De eerste reviews van de 7100T beginnen nu op het internet te verschijnen. De nieuwe toetsenbord layout schijnt echt lekker te werken:
To make the device smaller, RIM ditched the usual full keyboard for a strange, 20-key hybrid keypad in which the keys are small, flat, and close together. Most keys have two letters and a number on them, but the keys are in familiar QWERTY order. Yes, the 7100t uses predictive text, but stifle your groans. RIM's SureType is a giant step ahead of any predictive text you've used before. It learns new words after one try and automatically integrates all the names in your address book. After 15 minutes on this keyboard we were typing with ease.
At first I was very skeptical. I thought typing was slow because you had to use the track wheel in addition to the keys. Ten minutes later, once I gave up and stopped looking at the screen while typing, SureType and its 35,000 word library was nearly perfect. It basically always knew what I wanted to say. And, if I typed in a strange word, like MSNBC, it learned the new word and knew it the next time. Other phone manufacturers have created similar software/keyboard schemes, but this one works particularly well.