I mentioned recently that my VZW B2B rep promised me a demo unit of the XV6800 to use for free until they are realeased to market. Well it arrived today and I have tinkered with it for a few hours. My first impressions:

• what a shame the screen is the exact same as the XV6700, i wanted it to be larger like the XV6600 but much thinner
• the keyboard sliding to the right seems very odd, but i can probably get used to it and may like it later
• the battery door cover is thin and feels cheap/flimsy, i can see it being lost or broken easily but perhaps this is misleading
• the 2 megapix camera sounded nice but the test photos i took seemed to be blurry for no apparent reason
• love the built-in wifi
• don't like the 2-piece stylus or it coming out the bottom, neat idea but uncomfortable to remove and use when it slips around, and it still doesn't have a real ink pen hidden inside!
• extra flash and processor power seems to help the device speed a lot when loading web pages, unfortunately the screen is much smaller than xv6600 so not as practical for web use
• good sound quality, ringer, vibrate, and phone controls, no issues on the basics
• fully charged it then left it unplugged for about 1 hour, used it for about 15 minutes, and battery still said 100%, not likely and could be a symptom like the false meter readings on the XV6600
• buttons on the side are easy to press which is nice when you need them, irritating when you are just trying to hold the phone
• overall i wondered if it would have enough real value to justify waiting for so long and spending the extra $$$ compared to just keeping my XV6600 or getting an XV6700
• right now i am leaning toward buying it if the price is $250 or less after my discounts, otherwise i might hold out or pursue a Tilt or 8525 or similar device

And my demo unit came with a pre-paid return label and a requested return date of 11/26, which is when they fully expect the inventory to be available for sale in the B2B channel. Hang in there gang.