Agree with you 110% Adam.... First:)

the 9780 form factor is great, except you're paying a premium for something that isn't markedly different from the previous 9700.

In saying that, I still prefer the 9800 but I was hoping for more from RIM.

Screen real-estate is nice. If you don't mind charging the battery at the end of every day, the bigger screen on the torch is friendlier to look at/use. Agreed though, the slide out does make communication a hair slower... just a hair ;)

I have and really enjoy the 8530 curve (my first smartphone), but so want a torch. Seems like your getting the best to both worlds with the touchscreen, trackpad, and slideout Qwerty keys set-up.

As someone who did the 9700 > 9800 > 9700 > 9780 route, I agree.

With same os5 on 9700, I didn't gave up my 9000. Os6 is a must upgrade factor! If you still on 9700 & running os5, thinking worthyless upgrade, you're a fool. & all who still can't figure out choosing between torch n 9780, don't worry! Just pick anyone as per your need. If you like touch, go for torch & if you don't, buy 9780. And if you're a girl, go for style - Amazing phone ;)

Btw, (y) adam :)

I am using a 9780 and liking it so far, except for the jiggiling trackpad that I experienced with 3 of them till I gave up! any body has this issue? Anyways, I just recieved another update for the blackberry desktop manager for mac y'all should post that up on the front page.

Had 9700 9800 9780. Other than in a car the 9800 wins hands down for me screen size important it would be nice to not need reading glass to look at web on a micro sized screen now that we have webkit. And zoom way easier on 9800 unless there trick I missed. In short had all 3 I never had a blackberry that was as smooth. If 9780 had touch or larger screen maybe it would be better but not worth money to me. Or maybe if there was trade in for 9700 u can get one for under 100 dollars or something maybe.

I appreciate this article Adam. Gives me some things to think about for my next Berry.

I am really interested in your future article on touch/nontouch. I know my opions are skewed by what device I stick with long enough to feel at home on. I would love to hear from several of you "defending" why you love your device. I have been loyal to the Storm (well, S2 at least). I have played with the Bold 9700, but noy long enough to feel at home, which to me means I don't have a valid opionion yet. That is why I love CB.

Try the iPhone 4....you'll sell both berry's in a heart beat lollolol j/p......but i am thinking about making the switch from the iphone 4 to he 9780....not sure if it's worth it.

I went from a Curve 8320 to the Bold 9700 and it was like night and day. I love my 9700. Personally I like the chrome. It gives the device a dressed up look. I'm also from North Jersey but I've never seemed to have a real issue with T-Mo's service. I'm in and out of the city a lot too. A call drop here and there but nothing to run home to big V about. My only hope is that they decide to actually release OS6 for the 9700. But seeing as how the 9780 is the replacement device, I'm a little discouraged that it won't happen.

The way I see it: If you are using a Curve 8900, Bold 9000 or other older BB device, your contract is about to expire, and you're looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest Blackberry then the 9780 is a good choice.

If you're a 9700 user, I'd just grab the latest OS6 leak, install it, and call it a day, since the 9700-9780 upgrade isn't really justifiable by any means.

Fully agree!!!

Although I've only had the chance to play with the Bold 9780 in stores for a while, I could see it's appeal for cnadybar diehard fans. The hardware upgrades and the added features of OS6 make this phone a top contender for anyone on a smartphone hunt.

That being said, I wanted a touch screen myself and could not wait for the next Storm (and I don't think I would have wanted to) so I got the Torch and it's truely an amazing phone! I'm on it all the time, either working, browsing or playing FFI, and I get at least 2 days on my battery without charging. (Screen brightness is set to 0, barely a difference between 100 and 0. Test it out yourself)

My girlfriend just got her first smartphone. With a little influence on my part, she went for the Style and she absolutely loves it! She said the Bolds were too "manly looking"... I've had a chance to set up her style and play with it a bit and I must say: the style is an awesome phone in what is becoming a rare form factor. I'm REALLY impressed with this CDMA device!

All this to say, deppending on what the Storm 3 offers, RIM has a nice variety of devices going for them heading into the new year. There's something for everyone!!
Anyways, thanks for reading :)

A well written article. I, too agree with the Bold 9700/9780 being the best form factor to date with the BlackBerry's. I have come from BlackBerry's 8110, 8900, 9550, 9700 and now to the 9800. The 9800 is great as said above, the screen real-estate is quite friendlier with the touch factor involved. However I wouldn't give it my vote for mobile of the year as Laptop Mag. The keyboard's hard plastic keys with side-rail curves doesn't make it the most pleasing device to type on. The 9780 isn't the best upgrade from the 9700 as when you boil it down the upgrade wasn't significant. However, having the 9800 in possession of three months, I'm getting rather tired of it's sluggish performance and screen wipes. I'm now looking into going back to the Bold (9780) after the holiday's.

this is exactly how i feel. loved the torchs huge screen and touch screen capability. at the same time i started to get annoyed with sliding it up every single time because the touch screen was not up to par imo. ever since i left my 9700 for the 9800, when it first came out i have had second thoughts. now seeing the new 9780 irks me so much because im stuck with at&t and really want the 9780. its all based on the user, like he said but to me the traditional blackberry is for me. i got caught up in all the hype about the torch and went away from something i loved (9700) for something i liked (9800) lol

i find it kinda fun to be able to load OS 5 if i have to, and at the same time having the option to load OS 6. both phones are not that far apart, ram and OS someone can live with its not that big of a deal if you buy a 9780, not like you cant get the OS 6 working on the 9700 so now we talking about 512mb and a 5mp camera wow thats a big difference (3.2 mp aint that bad either). We got this before it hit the states and i really couldn't tell it apart from the 9700 the onyx 2 is the same phone that cant load OS 5 it should of had the option to load it as well as OS 6 for the hell of it with this kinda style it also should of bin the first bb to be able to use 9700 firmware for a first time since its the same phone at base. CDMA and GSM make it a uni bb just a total waste of cash if you already own a 9700. This one is for the record before the year goes out its a fix of the 9700 its what the 9700 should of bin in the first place. lol spend the money if you got the cash and to run os 6 on your new onyx 2.
Every bb owner that got a 9700 should return them all right now and get a 50bucks rebate, to this update, come on man, you can do better than this.
if you got the old bb's without the new track pad then this is the phone, and you want some extra speed the 8900 we also got and its nice and fast got everything to get work done but after that phone dies in a few years this phone also will be history. so small of a change to make such a big statement, just not worth it for folks thats happy with there 9700. by the way imo os 6 is much more fun on a larger screen, just to much movement all over the place with the top bar but hey another thing to get use to.

I have had a Curve 8330 for the past couple years and love the physical keyboard. My wife has the 9700 and I've played with it a lot - definitely a light years improvement over my Curve. With that said, the iPhone 4 has a lot to offer and I've taken a serious look at it too. I think I'll be going for the 9780 for the following reasons: 1) sometimes a company hits the sweet spot with design and I think the 9700 body still represents that for speed hungry / power communicators; pull from your pocket; quick type; get on with things! 2) touch screens are greasy and the UI can get sloppy and slow. I think a high sensitive setting on a trackpad with OS 5 smokes 'em all and would win a speed shootout every time (text message; literally one-touch speed dial). The 9700 bites when it comes to web surfing and the 9780 has made strides to address that. Any real web surfing will always be done on your laptop, so that's why I don't care about screen size and that's why I'm turning down the iPhone 4.

The only drawback to the 9780 (experienced through in-store use) is the over-scrolling. Unlike other users I've read in this forum, I doubt very much RIM will do *jack-shiznit* about locking it down so you don't over scroll but we can only hope. That's really the only bad thing about using OS6 with a track pad, IMO. Been doing a lot of reading and research, but I think I'll take the plunge on the 9780. I think the torch will have a short life span, and while I would agree there is a market for a bold-type 97-- series with a touch screen, I personally have NO interest in tapping a screen, pinching to zoom and all that crap. That's for tablets, not for speed. Blackberry should always keep 1 device that remains the "King of Speed" and/or "King of Battery Life"; that's a marketable advantage as compared to over-developed smartphones like Android and iPhone.

WTF was that rambling aboot!?!?!

I believe it really depends on what device you've used previously. For example, I upgraded from the Bold 9000 to the Torch and most reviews I've seen from previous 9000 users that use the Torch are pretty similiar. We feel the Torch is the best BB yet. I also have the advantage of being issued a 9700 for work purposes and the thing is a paper weight for me. Once I got my Torch it was case closed. The screen size, touch screen capability and overall feel make it the best in my opinion. It took a week or so to get used to, but it's been nothing but great for me. If I had been used to another device, like maybe the 9700 I would probably be partial to the it like many others. However, if we are completely honest, most BlackBerries are the same device with minor differences. The only differences are form factor, touch/non-touch, maybe the OS, memory, and the camera. For me, non of that is that much of a difference to say one BB is that much better than another. For me, the only devices that are different are the Storm and the Torch. But ultimately a BlackBerry is a BlackBerry at least for me.

Hey Adam-

Your Articles are always terrific, Thank you and Happy Hollidays! I prefer the 9780 over the 9800. Those people who like Pinch and Touch will obviously fall in love with the Torch, while Others who like the 9700, will fall in love with the 9780. I Personally do NOT like Touch Screens, and I really like the 9780 Form Factor...
So here's my Christmas Request...... Can You call Santa and give the ol AT&T Christmas Tree a good shaking and find out whats up with the AT&T Branded version of the 9780?
There are alot of folks who want a AT&T Branded 9780. WE are all suprised that now that all is said and done, most all of the Heavy Hit Cellular Providers have released it already, Its all over Europe, GB, India, Abu Boobie, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the good old USofA on T-Mobile.
The Nations Fastest Mobile #1 Network , So At7T says, Yep, "Big Mamma" Mamma A, hasnt released it, they havent said zip about it.
AT&T is losing US Customers in Droves over the 9780, their all going to T-Mobile, who with a smile will put a 9780 in your hands now, and with a smile and without robbing your wallet-
AT&T has alot of loyal Customers, We are hoping that AT&T would return that Valuable loyalty and support they have from their Customers, by letting us know "Whats Up with the Blackberry Bold 9780". The Phone is not the "New Kid on the Block", it is not a Stealth Fighter with Top Secret Technology, the Wraps are off it, the 9780 Bold is readily available all over the place EXCEPT AT&T. Reports of people having a AT&T Branded 9780, Pictures and videos on UTube have been aired to date.
C'Mon Adam, C'Mon CB.Com Founder, cant you use some of your potent BB Magic and get us a handle on whats up with the AT&T 9780-
Seasons Greetings to all and keep up the Great work!

I would disagree with the fact that the 9780 is the best blackberry. The best form factor yes, but that's where it stops for me. I had every recent blackberry and the 9700/9650 are very good at being very comfortable when using (in all types of situations), but My torch has been the best blackberry to date. I have not found one situation where it was hard for me to whip it out and fire off a few emails, text, bbm, and browse the web. With the on screen keyboard (sure-type) I have been able to do just about any form of com without an issue, including while driving (I know its bad).Plus with the screen size I am able to read replay without having the phone so close to my face. And seeing as I carry a 9650(work phone and runs OS 6) and 9800(personal phone) everyday and find it easier to use the torch when in a rush I have to give it to the torch as the best device.

The 9700/9780 are great phone but there is not enough change between them to put one of them ahead of the other nor can you compare both to the torch. But with the added screen size, multiple ways to use the torch, and the fact that OS 6 just works better on the torch gives it the win. The torch is the best blackberry today while the 9780 is in close second place because of it form factor.

All I can say is that the Torch 9800 is my first BB. The whole form factor is what got me, and I love it. I have an iPhone 4 and HTC Evo and I use the iPhone and 9800 about equally. The Torch has definitely sold me on BB OS over Android. Never was overly thrilled with Android but unless RIM really destroys their OS and UI, I don't see another Android in my future.

I'm currently using the 8900 so the 9780 is definitely the way to go for me, on T-mobile so the 9800 is out of the question anyways. However, I love the Bold keyboard but I have not liked the Torch's in the limited time I've used it, they keys feel too recessed for me.

I do like OS6 but we really need to start a petition for OS6.1 so that we can pick and choose which pages to have. Frequent and favorites should be the same, so that's incredibly redundant.

Kevin, can you make this happen?

I loved my 9700 and had a little trouble switching over to the 9800 but I love my Torch just as much...I would love to try out the 9780...OS6 on the 9700's form factor would be amazing but not sure if I'm willing to break away from my torch for it

I like how it has the kik app. awesome ;) only 9780 haha

My perfect berry would be a Bold 9000 sized / 9700 form factor with a touchscreen!

OMG i hope the Dakota gets finally announced this year! That will be my next berry for sure (skiping on the storm 3 or anything ridyculous like the Style).... Im in love my 9700 with OS6 tough!!

?

I had a 9700, and then I sold it for the Torch.
First of all, let me say I can live without a touchscreen (actually, I do not use the touchscreen a lot, and I *always* use the physical keyboard to type), but I love the idea of having a big screen.
Before the 9700, I have been using an iPhone for almost 3 years, and then having to go back to the small screen of the 9700 was a sort of "pain".
I surf the web a lot, and sometimes bigger screens are really, really better!

However, there are some things about my 9700 I am missing a lot. First of all, the exceptional battery life. I sold my iPhone 3G to buy the 9700 mainly because I was tired of the poor battery of the Apple's device (I had to disable 3G and push email to hope it could arrive to late evening).
The Torch's battery is not bad: I usually arrive at the end of the day without many problems... But, while the Bold could stay up for 2 days, I must charge the Torch every night. This is not a huge issue, but...

Also, I find the Torch to be slightly buggy. In particular, the touchscreen is not always perfect. Navigating in web pages, then, can be very hard if it wasn't for the optical touchpad (I really can't click on links! the screen doesn't see my touches!)
And the OS in general is not stable at all... I'm hoping a 6.0.4XX build to come out soon for this device (either official or leaked), to see if it improves something...

The last thing I do not like completely about the Torch is the weight. The size, by itself, is ok (it's not much bigger than the 9700! just a few mm ticker). But it's really heavy!
Ok, you get used to this after a while... But when I take a friend of mine's 9700 in my hand, I can feel the big difference.

I was introduced to blackberries with the 8703 then got upgraded to the 8800 both for work use. Then, for personal use, I went out and got the Bold 9000 from someone selling it and then got the 9700. I updated that to OS6 and it was and still is a great phone. I think for anyone who updated to OS6, the 9700 to 9780 upgrade is not a worthwhile upgrade unless you get it for new customer rates or you just don't like the idea of a touch screen. I just got a Torch (early Christmas present) and I LOVE it. I like having the combination of touch screen and keyboard. I apreciate having the extra screen space with OS6 also.

OS6 is a much smoother operating system IMO than OS5 and for the one person who said they had lag problems with OS6 on the Torch you need to start with the latest update to the OS and if that doesnt help I would look at some of the apps you are running.

I've been with sprint for almost 10 yrs. I've never had 1 problem with service, I would def make the switch from my 9650 to the 9780 in a heartbeat if they offered it. Wish they had the selection of bb's that vzw or at&t have, only drawback about sprint....

If only RIM stopped dicking around with "iPhone killers" like the Torch and invested its effort and resources into classic BlackBerrys...

Yea because they FAIL everytime at that...Storm anyone?

LMAO :)

I currently have the 8900. My wife has the 9700, my sis the 9800, my co worker the 9780. I've seen them all and I prefer the 9780 then the 9700 and finally the 9800. The Torch is a great improvement from all the touch screen BB's but I find it to be too bulky and just doesn't feel like a BB. The 9700 and 9780 are almost identical except for the OS and camera. For that reason the 9780 is a bit better than the 9700.

All the above comments aside, the Torch is simply more "fun" to use, and look at, than the 9780.

Either one will never live up to the vast abilities of the iPhone and Android (which is why I additionally carry an iPhone and a Torch). But, both the 9780 and 9800 can do most smartphone tasks, in a fairly boring (visually) way.

If you can sacrifice the small battery hit of the Torch, it's just makes doing and looking at stuff on a Blackberry more interesting.

What a useless article. Saying the 9780 is better than the 9700. NO SHIT

its like buying a 2005 BMW with the interior of a 2011........i'm stickin with the torch

More like what a useless article the 9780 doesn't give any compelling reason to upgrade other than a memory bump and os which 9700 users can do anyways.

Adams points are complete bogus too. "Tighter" "better in the hands" etc. What kinda stupid arguments are those?

Then he argues that the leaks for 9700 are "buggy" and aren't the same as 9780. So you are saying that RIM doesn't care about 9700 users anymore so they will release buggy os's?

Honestly sounds like you just got paid to push people to buy 9780 since the sales for it must be slow. Do the readers of this site a favor and stop spinning BS

I went 7520 -> 8820 -> 9000 -> 9700 and every time was a little homesick at first for the phone I left behind but after a little time with the new guy was convinced it was the greatest blackberry of all time, especially the 9700 because the battery lasted DAYS and except for the browser it was everything I asked of BB.

Then came the 9800 and the trade was give up battery for a better OS and a real browser and I am loving this phone, if I would just stop using it like it had no touch screen. After 4 berries with no touch I cannot seem to get myself to leave the track pad and keyboard and use the touch screen.

The funny part to me is I tried the 6.0 drops on 9700 and always felt it was lacking - felt developed more for touch screen than track pad only and now that I have the touch I still have to be reminded to use it.

Once I do I think I will be ready to call 9800 my all time fav, till the next time...

i hate when people bitch about how the 9780 isnt worth upgrading to bc of the lack of significant difference from the 9700.

THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE GOING FROM OLDER BERRYS!!!! this isnt just a new phone for current 9700 users people.....

I think I'll wait for the Bold 10,000. When is that gonna come out? lol

I really enjoyed this review, and I agree with your opinions for the most part. In owning a 9700, I really love the size, performance, and, of course, battery life of the phone. However, when I upgraded to the leaked version of OS 6, I realized how much better the 9780 would be for me. Those memory leaks were just too much for me to handle.

In comparison to the Torch, I prefer the 9780 because of the familiar form factor. Even though the Torch is a nice phone, I'd rather have the 9780.

For anyone who has used the Bold 9700 the physical keyboard on the Torch is a huge disappointment. Where is the nice, glossy finish and the characteristic snap to the keys? It just feels cheap ... and cramped. I can't believe that AT&T would wait this long to release their 9780. Are they just trying to push Torch sales? Good luck!

Aren't they all the same? BlackBerries have been the same for the past four years - the Pearl, Curve, Bold, etc.

Had to take my 9800 in on warranty and have a brand new 9700 as a loaner till mine comes back. I have to say that I really miss the screen real estate of my Torch. The font in the banner, on the 9700, is so small, the unit is very small in the hand, and lack of OS6 does not make me miss OS5! I think having OS6 on a Bold would make it less painful but I can't wait to get my Torch back!

First let me say that I am a Torch 9800 owner and I do love my Torch. That being said, I think Adam has hit the head of the nail with a hammer. He objectively tried several devices and then stated why HE likes the 9780 and the process he used to blog about it. I love my Torch and have many reasons to stay with it, but that doesn't make Adam wrong, just different. He and I use our BB's in a totally different way and based on that the 9780 fits his needs better than any other BB and I applaud him for it. I would never try and sway him to the Torch, his primary reason being battery life and usability, as it is quite clear that he has the PERFECT device for HIM. My only regret is that more people can't see that. The fanboys who push their device on other people never stop and ask the user what they are looking for in a smart phone and that is THE key question to ask. You should NEVER tell someone what phone they should buy, you should ask questions and recommend the best phone based on their answers, not yours.

i own a Torch 9800 and absolutely love it!!!The slider form factor isn't such a biggie nor is the touchscreen.Plenty of real estate(3.1")and BB OS6 is fluid on here as well as the carrier(AT&T).The 9780 ,i only seen the dummy but I seriously do want to give it a test run b/cause that black bezel is badass!!!

But me personally,I hope they come out w/a Torch 2(9880) w/this: TI OMAP 1gHz processor,720 pixel display,Front facing camera(for video chat via Fring),720p HD video recorder and stronger battery(5 1/2 hrs TT )to be exact. Plus get a super cool and useful app for Chase mobile w/POINT.SHOOT.DEPOSIT.!!!

Either way both are great it depends on the individual...

I agree with your post. My first Blackberry was a 9700 that I bought less than a month before the 9780 came out. I had no idea that the 9780 was coming out before the purchase, but upon finding out, I took my 9700 back to Tmobile and waited a bit for the 9780. I'm extremely happy about this for the simple fact that my calls are much clearer on the 9780. I have to agree that TMobile isn't the best (I switched from Sprint to Tmobile to get on a family plan with my mom), but the phone makes it worth it. I also travel overseas and can't wait to use Tmobile's unlimited international email the next time I go...

Since I was new to BB, I got myself a Curve 8520. I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy BB so I didn't dare to get the slightly more expensive Bold 9780. After 2-3 days of using Curve 8520 and having fallen in love with the BB service, I traded it with a Bold 9780. What a great phone. So much easier (and practical) to use than my previous iPhone 3GS. Anyhow, I'm glad that I got myself a Bold 9780.

Im a fan of the 9700 and am sure I would love the 9700. Ive bought 3 different 9700 since release date. Ive gone back to the 9700 after the iPhone 4 and then again after owning the Torch. However, I'm not sure that ill use an upgrade on the 9780.

Good read Adam!

I got the 9700 running os6 and its buggy and all but can't seem to put it down;also have the 9780 sitting on my desk in the box unopened, maybe afraid that my 9700 will feel like the abandoned child(lmao) but after reading your review I will give the 9780 a try and pass the 9700 to my dad so he can move on from his 8900 into the bold family and experience the greatness
Toch is a fine looking phone in my book but I'm not too much of a fan of touch screen phones.
Ill just keep my 9780 and wait for my PLAYBOOk to pair it with it and voila! Happy ever after.;)

Interesting article. I went from an 8300, to a 9000, to a 9700, then to OS6 on 9700. I do like it, though I can't say my battery life goes for days. I can get most of a day out of a charge, and found that I had to downgrade my OS6 to .380 to get the battery life back to more than a half day. In any case, I like the 9700, but I think I would like the 9800 Torch better frankly. I've used it a bit as I set up several of them for end users, and I liked it better. So hey, if you don't want your Torch, I could give it a happy home... ;-)

"When it comes down to it, I get all the features of my favorite device (the Bold 9700) and more." regarding the 9780 device.

Wrong about this one. There is one very important feature that the bold 9780 doesn't have and it makes it and every other OS6 device useless for business. I'll never buy for this reason a bold 9780 becouse it has no use for business; The feature that I'm talking about is this:
Contacts universal search: when you have a business, advertising in may case, and when you have over 1000 contacts on your phone, mostly supplyers, contractors, material manufactureres, designers etc, you can't remember all of them by name or company! That is why there is an important option to add a NOTE field for each contact, where I can specify the key elements that interest me about that contact (for example John from XYZ Print Inc. has good prices on this materials: mesh, banner, 300g paper and all outdoor materials). I can make a note for this contact with these key words: outdoor, print, mesh. In this way, if I want to search my contacts agenda for a good mesh supplier, I'll type search MESH and all the contacts that manufacture this material will apear in results based on the note filed. This is the most usefull feature on a smartphone in my opinion: NOKIA E71 has it, E72, Nokia Communicator has it, Blackberyy 9700 has it with OS.5
Now, this search feature doesn't exist in OS6 and this makes the 9780 device useles in my opinion.
PS: Universal Search for blackberry OS6 isn't universal !!!!

Being on At&T my Blackberry route has taken me from the 8310 to the 9000 to the 9700 to the 9800. Each time getting the Bold 9000 and Bold 9700 I insisted they were th best. The 9700 was my favorite just because of the "size & power" it had. But at the end of the day I will stick with the Torch 9800 because I get the best of both world, touch screen device and physical keyboard, though I hate moving pieces on phones... If the screen on the 9700 was touch, it'd be my perfect berry!

Well said Adam, can't agree more. Lot's of people around me ask why don't you get the torch with the touchscreen instead, but there seems to be something missing with the touch and slider phone to me. Candybar, no fuss 9780 all the way.

I do agree with you on the torch and bold situation, for someone who´s not living in the states and has to contemplate whatever model the carrier has I have to say landing on my BB9700 has been wonderful but not quite while ago my husband gave a torch and it´s quite a novelty for me never had a touch screen but it´s getting hard sometimes to not miss my 9700 because of the torch layout and having to slip and have to more careful because of the screen.

My 9700 does NOT take crappy pictures at all. Your 9700 must be bootleg or something. How much did you get paid by RIM to promote the 9780?

I posted earlier in this thread about my intentions / plan to get a 9780. Well I did, yesterday. Suffice it to say, I'm thrilled with my decision. Web browser issue solved! The 97--series will prove legendary for RIM over time. Just watch. I know there are a lot of 9000 lovers out there (justifiably), but the 9700 and 9780 are archetypical (real word?) Blackberrys. The 9780 is a killer little machine; a smooth messaging monster that handles the most important tasks, lightning quick. Glad I avoided the temptation of an iPhone 4. I AM tempted to buy a 2nd 9780 because I greatly fear RIM will ever be able to top this device, even if their next handheld does 1080p video recording, they'll mess with somethin' else and ultimately shrink their fanbase if not careful. 97-- series leaves some pretty damn big shoes to fill.

Bullseye RIM!! Nicely done!!

Even though I haven't had the 9700 I jumped from a 9000 to the Torch. Its a great phone and I'm a big fan of OS6 but I'm missing the feel of my Bold. The look of it. Still getting used to the touch screen but I'm thinking if the 9780 makes a jump to AT&T ill be great. The Bold feel with the power of OS6.

I personally grabbed a cheap 9700, put a leaked OS6 on it (424) which works pretty good, and tataa...I am ready to wait another year to get a QNX smartphones or whatever comes next...