New BlackBlackberry models

Despite the lingering uncertainty over a patent dispute that, pushed to the extreme, could disrupt BlackBerry service for U.S. customers, two new BlackBerry models are drawing admiring looks from consumers.
I’ve written about the 8700 offered by Cingular before.
But Verizon Wireless is now selling the new BlackBerry 7130e, the first such unit to take advantage of the Verizon EV-DO network, also known as BroadbandAccess Connect. That means you get broadband-speed when accessing e-Mail and Web sites. Besides that, the new Blackberry can also be used as a tethered modem for laptop users.
I’ve been messing around with a unit for a couple weeks now and am impressed by the brightness and clarity of the screen. It also feels more like a phone than the wallet-shaped 8700.
But sending text is a challenge. Instead of dedicated letters on the typeboard, it bunches them up two and three to a button, like a standard phone. A proprietary typing method called SureType “guesses” at what you’re trying to say and it does so with amazing accuracy. But I find it hard to get used to after being spoiled by the regular BlackBerry typepad and the one on the Treo 650.