Solid Email / MAJOR FLAW

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fantastic email.

Cons: Highly susceptible to moisture damage.

The Bottom Line: 
Keep it dry and it will serve you very well. Robust, outstanding email. But for $400 - I should be able to wear it outside in a holster without fear.

Author's Review
This is a Verizon Unit, although I suspect this also applies to the Sprint unit as the comments are on the hardware not the service. The berry is a super email machine. No frills, but push email technology is just incredibly productive and useful - outstanding. The unit itself is very solid, excellent tactile full-QWERTY keyboard (if you have never had one of these before - I would strongly recommend full QWERTY - but to each his own), good enough video, and C- phone quality - its worse for the guy on the other end than it is for you, (but good battery life - unless you talk a lot and vibrate mode). The Weakness - is that these units cannot stand moisture. I had heard of this, but it has now happened to me. Beneath the battery door near the bottom there is a white pad. This pad turns red when the unit has seen moisture. Mine is red. I wore it in a light rain, in its holster. Now I have no speakerphone, no mic, and no earphone. At this price point, this is unacceptable. I don't expect it to stand up to a snorkel, but it should be able to be worn in its holster in a (non-horizontal type) rain without suffering damage. And hey RIM - how come you had to put that moisture sensor under that cover?? And is that in the documentation with the unit? I bought the insurance on this thing (and I usually NEVER do that) because my boys told me it didn't like to get wet. Good thing I did. I thought they meant it didn't like to be splashed or dropped in a puddle. nope - it doesn't like to go outside on rainy days. Beware. Your experience may be different. It is possible that I did not handle the unit properly. But I have an 8703e with a little red square under the battery cover that is waiting for its replacement to show up in the mail. And it was in its holster. Conclusion: Keep your berries dry :)