Previously I reviews the Blackberry 7100t. While I was generally happy with the device, I found that I was avoiding typing because of the strange keyboard (multiple letters on each key). I started looking for a better solution and started looking at the Blackberry 8700 series. While these looked like great phones, they were very expensive–generally about $300 even when signing up for a 2 year plan.After a brief search on ebay I found a 7230 for under $80. It doesn’t have some of the additional features of the 8700, but I figured it would give me a good chance to try out the keyboard and see how I like the form factor. If I decide I don’t like it, I’m not out much money and I can always turn around and sell it again on eBay.
Another reason I went with the cheaper phone is because neither the 8700 nor the 7200 phones work with OS X as a modem. However, the newest Blackberry Pearl 8100 does work with OS X. I don’t want a Pearl because it has a similiar key layout to the 7100t, but I’m hoping that the next phone released with a full keyboard will have the OS X compatibility.
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