Which Blackberry?

I may be having a rethink about the Blackberry! To use it to its full potential i see one has to purchase a data plan.

Now, what other phone, with similar spec to the Blackberry, around £150, would be another alternative to look at?
 
Yeh you definitely need data to use a BB, most smart phones require data so any similarly specc'd phones will require it also. Its usually £5 add on to your contract.
 
I've deployed about 10 x 8520s in our company. Most were refurbsed at £180 from our supplier. Everyone seems to like them, and not had one go faulty yet.

I've heard some horror stories about the Bold, but no experience personally.
 
£180? You can buy them for £140.

Does one really need a data package when buying a blackberry? It can be used like any other mobile right?
 
lazer46 said:
£180? You can buy them for £140.

Does one really need a data package when buying a blackberry? It can be used like any other mobile right?
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I've not bought any for a couple of months now. Would be interested to know where you can get a sim free and unlocked 8520 for £140 please :)
 
lazer46 said:
£180? You can buy them for £140.

Does one really need a data package when buying a blackberry? It can be used like any other mobile right?
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Yep you need a blackberry internet plan which gives you push email and internet access...without that the BB is just a phone for calls, texts and nothing else...you would be better off getting something cheaper if thats all you want ie texts and calls.

My blackberry plan with Tmobile costs me an extra £5 a month so its not exactly a bank breaking type of charge.
 
Spawn said:
Yep you need a blackberry internet plan which gives you push email and internet access...without that the BB is just a phone for calls, texts and nothing else...you would be better off getting something cheaper if thats all you want ie texts and calls.

My blackberry plan with Tmobile costs me an extra £5 a month so its not exactly a bank breaking type of charge.
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Some mate i know have blackberry phones but they don't have any data plans! What exactly does the plan allow you to do? Is it just internet? What about apps etc?
 
lazer46 said:
Some mate i know have blackberry phones but they don't have any data plans! What exactly does the plan allow you to do? Is it just internet? What about apps etc?
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Well they might not have but can they get emails, use the internet or even the BBM messaging service??. If they arent then yeh sure they dont have a data plan or specifically for BB's its called blackberry internet service.

Without a blackberry data plan you wont get any access to the internet to download apps and neither will you get emails if they are activated on the BB and neither will you get BBM messaging.
 
lazer46 said:
I am on PAYG.

Why is it definitely needed then?

Any other phone that has similar spec and not too dependant on a data package?
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Nokia E63 can be found online for about same money as the 8520.

Second hand E71 would be better bet though.
 
Came across somebody using a Pearl and a Bold on Virgin without a data plan. the guy using the Bold unchecked APN Authentification and was using Opera mini 5. details are available here:http://robertastanford.blogspot.com/2008/12/howto-data-access-for-blackberry-8800.html

Orange's Dolphin pay as you go plan is reportedly supposed to be suitable for Blackberry's and so maybe this might be an option (if still running?):

Orange's Dolphin plan gives you 300 free texts and free internet when you top up £10 a month;
if you top up £20 you get 600 free texts and free internet;
if you top up £30 you get unlimited free texts and internet.
Also remember when you top up, Orange takes £5 of your credit so that you have access to the Blackberry internet server. This means you can use Blackberry Messenger and email etc. :)
 
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lazer46 said:
I notice the E63 is quite a bit cheaper than the E71. Is the E71 vastly better?
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I own a E71 and the person I live with has an E63.

There isn't a huge difference between the two however:

E71 has better speaker quality, both through earpiece and loudspeaker.
E71 has stainless steel battery cover and it's slimmer (E63 feels a bit cheap in comparison).
E71 has GPS, E63 can be loaded with nokia maps however you can't use GPS unless you get an external reciever.
Keypad is also a bit nicer on the E71.
Camera is better on the E71.
Battery life seems a lil better on the E71.

As I said, not a lot in it really, oh yes the E71 also comes with a leather case where as the E63 doesn't, but the E63 has a 3.5mm headphone socket whereas the E71 has 2.5mm.

For what it costs new, the E63 is a good little phone.

Shame you can't go contract, virgin have some decent offers atm, they do the E63 free on a £10 per month contract and the E72 (replacement for E71) for £15!
 
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Thanks. E72 looks awesome! I don't use the phone for email or net but like the look of them. I don't need a data plan with the E72 etc?
 
No, you can use all features via wifi if you did need todo anything online, which is what I currently do.
 
Could i use the Blackberry 9000 like an ordinary mobile for awhile and then a couple of months down the line buy the data package? The data package is only for the internet / emails? If so, that is fine for me.
 
lazer46 said:
Could i use the Blackberry 9000 like an ordinary mobile for awhile and then a couple of months down the line buy the data package? The data package is only for the internet / emails? If so, that is fine for me.
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Yes also and I suppose if you have wifi at home you could still access the internet and emails (google,hotmail) as well if you go by previous posts.
 
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