About the picture:

I took the picture using an Olympus D-535 Zoom 3.2 megapixel point & shoot digital camera using a GE Reveal 60W bulb in a lamp for lighting. The background - a black T-Shirt. The BlackBerry 8703e was so bright I had to turn the screen brightness DOWN to 10% AND turn the automatic light sensor OFF to get the screen DARK enough to show up in the picture, even under a 60watt light bulb 3 feet away

I guess I should have dusted it off...

---

For my birthday present to myself I decided to get a "newer" BlackBerry. This being my second 'Berry I knew what I wanted. A better screen and especially better audio. I did a bit of on-line research and decided I wanted a BlackBerry 8703e. I wanted to stay with Verizon as the carrier and I liked what I saw for the Verizon BlackBerry 8703e

So I did some shopping on ebaY and found someone who had upgraded to a New BlackBerry and was selling his old BB. For $30. $2 less than what I paid for my BlackBerry 7250 last year in September (2008).

Just last Tuesday (Tuesday April 21st, 2009) my "newer" BlackBerry 8703e arrived in the mail. Was exactly as described by the seller, minor scratches, had been used but not abused. The picture shows how the only really noticeable scratches are on the chrome above the screen. For $30 - me, complain?

The scratches can easily be touched up with chrome model paint. Perhaps I might even remember to get that next time I'm at a model store. It's not really that important. Wait, I'll put it in my "Tasks" list on my 'Berry

The BlackBerry is a business communications device, and the BlackBerry Desktop Software that connects your BB to your computer is really good. There is a "Change Device Wizard" that copies everything from your old 'Berry to your new 'Berry. Contacts, notes, tasks, ALL messages & phone logs, ALL third-party applications, settings. Everything!

The BlackBerry 8703e is much faster, has a much better screen, and much better sound. The sound is far louder than my old BB 7250, and even has a speakerphone which is really nice for info calls.

It's faster because of the processor. The 8703e has an Intel PXA901 cellular processor which has 16 megabytes of SRAM and 64 megabytes of FlashMemory. 4 times the old 7250's processor memory and twice the FlashMemory for Data storage. The FlashMemory is nice in a portable device because if something happens to the power suddenly (taking the battery out, "dead" battery, etc) the Data is saved and permanently stored so nothing will be lost.

The keyboard is a bit smaller (not much) than my 7250's but already in less than a week I'm used to it. The screen continues even after a week to impress me. And the sound. It plays polyphonic MIDI ringtones, mp3s, and I believe even windows wave files. The speakerphone has plenty of volume and there is plenty of room for ringtones. So for I've only just begun loading on self-created ringtones and there is 11. My first cell phone that could play customized ringtones could only handle 5 and they had to be less than 20 kilobytes and 30 seconds long. Was also limited to only MIDI files.

There are only minor problems I have with my "newer" BlackBerry. All "CockPit Errors". On the old 7250 pressing the "Space" key brought up the phone dialing screen and the "Escape" key on the side would end the call. The "newer" 8703e has a green phone "Send" button and a red phone "End" key at the top of the keyboard. I'm getting used to that, but sometimes I get tripped up.

The only physical problem with the "newer" 8703e was the case was slightly loose. Tightening two screws fixed that.

One potentially major problem ("CockPit Error") with my "newer" BlackBerry is the speed it surfs the Internet. My "older" 7250 was quick but the "newer" 8703e has quickly chewed through 6847.78 kilobytes (6.85 megabytes) and I have another ½ month before my 10 megabyte BlackBerry Data Service allotment is reset. If I go a little over it won't sock me in the wallet too badly but I try to stay within my limits (and budget)

One nice feature I really like is the two "Convenience" keys that start up user-selected (me) programs with one key press. The speaker is turned on or off by a dedicated key which when shifted will type a user-selected money symbol (Dollars, Pound, Euro, or Yen).

The BlackBerry 8703e is one of the 'Berrys where RIM decided to start adding consumer features and I like it. Does everything my pure-business 7250 did plus has lots of eye & ear candy. They didn't go too far in my opinion. I really prefer the old-style track wheel on the side instead of the new-style trackball when reading books in WattPad because it only take one hand (either) to move the text (turn the page).

I bought an "Entry Level" BlueTooth headset, a Plantronics 220 a month ago. I got it when I still used the 7250 and it performed well. Same with the 8703e. BlackBerry does BlueTooth well on all models that have it.

Physically the BB 8703e is just about the same size as my "older" 7250. The screen is large, about the same physical size but the resolution is far better. Weighs about the same (solid feel) and the battery lasts about the same.

I'm very pleased with my new 'Berry. For $2 less than my first 'Berry it was a really good buy.

I could go on and on, ranting like an addict (I confess that I am) but as a friend and fellow "CrackBerry" addict put it "Once you go Black, you can never go back"