This device is like the hot looking woman who ends up not being as exciting as anticipated. 1) The phone features suck. keypad is small (number keys could have been larger or shaped different from others) and hard to use. The speaker is dull and not nearly as clear as any of the phones I have had in the last 10 years! People are always complaining they cannot hear me or my voice sounds muted. Features to access phonebook and edit numbers etc seems clumsier than less expensive and less featured phones. 2) Battery life - jeez if you listen to music or surf the web etc. battery life drains very quickly! I have spare car chargers with me all the time so that whether at home or traveling (which I do ALOT) I am always charging the phone. 3) Media - the MP3 player is adequate but very limited in features. The phone jack is the standard micro sized jack for phones - regular stereo buds cannot be used, a special set must be bought (Altec is a premium set available for $80-100, a cheaper $40 set is available at AT&T stores). I strongly recommend buying an 8MB MicroSD card - I got one for $75 at FRYS, Verizon sells one for $90, most other locations sell them for $120-150. 4) Navigation - I LOVE trackballs for computers and the one on the 8830 is useful - BUT, I miss the old side-mounted "scroll" wheel. What the hell was wrong with that!?!?! Also, the email shortcuts (b for botton etc) do not work anywhere else. Also, there does not seem to be a pageup, page down etc. Lots of time spent on the trackball. 5) Physical - jeez the case is really flimsy plastic, esp. the back. DO NOT DROP this device! I recommend getting a rubber or neoprene (BodyGlove) cover - BUT that prevents it from being stored in the standard wallet/belt case. Also - very pretty but slick surface. If your hands are sweaty or otherwise slick it may be hard to handle. 6) Accessories - crap years ago I had PALM PDAs and could get attachable keyboards to make use easy in special situations (meetings etc.). All I can find is ONE USB keyboard for the BB that is $100. WTF?!? The PALM keybds were usually $50 or less!!
7) SETUP and corporate use - Jeez, getting access to use the blackberry server at work was a big FXXing mystery and then took several steps to configure. You get a headache tryign to figure it out and then need a beer when its done (after which you forget the nightmare).
OHHHH and forget accessing free email services like Hotmail (my personal email acct since 1997!) There is some weird restriction on accessing non-Paid services.
8) VALUE - List is appx $400, but with various discounts can get down to $150-200. So it is a good deal if you Need a Blackberry for work. Otherwise, consider one of the other Smartphones using MicroSoft or Palm. Most people I know using BlackJacks have few problems with them.