Welcome, you made a great choice in choosing the 6700, and you have landed on a wonderful resource in this forum:

I would say that the first thing to do is just to use the device as is, from the factory, for a couple of weeks, and familiarize yourself with its stock configuration. There is plenty to get to know about this phone just as it came out of the box.

You will probably want to purchase a bluetooth headset (if you don't already have one) to pair with the device, and it would be good to check out the thread that discusses bluetooth headsets before you do (here). Read through the whole thread to get an idea of the best bluetooth unit to buy. You may want to consider buying the headset from a bricks and mortar establishment with a good return policy in case you don't like the first headset you buy (CompUSA and Bestbuy both have good initial period return policies--but you will pay full retail).

Assuming that you want to sync the device to your desktop or laptop you will want to follow the directions in the user's manual to get activesync set up. If your service provider did not already provision your email for you, you will want to do that (you need your email address, username, password, to know what type of account it is--i.e. pop3, and your incoming and outgoing server information). As you set up your phone, keep track of all the information you need to do so by writing it down somewhere (I use the back of my user manual).

Once you have familiarized yourself with the phone and its properties, make a list of the things that you would like it to do that it does not do. Use your list as the basis for searching this forum for ways to get the phone to do what you want it to. Make a similar list of things that it does that you don't want it to, and search for that list. The sticky threads located at the top of the 6700-forum page are a good place to start--that is why they are sticky. Certainly, the tips and tricks thread is worth your while for a complete read through at least once. There is typically more than one way to modify the 6700 for a particular purpose, either through registry hacks, 3rd part software, or just through advanced settings manipulation. You should familiarize yourself with all of the solutions to a problem rather than attempting the first solution you come across--most modifications involve some form of compromise in stability, speed, functionality, capacity, or compatibility (your are talking about re-engineering your phone and all engineering involves compromise). Some modifications turn out to create more problems (or different problems) than they solve--that is why it is good practice to read a thread through from start to finish before latching on to a particular program or hack.

Go to settings/system/device information and determine what ROM version you have and what PRL version you have. If you do not have the most recent version of these (search), that may be the place to begin BUT DO ALL THE RESEARCH ON THESE CHANGES FIRST, as they can really mess you up if you rush into them and don't know what you are doing.

But back to my first advice--get used to the 6700 as it is before making any changes--it is really a fantastic device out of the box and it should take you at least 2 weeks to get to know what it can do as is. Be patient and do the research before making any changes. Once you do make changes, write them down so you know what you did when you brick it three months later.

Good luck and welcome once again.