Introduction

This guide compares some of the features of the current blackberry offering.  This includes discussion of the 7100 Series, 7700 Series, 8700 Series, 7200 Series, and 7520 Device.  The comparisons include: basic  physical properties and keyboard, memory, and battery life. Finally the comparison helps you decide what device you should choose based on your needs.

Color-Device Comparisons (averages across devices in Series)

Device: LengthxWidthxThickness(inches) ... Weight(oz) ... Keyboard
7100:     4.7     x 2.3    x 0.8                      ... 4.2            ... combined
7290:     4.5     x 2.9    x 0.9                      ... 4.9            ...QWERTY
7520:     4.5     x 2.9    x 1.1                      ... 6.1            ...QWERTY
7780:     4.8     x 3.0    x 0.7                      ... 5.0            ...QWERTY
8700:     4.3     x 2.7    x 0.8                      ... 4.7            ...QWERTY

Memory(MB): Flash ... SRAM ... SDRAM
7100:                 32     ... 4          ... 0
7290:                 32     ... 4          ... 0
7520:                 32     ... 4          ... 0
7780:                 16     ... 2          ... 0
8700:                 64     ... 0          ... 16

Battery Life(hours): Standby ... Talk
7100:                          192        ... 4
7290:                          216        ... 4
7520:                           75        ... 2.9
7780:                          216        ... 5
8700:                          384        ... 4


This material comes from the discover blackberry devices page: http://www.discoverblackberry.com/devices/.

Choosing

Blackberry's were the first always-on Paging and Email system to gain broad appeal.  These same "always-on/always-reachable" features have been maintained in all their devices.  So, wanting always-on email means that a Blackberry is a good choice.  Secondly, if you want voice features as well you can combine the two in a blackberry.

If you expect to read and answer 20 or 30 emails a day, get one with a wider keyboard if you have average or larger hands - this would mean all phones except the 7100 Series.  If you like talking into a sleeker device and you don't expect to do a lot of responding to emails, you should choose one from the 7100 Series.  Finally, if you are on a walkie-talkie network where you can contact peers directly (such as the Mike network at Telus in Canada) you should choose the 7520.  (The 7520 is also GPS enabled.)

By far the 8700 series has the longest standby time, while the 7520 has the shortest.  The 8700 also has the most application-available memory, while the 7700 series has the least.  The 8700 series also has the gimmicky stuff like a light-sensing screen and MP3 ringtones-capable.

(Please drop me a note if you found this useful or if I have made a mistake somewhere.  Thanks.)