The BlackBerry 7100g is an amazing quad band hybrid PDA. The 7100g is the same phone as the 7100v and 7100x. The excellent design makes it much more than just a phone. It is a phone, organizer, and a very much needed business tool. The new BB 7100g feels like the phone features are primary and PDA functions are secondary because of the sleek design.
The QWERTY / numeric keypad is brilliant and it's easy getting used to. The 7100g is not too wide and feels like a phone. Past BlackBerry devices were very wide and felt awkward holding it to your ear, not the 7100. The redesigned 7100g looks more like a phone then it does PDA but do not let the looks discourage you?
The design of the BlackBerry 7100g is very similar to the 7100t. The 7100g however adds more innovation to the 7100 look. The 7100t is rounded off at the bottom and is prone to scuffs and scratches as opposed to the 7100g which is flat and looks boxier and in a way more superior. Another upgrade on the design of the 7100 series is the keyboard. The 7100t is very cramped together and many users do not find it convenient. The 7100g's keyboard is far more intuitive because of the spacing and size of the buttons.
The BlackBerry 7100g has every basic features that RIM has offered for their devices. Features such as the calendar, To-do Lists, memo pad, alarms, calculator, speakerphone, Bluetooth for wireless conversations, WAP Web browser, QWERTY keyboard, and games just to name a few. The brilliant phone book is great for entering every bit of information for your contacts. One basic feature that I believe is missing would have to be other Bluetooth tools. All that is offered is a headset connection and I would have liked to have seen things like, file transfers via Bluetooth. This would be an excellent feature and make wireless syncing a breeze. I hope in new models it will be enabled.
The BlackBerry also has many advanced features that make it the bleeding edge business tool. The BlackBerry 7100g offers push email, which you can set up to 10 different email addresses and receive them straight to your device. Also the all new email system lets you view all Microsoft office documents in Email attachments. Another advanced feature of the 7100g is the ?SureType? technology made by Research in Motion. Many people wonder how you type on a BlackBerry when most buttons have three characters on it. With this neat program you can type letters and it will guess almost every possible word starting with those letters. From there all you have to do is use the track wheel to select which word. ?SureType? takes a little time getting used to (kind of like T9) but when learned it is a breeze to use.
The BlackBerry 7100g has an exceptional display. It is very bright and can display up to 65,000 different colors. When the 7100g is compared to the 7100t, the display seems to be much brighter. The display is 2.1 inches and is 240x260 pixels in resolution. Also when the backlight of the screen turns off the whole display is completely off which is excellent for conserving battery power.
Since BlackBerry devices seem to be designed more for business purposes, this may just be the reason why it lacks support of radio/music. Without music features, I am basing my review for the audio of the 7100g, solely on the voice quality during calls and the speaker phone. Although the voice quality is exceptional, the speaker phone sometimes crackles when too loud. For voice calls, you will absolutely not have any problem trying to listen to calls in a noisy environment.
The BlackBerry 7100g may be missing radio and music functions, but it does have some built in entertainment. The 7100g comes with a game called Brickbreaker which is a fun and easy game to learn. Also for entertainment there are additional programs you can download that enable instant messaging capabilities like: MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, Jabber and Google talk. This is an excellent download for those who miss the lack of instant messaging built in this unit.
Although the 7100g does not have Wi-Fi and EDGE built in, it does have an excellent WAP browser. The WAP browser is exceptional because it is not like other WAP browsers. Some WAP browsers are limited to just WAP sites but this browser lets you access HTML too. Push email is what RIM and BlackBerry are known for so it is no surprise how easily you can send/receive email where ever you are. The integrated browser now lets you view all attachments including work and .pdf files. Even without the latest technology necessary to access the internet, I find the device fast enough for my emailing needs.
The BlackBerry 7100g has more than enough storage for communication needs. Emails and messages that are stored on the device are quite small too. The 7100g has 32mb of memory and 4mb of RAM. Although this phone does not have external memory card slot it is sufficient for email messaging and other various data. With innovative technology you will be able to have even more storage space on your GSM BlackBerry, or any other GSM phone for that matter. These Sim cards will have built in memory starting from 512mb then up to 1 gb. The only question is when they will be released in North America!!*
The 7100g has Bluetooth but is very limited. You can use the phone's Bluetooth to connect to a headset without a problem, but its lack of support for other Bluetooth functions is disappointing. You can not do file transfers via Bluetooth which would be very handy for wireless syncing purposes. Connectivity via RIM's ?Desktop manager? works excellent when syncing contacts using Microsoft Outlook. Also using the desktop manager you can backup/restore your whole phone's data quick and easily.
*Source: spaces.msn.com/gsmwireless/blog/cns!83B002B4549D292A!180.entry
The 7100g is a very solid and sturdy phone. This phone is also very durable. I have used the 7100 for a while now and phone drops enough and nothing happens. Everyone knows that phones are known to fall but some cannot handle it. The QWERTY keyboard is very high quality and made to perfection. RIM knew that the old 7100t's keyboard was too cramped so they fixed the problem on this phone. My favorite part about the phone is the charger. The charger is a mini USB and disconnects from the ac adaptor so you can use the wire for your computer. This is a innovative idea and I have never seen this idea before the blackberries.
The BlackBerry 7100g is a tremendous device for all your business needs. Although everything that you expect from a BlackBerry is there, it does lack a couple key features. The lack of EDGE is a major letdown in the American market because Cingular could have used their EDGE to sway consumers. Cingular's EDGE runs up to 180kbps as opposed to T-Mobile which has no EDGE coverage. This is the leverage Cingular could have used to have people upgrade. Another disappointing factor in the phone is its lack of home screen customization. On the 7100t you can make the icons in a list view and also icons view. Overall the 7100g stands out over the 7100t because of the attractive QWERTY keyboard and the display which is brighter. The 7100g overall is an excellent choice for people who are always on the go and need push email services no matter where they are.
