look at, best I've seen on any device.
- Trackball works great, no lag and very responsive, sensitivity setting is brilliant (cross fingers that this continues as I've read about some issues).
- Camera is pretty damn decent IMO, so don't know what GSMArena were harping on about.
- Good performance wise, Mini Opera opens browsers really quickly, the standard browser not so hot.
- Size is GREAT and looks flash, pics online do not do it justice at all.
- GSM network works the same, no call dropouts for me compared to 3G.

CONS:
- Not the best designed use of the Home page for professionals as it doesn't show calender appointments, notes, to-do list (unlike Windows Mobile and Symbion OS). Only way around it is to download a theme, and even then the Theme has drawbacks e.g. no to-do notes or tasks available, freeze when resetting with unread SMS, slow down the system or take up memory space. Here's one of my screen shot with docked Calender and Messages thanks to mrtolles from CrackBerry for the themes:

- Really hard to get my WIFi to set up properly, but eventually got it done after a few hours of research. Trick also is that there's like 3 different bookmark folders to save your bookmarks in including your carrier so if you just clicked the wrong link, it browses on GPRS.
- NO e-mails without proper Blackberry Data Plan and BIS is the only way to retrieve them! Not even your prepaid data cap works (someone please prove me wrong )
- Submenus are rather bland. I can live with that.
- Keyboard does have the infamous wobble and battery cover a bit loose. I can live with that.
- Voice quality is moderate-to-good. It's loud with a speakerphone, but a little bit distorted and using headset it's decent, nothing like a Nokia or a Palm Treo (already adjusted volume and enhances call quality under options).

Overall, I give it a solid 7.3 out of 10! Not bad at all, if the flaws in were rectified, it would be a solid 8 out of 10.