BlackBerry 7100t review

Sep 08 2004 - 02:29 AM ET | Research In Motion

Rumors have been flying that a BlackBerry aimed to compete with the Treo 600 is soon to launch on T-Mobile USA. While the rumor that it would launch today is not correct, Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has a review in today's issue and notes that the device will be available early next month (from T-Mobile). The big news is that the BlackBerry 7100t will sell for $199, well below what the Treo 600 is selling for without rebate. The 7100t is also the first device from Research In Motion without a QWERTY keyboard--it sports a 20-character keyboard that has a more conventional phone layout. RIM developed a predictive text technology called SureType to help out users. bq. I'm not ready to give up my Treo for the new BlackBerry, mostly because I find the BlackBerry's user interface slower and more complicated than the Treo's. Also, the Treo has a better keyboard, is a better organizer, and is much more versatile and expandable. And, with the Treo, you're not locked into T-Mobile. Every major U.S. cellphone carrier sells the Treo.

But I suspect there'll be many folks who may prefer the BlackBerry 7100t over the Treo, especially if they are already BlackBerry addicts and are familiar with how BlackBerry e-mail works. Or, they may prefer it to the Treo because it just looks and feels even more like a regular cellphone and has a much lower list price. T-Mobile will be promoting its low-cost unlimited data plans with the device--$60 a month for 1,000 minutes, unlimited data and text messages.

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