Pretty much the same features as the 7290 but with a great screen and speakerphone.Pros:-Screen is perfect.-Speaker phone is the best I have ever heard.-Call quality and volume is excellent-The 2 short cut keys and call keys are a great edition.-Nice form factor.Cons:-Nothing really new added.-Battery life is crap.-No "option" for camera-Internet has EDGE but to be honest there is no noticable diff in speed. Maybe a sec or two. Get EV-DO if you want speed.-Internet software has problems surfing and opening some links.-The case of the 7290 and build quality is in my mind what made it so popular. When they came out with the 7100 series it was a joke. The first of the series anyway. No experience with the newer ones.The 8700c is well made but has two major problems. One the screen is moved up to the surface of the phone(not indented). The screen also is smoothed out and extends to the top of the phone. Making a nice slick look but easy to scratch in the long run.The 2nd major build quality issue is the grey casing. Why phone companies do this is a mystery to me. Its not the fact that its grey but the fact that the actual case is black but painted grey. So cany scratch or dent will show black on the grey case. Makes it stand out more. I have dropped and beat up my 7290 so much but none of this really shows. If you are new to blackberry or have to buy another one this 8700c is it. But if you have a working older model its not worth the upgrade.Also check out the Treo 700w although not sure how the push email compares with blackberry yet.