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At the time this review is being written, the BlackBerry 8830 "World Phone" is an older model and considered a legacy device. Development on the operating system used in the 8830 has halted and it cannot use many of the new applications written for more current model BlackBerrys. Even though the 8830 is dated technology, it is still a very useful device and performs excellently for email, texting, and as a personal information manager. The BlackBerry 8830 has perhaps the best keyboard on any BlackBerry model. Of course this is a totally subjective opinion, but the size and shape of this model is my all-time favorite. The fact that this model is slightly larger than the current models means RIM could make the keyboard that much larger. Although we're talking about a fraction of an inch, it makes a big difference in usability. The 8830 shipped with OS 4.2 but can be upgraded to 4.5 via BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Version 4.5 improved memory handling and overall performance. The BlackBerry platform is a purpose-driven design, and nowhere is this more evident than with the 8830. This is a professional grade communication and personal information management pda. If you're interested in multimedia functions then this is not the device for you. No twitter, Facebook, and no camera on the 8830. That's one reason why many security-minded companies still favor this older model over the newer ones. It is also worth noting that while the 8830 has a slot for a GSM sim card, it is designed for international roaming and will not work with North American carriers' sim cards. Later world phone models (like the BlackBerry Storm series) do indeed allow the use of North American sim cards. The 8830 was the first BlackBerry world phone and was designed specifically to disallow use on anything but international GSM networks. No unlocking procedure will enable this function. Here are some of the pros and cons as I see them. My needs for a communication device may not be your needs. Therefor my ida of pros and cons may be different from yours. I have no interest in playing Angry Birds on my phone, and I don't tweet. I'm old school, and so is the BlackBerry 8830. Pros: Keyboard Reliability No camera - security often dictates no cameras allowed. Price (I got mine on eBay for $40) Long battery life. Cons: It's a legacy device - no development for new apps No camera - Yeah, I show this as a Pro as well. Depends on your perspective and needs. No GSM use in North America, only Europe and Asia. My priorities for my mobile device are email/messaging, good old fashioned phone calls, and PIM functions. The BlackBerry 8830 is fabulous for this. What it is not is a gaming and entertainment platform. Brick Breaker is about the most fun you're going to have with it, and that's pretty weak. Mine keeps me connected when out of the office, and does it well. I don't ask it to do more than that, which is good because it really can't. Never was supposed to either.Read full review
I felt I needed a durable phone with my job but couldn't keep up with things technologically. I picked up a refurb bb8830 on ebay, and it does probably more than i need it to do, including play mp3, check email(fast) I could go on and on. Texting is a little of an adjustment as I have big fingers, and was used to using the T9 where it completes your words. Cannot do this on this one but I havent been able to put it down since I bought it. For a starter phone into the world of blackberry to learn on you cannot beat the price, which is why I bought it in the first place. I figured if I hated it, I was not out a ton of money, and after three days I am quite attached to it. Takes a little playing with to get used to but like I said, you cannot put it down once you get to messing with it. I also found silicone covers for the newer BB on ebay for a little bit of nothing. Planning on upgrading to a newer BB w silicone cover, at least as durable as my old Motorola mil spec phone with triple the fun. Also a lot of the BB are world phones. Being in the guard if i deploy, I can text msg home with it from most places, call and email too but the calling and email is terribly expensive. I think a txt msg runs 55 cents per msg. The ringer and alarm volume on the BB8830 is a little quieter than i would like but it wakes me up(although 7 min late this morning, but the alarm kept going the whole time). Havent really found any real gripes with this other than I havent got a silicone skin for it, but since I am planning on upgrading, dont want to wrap a ton up in accesories that wont switch over. MP3 accesory kits will work for chargers for this, I plugged my mp3 cord into this and right into the computer and did a bunch of stuff the first night I had it, the mp3 cord goes right into the mp3 wall charger too. Bluetooth works on car stereo as it should.Read full review
I bought because it was a cheap smartphone. For the most part, it does what I ask: it goes online, it has email(somewhere), and it calls and texts. It does nto have a camera, which I don't mind. What I do mind, is the failing trackball and glitches. Sometimes my trackball doesn't like to scroll down, which wouldn't be such a nuisance if there was another way to navigate the phone, but there isn't. And sometimes the phone just likes to select random icons and ignore keyboard input. I think the problems could be fixed with cleaning or replacing the trackball and a software update, but I really only need the phone until another Palm Treo comes in the mail.
Like the BlackBerry 8800, the BlackBerry 8830 scores a new body that’s thin and sleek looking. The silver housing and chrome side panels look even better than the BlackBerry 8800 in dark blue. Silver can make a device look classy, and it certainly is the case with the BlackBerry 8830. The BlackBerry 8830 is the same size as the 8800 measuring in at 4.49 x 2.60 x 0.55 inches, but somehow it lost a little weight. The BlackBerry 8800 and 8830 have the BlackBerry Pearl’s stylish look, but with a wider body to accommodate the full keyboard and large landscape display. The built-in QWERTY keyboard on the BlackBerry 8830 should look familiar to BlackBerry veterans. Though the keys have more pronounced edges for a better touch-typing experience compared to last generation of BlackBerry phones, they feel smaller. It shouldn’t take a BlackBerry veteran user too long to get used to the updated keyboard and it should please new users as the keys are much bigger than those on Treo keyboard. The locations of letters, numbers and symbols have not changed from the BlackBerry 8700 series. But the menu controls and directional controls have changed from the 8700 series. Gone is the side jog wheel that has lived on BlackBerry devices for generations, instead the BlackBerry 8830 features a trackball d-pad that’s also on the BlackBerry Pearl and the BlackBerry 8800. You will move the cursor or browser selection using the trackball, and takes action or make your selection by pressing down the center of the trackball. The BlackBerry menu key and escape key flank the trackball; and the call send buttons lives to the left of the menu key and the call end button lives to the right of the escape key. While the keyboard is easy to use in light, it’s hard to see in the dark. The trackball has a bright white backlight and it’s a beacon in the dark, but the QWERTY keyboard has dim blue backlight even at 100% brightness that makes the keyboard hard to see in the dark while obscuring letters under good lighting conditions. Let’s hope that we see future BlackBerry devices moving away from the dim blue backlight and toward the white backlight used on the 8800. BlackBerry 8830 You will find the left convenience key at the same place you’d expect and it can launch applications (such as Voice Command) or functions (such as add a new contact) you assign it to. Along with the convenient key, you will find a 2.5mm stereo headset jack and an USB-mini USB charging/syncing port on the left of the device. The 2.5mm headset jack works with the BlackBerry wired headset, unfortunately that’s not included in the package. We tried a few pair of non-BlackBerry specific stereo headsets with phone, but didn’t have any luck finding one that’s compatible with the jack. You will find the volume up and down button on the right side of the BlackBerry. The power button sits on top of the device on the left. Pressing the power button will turn on the screen backlight and pressing and holding the button will turn on or off the BlackBerry. Like the Treo smartphones, the BlackBerry has a mute key on top (right side) as well, and you can turn the sound off by pressing the mute key. Pressing and holding the mute button will also put the device in standby mode which can prevent accidental dialing; however when a phone call comes in while the device is in standby mode, the phone will ring and the screen will turn on.Read full review
The phone had quite a bit more wear and rare then I originally intended bought the product does clearly state that there was normal usage. I guess I just didn't expect that much. The batter charged quickly and came with the necessary cords and batteries as well as backs. Pleased overall
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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