Hey there. Get to order a new cellphone for work, and these are the choices I'm picking from:

Blackberry Pearl

Blackberry 8700c

Treo 680

Blackberry 8703e

Razr V3

Treo 700p

I have an old Motorola T720 now, and had a Palm Tungsten T3 which I kinda liked, but managed to kill with a bad memory card. I seem to be living okay without the Palm, so I'm not really tied to getting a Treo to get Palm stuff back. Also, doesn't matter if I get a cameraphone or not. But I am all about getting whatever smartphone hookup I can.

I haven't paid any attention to Crackberry developments or even had anything with email access, but that Pearl sure looks pretty slick.

Opinions, recommendations?

t eta Is it worth holding out for the iPhone, or is that likely doomed to backorders and growing pains for awhile?

I've heard consistently good things about the Pearl, and Treos are real workhorses. The Razr isn't worth the metallic tinge its made from, so definitely scrub that one from the list. I'd probably go with the Pearl, but I have cutting-edge-gadget envy, so.

the Pearl qualifies as the edge of the cutting, no? I mean, until the iphone?

As far as I can tell, the only difference between the Treo 680 and 700p is that the 700p has an antenna sticking out of it. Which one you pick depends on which carrier you want to use.

Well, pre-iPhone it was very buzzworthy. And for putting a lot of the crackberry specs into such a slim and attractive package while retaining the usability--yeah, it's still pretty damn shiny.

Tom, I was thinking I'd read somewhere that there wasn't much hardware difference between the two. Nice to know I don't have the memory of a goldfish-- the memory of a goldfish-- the memory of a goldfish--

lori, you should make sure you're comfortable with the "2 letters on one key" configuration on the Pearl. BlackBerry has a nifty little program that learns what you type, but it can be trying during the learning process.

I have a BlackBerry 7130e for work and a Treo 650 as my personal cell. For push email, calendar and contacts, nothing beats the CrackBerry. I prefer the web browser on the Treo, but that's about it. At least for me, the Treo's keys are too small, the speakerphone sucks, and the call quality isn't great. I may just have a bum phone.

The screen on the 8703e is awesome. Very crisp and clear, and it's larger than the one on the 7130e. The form factor is not as pretty as the Pearl's, but I wouldn't count it out, especially if you want a large screen.

Edit:

Is it worth holding out for the iPhone, or is that likely doomed to backorders and growing pains for awhile?

The iPhone is only going to be available through Cingular at this point. From what you posted as your choices, it looks like you're a Verizon Wireless customer. Cingular is a GSM carrier and VZW is CDMA--their phones are not interchangeable.

As far as I can tell, the only difference between the Treo 680 and 700p is that the 700p has an antenna sticking out of it.

And the 700p is more expensive on most plans. Feature-wise, I can't tell the difference either.

I really like my Razr, but it isn't the ideal phone if you are doing a lot of texting/typing...

The first three on that list are Cingular, the other three are Verizon. So I could choose either plan. I do have Cingular now, and I know it works at home (mostly) and at work. Don't know what Verizon's coverage is like in my neck of the woods.

Maria - thanks for the input. I think I'll have a learning curve anyway, since I don't have anything more than the numeric keypad now.

And I've heard the same complaints you have about the Treo from a few users here.

The first three on that list are Cingular, the other three are Verizon.

Which has better coverage on Mars?