Blackberry Help

[corporatejay]

Hey Guys,

My wife and I are looking at getting blackberrys but I don't really have any concept as to what a good data plan is and who to go with.

On average how much data would you use a month. Does the data include emails. If someone sends me an email with a 2meg attachment, is that 2megs off of my data plan, I have no idea how any of this stuff works and the people at Rogers aren't much help.


Help me CP, you're my only hope.

[Buff]

My company went with Rogers. We got three months unlimited usage so we can gauge what kind of plan we'd need. Not sure how we got that as I wasn't involved in the process other than telling them which model I'd like.

[ah123]

Rogers has a $15 unlimited email option (I don't know how "unlimited" unlimited really is), I believe Telus also has something similar, but read the fine print - I remember reading somewhere that it is limited to telus.com email accounts...

You might want to do a search at www.howardforums.com - a lot off cellphone "experts" hang out there...

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by ah123

Rogers has a $15 unlimited email option (I don't know how "unlimited" unlimited really is), I believe Telus also has something similar, but read the fine print - I remember reading somewhere that it is limited to telus.com email accounts...

You might want to do a search at www.howardforums.com - a lot off cellphone "experts" hang out there...

I am certainly not an expert, but I've been looking into this myself for a couple months now before getting my blackberry and man, Rogers rips people off badly. The fine print basically with Rogers is that the $15 unlimited e-mail option IIRC is that it's limited to non-smartphones. You got a smartphone and you pay the regular data charges. If you go over your allotted amount, you pay through the nose. If you really want data, telus and bell have the best options available. Rogers overcharges bigtime. The only reason I'm thinking of going to Rogers is a) GSM phones b) Rogers to Rogers calling as I'm in Toronto and the majority of people here are Rogers customers. Aside from that, Rogers really milks you to the bone. Want data with the Blackberry? Expect to pay $80/month at the very least including your talk plan.

[HOOT]

Telus, Bell & Rogers all have an Unlimited Email package for $15...I would say go with whoever can get you the best deal on what you need and which ever one has the Blackberry you like!

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by fleury

I am certainly not an expert, but I've been looking into this myself for a couple months now before getting my blackberry and man, Rogers rips people off badly. The fine print basically with Rogers is that the $15 unlimited e-mail option IIRC is that it's limited to non-smartphones. You got a smartphone and you pay the regular data charges. If you go over your allotted amount, you pay through the nose. If you really want data, telus and bell have the best options available. Rogers overcharges bigtime. The only reason I'm thinking of going to Rogers is a) GSM phones b) Rogers to Rogers calling as I'm in Toronto and the majority of people here are Rogers customers. Aside from that, Rogers really milks you to the bone. Want data with the Blackberry? Expect to pay $80/month at the very least including your talk plan.

From trolling Howard Forums, it seems that Rogers will be releasing new data plans in May that seem will be more affordable. Rogers did have an unlimited email and BB mesenger plan for blackberry ($15) but it did not include any data (for surfing WAP sites) so you'd be paying out the nose for that.

[burn_baby_burn]

I currently have a Treo 700 and I am thinking of going to a Blackberry 8330 Curve. The GPS really impresses me. I have been reading everything I can on the internet. But sometimes you need actual users to tell you what they like and don't like about a product. Any posters have expericence with the Curve? Or better yet, any Treo users switched to a Curve? What are the pros vs cons for the Blackberry?

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

I currently have a Treo 700 and I am thinking of going to a Blackberry 8330 Curve. The GPS really impresses me. I have been reading everything I can on the internet. But sometimes you need actual users to tell you what they like and don't like about a product. Any posters have expericence with the Curve? Or better yet, any Treo users switched to a Curve? What are the pros vs cons for the Blackberry?

I have the 700p and went to the 8830, it drove me bonkers! No touch screen was the worst part and I found myself wanting to throw the thing trying to move around that little ball. I am back with my 700p.

For GPS I bought this thing on ebay for like $50 (? can't remember now) but it makes the treo GPS by bluetooth. Hulix or something...I will get the model number and everything for you.

[Rhettzky]

What kind of monthly costs are you typically looking at for a blackberry? I've pretty much had a company paid phone for the last ten years or so but now I'm switching companies and need to get a plan. Any tips, tricks, recommendations?

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I have the 700p and went to the 8830, it drove me bonkers! No touch screen was the worst part and I found myself wanting to throw the thing trying to move around that little ball. I am back with my 700p.

For GPS I bought this thing on ebay for like $50 (? can't remember now) but it makes the treo GPS by bluetooth. Hulix or something...I will get the model number and everything for you.

That is what I was worried about. The thing looks cool and the features sound great, but how convenient is it to use? Thanks for the heads up. I guess I could wait untill Palm actually makes a Treo with GPS. Another thing I was worried about was durability. I have a few friends with Blackberry Pearls. Those things look brittle. I dropped my 700 in my driveway yesterday. The things fine.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by ah123

Rogers has a $15 unlimited email option (I don't know how "unlimited" unlimited really is), I believe Telus also has something similar, but read the fine print - I remember reading somewhere that it is limited to telus.com email accounts...

You might want to do a search at www.howardforums.com - a lot off cellphone "experts" hang out there...

Nope, I've had the plan for three months and get my shawmail, my gmail, my work email, and my telus.blackberry.net email all on my phone with no extra charges. The only limitation for data is no tethering, and Telus hasn't been bopthered to support streaming video. You can download videos and watch them on your Pearl, but you can't stream with Telus because their towers don't support it from what I've read.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

That is what I was worried about. The thing looks cool and the features sound great, but how convenient is it to use? Thanks for the heads up. I guess I could wait untill Palm actually makes a Treo with GPS. Another thing I was worried about was durability. I have a few friends with Blackberry Pearls. Those things look brittle. I dropped my 700 in my driveway yesterday. The things fine.

I haven't dropped my Pearl from a great height or anything, but it has fallen on the tiled kitchen floor a few times at home and off my deak at work a few more with nothing more than a couple of dings in the outside of the case. The screen isn't even scratched. Seems fairly durable to me. The integrated GPS s great. no accessories to cart around. I don't mind the trackball, but I've never had a touch screen to compare to and I doubt if even the best handwriting recognition engine in the world would be able to decipher my heiroglyphs.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

I currently have a Treo 700 and I am thinking of going to a Blackberry 8330 Curve. The GPS really impresses me. I have been reading everything I can on the internet. But sometimes you need actual users to tell you what they like and don't like about a product. Any posters have expericence with the Curve? Or better yet, any Treo users switched to a Curve? What are the pros vs cons for the Blackberry?

I love the Curve, and one major reason is the GPS. I use the GPS a fair amount and pay the extra $10/month for the full featured one that talks to you...its really good. Even the "base" free GPS that comes with the unit is good though, just not the best when you're driving.

It is a switch to go from the touch-screen for sure, but it depends on what you use it for. I use mine for all of my contacts, email (a ton), the phone and GPS. I don't use the full internet that often...partly because it costs a fortune and partly because you're on the internet on a phone....maybe I just don't understand how practical that is or something.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Slava

I love the Curve, and one major reason is the GPS. I use the GPS a fair amount and pay the extra $10/month for the full featured one that talks to you...its really good. Even the "base" free GPS that comes with the unit is good though, just not the best when you're driving.

It is a switch to go from the touch-screen for sure, but it depends on what you use it for. I use mine for all of my contacts, email (a ton), the phone and GPS. I don't use the full internet that often...partly because it costs a fortune and partly because you're on the internet on a phone....maybe I just don't understand how practical that is or something.

I don't use the internet a lot. Just for basic stuff like checking sports scores or maybe some light reading when I'm bored on the road and don't have a computer with me.

The Treo 700 with the Windows OS doesn't have the need for the touch screen as much as the Palm OS. Although you do have the option if you want it (I guess I'm saying you can navigate with the center pad or use the touch screen).

How does the curve synch with your desktop. Do you use Outlook for your contacts?