New Blackberry, 7100t, from T-Mobile

Back at the beginning of September, I saw some reviews of the new Blackberry phone from T-Mobile and RIM, the 7100t. The reviews were excellent and so I ran down to my local T-Mobile store to take a look at their mock-up. They had it in the back and were very secretive about it but, still, I got to see the form factor and hold it in my hands. I liked it!

See, I’ve been carrying a Blackberry since 1999. It’s one of the originals, (the 850). I’ve seen and tried the newer models but they were all too big for me — the form factor of the original, pager-sized unit was perfect. But, over time, the software’s gotten out of date (they do’t maintain it much, anymore) and the synchronization’s not working too well and I’ve had to carry two devices: the Blackberry for my calendar, contacts, tasks and notes, and my phone.

So, the new unit was released on September 30. One of my local T-Mobile stores had 5 in stock in the morning. By 2PM, they only had 2 left. When I went in at 5PM, I got the last one. And, let me tell you, it’s sweet!. The predictive typing is superb, the synchronization software is first-rate (they use the Intelisync SDK from Pumatech), and the integration between all the components is excellent. If I just key in a phone number, and it’s associated with one of my contacts, it automatically associates the call with that person and displays that information on the call screen, plus, it logs all calls in the “inbox”. Very cool, very useful. I’m glad I got it.