BlackBerry 8820 Cell Phone Review - Value & Comparisons
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Mark Brezinski Published on October 11, 2007 Comment on this |
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Value (4.0)
Unfortunately, at $300 with a contract and $500 without, the 8820 finds itself on the expensive side of the norm. Business devices tend to be expensive, but BlackBerry's own Curve is a much better deal, and it comes with a camera. Also, if you're looking for an all-in-one device, you'll find the 8820's multimedia support lacking. Compounding this is AT&T's other current release, the Tilt. The Tilt has a similar price and arguably better software. Still, if you want a simple-to-use smart phone with great e-mail functionality, the BlackBerry is still a great device. In fact, if you have a job that prohibits phones with cameras, the 8820 might even be a necessary evil.
Comparisons
Nokia E90 - Blackberry phones are the current standard in business devices, so if you're thinking of the E90, you probably just dislike BlackBerry phones. We believe the BlackBerry platform is easier to pick up than Symbian's Series 60 OS, so if you're a beginner, save the cash you saved for the E90. The E90's stiff price of nearly $1,000 will honestly be why most people would prefer the 8820; even though the 8820 isn't a steal at its price, it isn't a $1,000 deficit for a phone, either. If you're looking for a slick business phone, and consider expense part of the appeal, then you will undoubtedly prefer the E90. 
T-Mobile Wing - The main difference between the Wing and the 8820 is the OS usability. The Wing is annoyingly slow, and as we are very impatient folks, this was a huge detriment to our user experience. It has a camera, which may or may not be a good thing (most likely it is). The keyboard is also slightly better, and the e-mail client can handle in-message HTML. The battery life is also much better. Again, though, the main issue is with the OS. If you don't like BlackBerry's, the Wing might be for you. Otherwise, get the 8820. 
Nokia N95 - The N95 has much better software than the 8820 does. The drawback? Incredible lag and an even worse price. The N95 is about double what the 8820 costs. We find ourselves recommending the 8820 over the N95 hands-down, regardless of the phone's high points. We instead, however, look to the N95's sequels as viable replacements. As we haven't finished our reviews of them yet, however, we can't claim this for sure. If you're a fan of the Series 60 OS, however, and have the money, the N95 sequels certainly seem worth it. 
Palm Treo 750 - The Treo 750 is comparable to the 8820 in almost all respects in terms of PIM functionality. In some places, the Windows Mobile Pocket PC device does better. For example, category support in the calendar. As with the Dash, the Treo 750 suffers from a more complex and difficult-to-learn operating system than the BlackBerry 8820. But, if multimedia capabilities are important to you, the 750 is a better device. Where the 8820 is a clear winner over the 750 is in battery life. The Treo 750 has very poor battery performance for call time and browsing. Prices for both these handsets are comparable, and really, it's a matter of preference for platform between the two. 
Apple iPhone - The iPhone is not intended for business users, and we thus cannot recommend it as such. If you are caught at an impasse deciding on the iPhone and the 8820, we're afraid we can't help you, as the phones really come from two different worlds. The iPhone is the obvious choice for those who like newer, flashier devices, or media mavens. The 8820 is old hardware with some under-the-hood upgrades that has bad multimedia support. There really isn't much overlap between the two. | Previous Next | |||||||||||||||||||
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