BlackBerry 8300 In Hand
Ok, I’m calm now. BlackBerry 8300 in hand and here we go. It’s a little thinner, and smaller than the BlackBerry 8800. I guess you could call it a cross between the Pearl and the 8800 series. The speaker really sounds outstanding — even better than the 8800’s! I also find the keyboard to be much easier to use, a la 8700-style. It’s small but very manageable and responsive. Rumors said that the 8300 would have video recording but from what I’ve heard, they wont, and this unit doesn’t make an exception there. There is also no WiFi on this version at least. In terms of the construction, the front is plastic, but the sides and back have a soft touch rubber finish, and a shiny black plastic battery cover completes the device. Very Nice! I’m not going to get into heavy details, and features just yet but some OS improvements include built in spell check, full screen mode for playing videos, the ability to create your own folders on the home screen, and move any applications in and out of those folders! Silly me, I forgot to mention the OS on the device I have is at&t branded…discuss. Check out the rest of the flicks after the jump!
On Mar 10, 2007 @ 6:44 am, IS Said:
Any idea when this will be shipping?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 7:24 am, hadji Said:
AMAZING!!! You’re the man Boygenius. I really love this device and for sure will wait for it before buying the 8800 that become now useless for me.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 7:34 am, Jason Said:
Are there any plans for BlackBerry to start developing 3G phones? This still looks like EDGE only?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 8:59 am, Synergy Said:
This seems to be the consumer version of the BB as it has the camera. Will Tmobile get a rollout of one of these as well?
Any change on the specs to the Tmo 8800?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 9:49 am, Mulyadi Kurniawan Said:
Wow. I wonder why BlackBerry will release 8300 not long after they released 8800.
Very good looking device, but I still prefer 8800 (appearance wise).
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 10:33 am, morty Said:
hey BG, looks like this has 2 convenience keys too…please elaborate on differences from 8800/8700.
is the the cam 2MP or 1.3MP….micro SD on board?
are u on the RIM payroll?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:03 am, JEF Said:
Damn you cingular. I want wifi.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:05 am, The Tech Teen Said:
Sweet phone. I thought a color change wouldn’t get the Boy Genius that excited. So what phone does that make for you. 143rd?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:28 am, Torben Said:
Did you write this review at gun point or are you just trying to torture us?
give up some more details
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:32 am, josh Said:
Any idea on a CDMA version for Sprint?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:33 am, ChrisMc73 Said:
There is no way is THINNER than the 8800, just look at those pics! A camera would surely make it a tad bit thicker.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:43 am, morty Said:
comparison shots please
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:47 am, James Said:
If this is the consumer version, will it have the same GPS capabilities at the 8800? GPS and a camera would be nice. GPS with the camera would be especially to track where a shot was taken. Wondering whether RIM will try to use the GPS feature to differentiate consumer from business models?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:53 am, Boe Said:
Yeah, does this have GPS like the 8800?
It seems like it has to be ticker than the 8800 for sure. Especially with the camera.
Any time-frame on release? My 8800 is begging to be taken back before it’s 30 days are up if this baby is comin’ to town.
We need more info BG!! Hook us up!!
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:55 am, Jerry C Said:
I knew it wouldn’t be too long before you were on top of this!
Keep us posted!
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 11:57 am, Ripper Said:
Where the heck is 3G?!!?!??!
I’m not buying any new decice that’s not 3G.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 1:41 pm, bbrim Said:
Man!!! Tmobile you better get this before May!!! (THREAT) or else a certain phone by a man named Steve will trounce you! So cingular now has the 8800 and at&t possible has the 8300. When the merge is complete they might have a NTT DoCoMo like force…every hot phone on the planet. What do you guys think? I figure the Iphone plus blackberry might shift the market to cingular at least until the mobile manufactures start creating wifi phones that can support VOIP.
Additionally so I can be the first…if Tmobile does not get support from Deutsche Telekom and buy Alltel (unlikely) then I see the T-mobile boat starting to take on water….
Great Job BG your like no other!
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 2:24 pm, The Boy Genius Said:
It does have GPS and MicroSD slot. 2 megapixel camera, with a great flash. The feel of the 8300 is really hurting up my 8800 right now. The 8800 feels like a square paperweight now…sad. Comparison shots soon, also OS walkthough highlighting the new features!
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 3:07 pm, rickster Said:
damn that’s looking sweet…
had to replace an exec’s 8700 at work last week with an 8800 (he’s a lefty, needed the trackball). seemed to me that the 8800 was going for almost an “ipod” feel in terms of density and touch.
8300 on the other hand - looks almost like an ATT’s response to the Sidekick. wonder if they can pull off the backend part?
and was that a unix filepath showing the storage of the images?
and is that the voice dialing icon at the lower left?
gonna be quite the summer… Cavalier, Q9, 8300, iPhone… damn i love your job.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 3:22 pm, Derek Said:
Yo Boy when is behind T mobile going to get these phones? I have been waiting for sometime to get any updates on when T mobile may get the 8800, I talked to a T mobile rep and he said April, is that true?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 3:51 pm, nick Said:
what i see as my dream phone/market dominator.
i call it the blackberry 10k
8gb flash memory, support of 3.5g/hspda, 3.2 mp camera/video recorder, sidekick stlyle im, 8 hour talk battery life, real time voice gps (tom-tom style) all pda functions on blackberry os.. and all this wrapped into a 8800 style 1/2″ shorter and narrower, with black high gloss finish and chrome sides, full qwerty.
i dont know about everyone else. but im tired of carrying 2 phones around everyday. and when i go on vay cay. i feel like the gadget master. i got the cam corder, the dig cam, my 8800, my sidekick, my laptop. im a step away from oppening a gadget store.
theres all this hype around the i-phone. and in my opinion thats all it is, hype. guess well have to see. but if anyone can build or find my dream phone… lemme know.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 3:51 pm, mas90guru Said:
Nice of RIM to move the exposed contacts (which I assume are for a charger) to the bottom. Way to make the accessories incompatible.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 3:58 pm, gutter Said:
Amazing! I noticed that there are no stickers on the back that say “Evaluation Unit”. Does this mean it is closer to release than we thought?
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 4:06 pm, Your_Mom Said:
I got my hands on it about 2 weeks ago… I had a T-Mo branded one though. Everything BG said is true… 8800 = trash. It is def. smaller than 8800. GPS/Wifi all built in.
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On Mar 10, 2007 @ 4:07 pm, flipp_96 Said:
BG,
Any chance that you will dissect the 8300? Just to see what makes it tick and to check for WiFi on board.
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